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2018 Winter Olympics, PyeongChang

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jmdirt

Dec 6, 2013
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Re: Re:

Libertine Seguros said:
jmdirt said:
I enjoy pretty much every event, in moderation of course. I only watch most of these events every four years so its nice. I disagree about the 'flips and tricks' because the games have evolved and need to if they want to stay relevant with the youngsters. ie: Red Gerard winning the USA's first gold!
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That's as may be, but I'm a curmudgeonly old crank, and anything that has a place at the X Games has no value or relevance to the Olympic Games as far as I'm concerned. Similarly, I think it's a travesty that 'going back and forth on a bike over some bumps and trying not to fall over' pays an Olympic gold medal and the kilo TT doesn't. Moguls I get - there's a clear objective over who's the best. I hate ski cross (aka "be the first out of the gate, and win") but I get it. Be the fastest, go the furthest, score the most. But Slopestyle, Aerials, Halfpipe, I just don't.

I don't give a flying one if it's a great story that some stoner kid in baggy salopettes can win an Olympic gold by doing a somersault on a snowboard, but you know, good for him that he took the opportunity he was given. Credit where it's due for being the best, I don't hold it against the competitors, other than that I don't value or really respect the sport they compete in. But if that's the kind of competition we have to phase in to keep the Games accessible to "the yoof of today", it's all well and good only as long as, unlike the Olympic BMX, it isn't coming at the expense of other events. It needs to be additional, not instead of.
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I'm old and getting crankier by the day, but I consult and/or direct youth sports programs so that keeps me thinking younger, like them, since I'm around them all of the time.

I don't like scored events. I would prefer that they add timed events. Something like mogul skiing could be a great event if it was a longer course with no judges. I also love the idea of head to head, events, but as you said, they need to provide more opportunity on the course beyond the start (not counting the NASCAR shenanigans) through course design, and length.

EDIT: Be careful with the "stoner" tag. In my experience, soccer players party waay more than the snowboarders/skiers. Is getting stoned worse than getting drunk? Pounding mom's prescrip?
 
Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

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My use of the stoner tag was perhaps more aimed at a separate style of criticism that isn't to do with judgement of substances, but more to do with the general aesthetic and marketing of these flips-and-tricks sports, the slang, the promotional videos, it just seems to be more based around being achingly cool than any kind of genuine treatment of the sport as an athletic endeavour. Having known a few skateboarders and trick snowboarders over time I also can be quite judgmental of the sports based on those people, but they absolutely sum up why I neither like nor value those events. I guess the sartorial side is another thing that I have against these sports, at a lower and more subconscious level. Alpine skiers and snowboarders are wearing gear designed around making them as fast and streamlined as possible. The flips-and-tricks sports see professional, elite sportspeople taking to the snow in hooded jackets and baggy sallies like me on my first day on ice. For some, that may be more relatable, for others it makes it seems less elite and less professional.

I do rather exempt moguls for this because while I don't like the judging aspect, ski jumping has a judging aspect as well and the main goal is about the speed, in which sense there's a genuine case to be made about it being a cousin of the slalom, the most technical of the Alpine disciplines. You're going downhill over a series of technical obstacles, and the fastest to the bottom is the winner. It has a greater level of credibility as a purely athletic competition, whereas while certainly as they become more established as Olympic sports this may well change, but there's still an enduring stench of "Dude, Where's My Car?" about a lot of the X-Games crossover stuff.
 
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Kokoso

Apr 22, 2012
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Re: Re:

Libertine Seguros said:
jmdirt said:
I don't give a flying one if it's a great story that some stoner kid in baggy salopettes can win an Olympic gold by doing a somersault on a snowboard
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I've had a really good laugh on this, but that kids aren't to blame for being kids. :)
 
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Kokoso

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Libertine Seguros said:
He'll bounce back in the pursuit though. That was a stunning recovery job after that miserable failure in prone. Czechs have gone all-out for these Olympics sacrificing all World Cup pretences with Koukalová out, they were really below par in December, more like the standard we've come to expect from them in January, and two medals in the sprints here - Krčmář had a fair few good races last year but has been fairly anonymous so far in 2017-18, Vitková is obviously proven class, maybe not at her 2014-15 level lately but she's a top class biathlete. Italian men have upped their game pace-wise this season too, Hofer and Windisch have both stepped up their skiing form and that carried Windisch to bronze over equal shooting from Eberhard, Doll and Schempp, all of whom you'd back to beat him in a ski race most of the year.
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Windisch even had fastest time somewhere this season I think...so that came as no surprise for me.
 
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Kokoso

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Max Rockatansky said:
Laura is a monster. If things go on like that, she will pulverize a lot of records here. She might even equal or better the record of Eric Heiden. She is fuoriclasse. And she prefers mountain climbing over biathlon. :D
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It's about opponents being really weak at olympics than her being fuoriclasse. And, well, she certainly prefers biathlon over climbing.
 
Tricycle Rider

Tricycle Rider

Feb 9, 2013
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Re: Re:

jmdirt said:
I'm old and getting crankier by the day, but I consult and/or direct youth sports programs so that keeps me thinking younger, like them, since I'm around them all of the time.
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Yep, times have changed.

Being old and cranky I have a similar view of the sports from the X Games - never cared for them, never will. But I've just learned to accept that they will irreversibly be a part of the Olympics now, us old-timers remember when the Winter Olympics used to be such a small and intimate affair. (Now they're more like a rock concert, starting with the endless, opulent opening ceremony.)

Anyhoo, as long as snowboarding doesn't completely replace the more traditional sports I'll be content.
 
Maaaaaaaarten

Maaaaaaaarten

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Re:

Red Rick said:
And the Dutch vulturing of speed skating continues.
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So far we're still on track for the Sochi schedule. If we manage to win the 1500m tomorrow we'll be ahead. :eek:

(I'm using first person plural pronouns, because sports is a often good opportunity for some controlled tribalism)
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Feb 20, 2012
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Re: Re:

Maaaaaaaarten said:
Red Rick said:
And the Dutch vulturing of speed skating continues.
Click to expand...

So far we're still on track for the Sochi schedule. If we manage to win the 1500m tomorrow we'll be ahead. :eek:

(I'm using first person plural pronouns, because sports is a often good opportunity for some controlled tribalism)
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Yeah, our contribution can not be forgotten, butterfly effect and all :eek:
 
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Kokoso

Apr 22, 2012
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Re: Re:

jmdirt said:
Kokoso said:
Libertine Seguros said:
jmdirt said:
I don't give a flying one if it's a great story that some stoner kid in baggy salopettes can win an Olympic gold by doing a somersault on a snowboard
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Click to expand...
I've had a really good laugh on this, but that kids aren't to blame for being kids. :)
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You edited that so it looks like I'm the curmudgeon instead of Libertine! :eek: :D
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Oh I'm sorry, editing is sometimes difficult for me even if I preview. Of course that was meant for Libertine.
 
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portugal11

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Re:

jsem94 said:
Incredible 20 year old Samuelsson in 2nd place. Martin took this too easily, but in the individual and mass start I don't think JTB will fail like he did in the sprint. He should learn from this experience.
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martin is skiing faster than JTB and he has a better endurance than JTB so I don't really see who will beat fourcade in the individual
 
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