General Sport Discussion (non-AFL)

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Jivlain said:
Distinct possibility that the Australia-Scotland game at the end of our group ends up as
Australia win big - Australia and England qualify
Australia win small/NR - Australia and Scotland qualify
Australia lose - Scotland and Australia

Distinct opportunity to do something very funny
Or, you know, just activate the rain dance
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Shades of our infamous go-slow against the West Indies in 1999 to try to get them through to the Super 6 at the expense of NZ...
 
I haven't watched NRL360 in awhile, and I didn't last long tonight. The NSW people on this show seem to be slowly but surely mentally unraveling about losing to Qld. The premiership seems strangely to be an after thought for a fair part of the year.
 

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MSB ROYS said:
I haven't watched NRL360 in awhile, and I didn't last long tonight. The NSW people on this show seem to be slowly but surely mentally unraveling about losing to Qld. The premiership seems strangely to be an after thought for a fair part of the year.
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For the 6 weeks of origin the premiership takes a back seat
 
Must admit; the comments below are easily applied to most sports and in fact I’ve read and heard many ex professionals in team sports in the 40-50s age bracket say the same thing particularly in US sports and more so European football which I kind of follow and sadly am seeing more of this kind of stuff in the last paragraph in AFL particularly with players 24 and younger although its extremely prevalent in soccer with many ex players sharing similar sentiments. No doubt has a lot to do with social media and exorbitant salaries that must go to the heads of these (mostly) immature people and players constantly self promoting themselves arrogantly compared to players of yesteryear who really relied on paid sponsorship deals that was controlled by the sponsor.

IMG_9138.png
 
I'll preface this by saying I actually don't really care about the Olympics and whilst I do watch the odd thing if someone in the house has it on, my interest is moderately fleeting and I also don't get why some sports are included and others included; I mean BMX and Skateboarding yet sports like squash and racquetball, baseball & softball or even cricket yet modified sports like Rugby 7s is included. Same as archery being included, why not darts? Why not CrossFit either?

Anyway, having seen one of the Australian teams balling at losing their third place match, Im always bemused at Olympic athletes celebrating coming second or third and being thrilled with a medal. Sure, I get the gold medal and why that is celebrated, but for the life of me Ive never been able to comprehend the concept with being thrilled with a silver or bronze, particularly the team sport events where in my eyes, if your not first you're as good as last. Look at any teams sports where runners up get medals, they all take it off, yet the silver medalists in Olympics are running around as if they've won and seem the least bit upset.

To me at least, its a really odd mentaility.
 
McIvor said:
Anyway, having seen one of the Australian teams balling at losing their third place match, Im always bemused at Olympic athletes celebrating coming second or third and being thrilled with a medal. Sure, I get the gold medal and why that is celebrated, but for the life of me Ive never been able to comprehend the concept with being thrilled with a silver or bronze, particularly the team sport events where in my eyes, if your not first you're as good as last. Look at any teams sports where runners up get medals, they all take it off, yet the silver medalists in Olympics are running around as if they've won and seem the least bit upset.

To me at least, its a really odd mentaility.
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This is a pretty sad take imo.

A lot of these athletes in many Sports the Olympics is the pinnacle of their sport.
And they train extremely hard to firstly get there and to be able to compete at a level to get yourself any coloured medal is an achievement that anyone should be proud of.

I was a swimmer back in my day and went very close to making the Olympics on 2 occasions, so I would have been over the moon to even just make the Olympics let alone get a medal.

Yeah sure, getting a Gold Medal is of course the desired result for any sportsperson but to be considered the second or third best in the World in your event at that particular time is an amazing achievement and nothing to be sneezed at.

The years and years of bloody hard work to get there should also be recognised by anyone including the couch potatoes and keyboard warriors who claim otherwise.

Sad really.
 
Dalions said:
This is a pretty sad take imo.

A lot of these athletes in many Sports the Olympics is the pinnacle of their sport.
And they train extremely hard to firstly get there and to be able to compete at a level to get yourself any coloured medal is an achievement that anyone should be proud of.

I was a swimmer back in my day and went very close to making the Olympics on 2 occasions, so I would have been over the moon to even just make the Olympics let alone get a medal.

Yeah sure, getting a Gold Medal is of course the desired result for any sportsperson but to be considered the second or third best in the World in your event at that particular time is an amazing achievement and nothing to be sneezed at.

The years and years of bloody hard work to get there should also be recognised by anyone including the couch potatoes and keyboard warriors who claim otherwise.

Sad really.
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It's like saying that no non-AFL club should ever celebrate winning a premiership in their league because they aren't at the pinnacle of their sport (the AFL).

If you're fine with people celebrating winning a national championship in an Olympic sport, or any league other than the top in a team sport, then arguably getting second in the Olympics can trump both of those - you're the second best in the world, compared to "only" the best in the nation or theoretically the 10th-20th or worse team in the latter.
 

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Dalions said:
This is a pretty sad take imo.

A lot of these athletes in many Sports the Olympics is the pinnacle of their sport.
And they train extremely hard to firstly get there and to be able to compete at a level to get yourself any coloured medal is an achievement that anyone should be proud of.

I was a swimmer back in my day and went very close to making the Olympics on 2 occasions, so I would have been over the moon to even just make the Olympics let alone get a medal.

Yeah sure, getting a Gold Medal is of course the desired result for any sportsperson but to be considered the second or third best in the World in your event at that particular time is an amazing achievement and nothing to be sneezed at.

The years and years of bloody hard work to get there should also be recognised by anyone including the couch potatoes and keyboard warriors who claim otherwise.

Sad really.
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Hardly sad and certainly doesn't diminish the effort that anyone makes in getting to the games or that these athletes arent at the pinnacle of there sport. In terms of your last paragraph, I appreciate what a lot of people achieve including outside of sport, which to be frank, too much praise is given to sports people in this couch when you hear of the amazing work (and lets be honest is even more impressive than most athletes, including Olympians) that so many achieve in STEM, the arts and other fields that get NO recognition outside of there respective fields let alone new stories, sponsorship deals and the like, so spare me on that.

Its actually a shame that the coverage sports people get, let alone those that "win" silver or bronze is afforded to others is mind boggling, but why is it so contentious to question why getting a silver or bronze should be celebrated. Yes its great you got so close, not saying its not just so we are clear, but the celebration of it is what I find amusing.

I bet you don't want to hear my thoughts on the cliche of Olympians getting the Olympic rings tattoo just so they can validate themselves for the rest of their lives so no one forgets they went to an Olympics? Wonder if Rafa Nadal got the tatt?
 
My view of the Olympics is that for a sport to be included in the schedule the Olympics should be the pinnacle of the sport.

Some of the events who in my view "should not be in the Olympics" would be >

Golf- No golfer would give up a US Masters jacket or British Open Claret jug for an Olympic Gold Medal.
Football(soccer)- Olympics are a long way behind the World Cup.
Tennis- All the Majors are ahead of Olympic wins.
Basketball- A bit of an unusual one, NBA players would definitely prefer to win an NBA Championship but for some countries it would be the pinnacle.
Surfing- Maybe Kelly Slater would give up ONE of his 11 world titles for a gold medal.
Boxing- World Champion >>> Gold Medal.

I really only follow the track running in the Olympics, I would also get up early/stay up late to watch Australia in a Hockey Gold medal game.

Most of the other sports while I appreciate the fantastic effort it takes to get to that level of competition are of no interest to me at all eg. Skateboarding, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Sailing, Shooting... Breaking(what the hell is that?)

Sports that are definitely Olympic worthy - Athletics, Swimming, Gymnastics, Hockey, Volleyball, Water Polo, Rowing, Handball, Table Tennis, Cycling, Diving.

Would love to see Squash and Futsal included, would definitely be the pinnacle, Futsal is a highly skilled game and would translate well to TV, Squash because I just love it, not a great TV sport though which would be a big cross against it.
 
M Malice said:
Surfing- Maybe Kelly Slater would give up ONE of his 11 world titles for a gold medal.
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So if he'll give up one world title, doesn't that make it at least equivalent? ;)
 
There's also a bit of a question of "what is a reasonable expectation". Like, if you're not the US basketball team, winning silver or bronze is pretty darn good whereas winning a gold is not a particularly realistic aspiration.

Similar for any sport that some country or other dominated.

Or, hey. If, say, Swansea City finished fourth in the Premier League, the celebrations over that result would go long and hard.
 
Jivlain said:
There's also a bit of a question of "what is a reasonable expectation". Like, if you're not the US basketball team, winning silver or bronze is pretty darn good whereas winning a gold is not a particularly realistic aspiration.

Similar for any sport that some country or other dominated.

Or, hey. If, say, Swansea City finished fourth in the Premier League, the celebrations over that result would go long and hard.
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Leicester City winning the Premier League in 2015-16 is probably the biggest team sport underdog win in sporting history IMO, imagine those celebrations for the players/Manager/staff... not to mention long term supporters.
 
.

🤯
 
M Malice said:
My view of the Olympics is that for a sport to be included in the schedule the Olympics should be the pinnacle of the sport.

Some of the events who in my view "should not be in the Olympics" would be >

Golf- No golfer would give up a US Masters jacket or British Open Claret jug for an Olympic Gold Medal.
Football(soccer)- Olympics are a long way behind the World Cup.
Tennis- All the Majors are ahead of Olympic wins.
Basketball- A bit of an unusual one, NBA players would definitely prefer to win an NBA Championship but for some countries it would be the pinnacle.
Surfing- Maybe Kelly Slater would give up ONE of his 11 world titles for a gold medal.
Boxing- World Champion >>> Gold Medal.

I really only follow the track running in the Olympics, I would also get up early/stay up late to watch Australia in a Hockey Gold medal game.

Most of the other sports while I appreciate the fantastic effort it takes to get to that level of competition are of no interest to me at all eg. Skateboarding, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Sailing, Shooting... Breaking(what the hell is that?)

Sports that are definitely Olympic worthy - Athletics, Swimming, Gymnastics, Hockey, Volleyball, Water Polo, Rowing, Handball, Table Tennis, Cycling, Diving.

Would love to see Squash and Futsal included, would definitely be the pinnacle, Futsal is a highly skilled game and would translate well to TV, Squash because I just love it, not a great TV sport though which would be a big cross against it.
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Part of the reasoning for a lot of these sports being included, especially the if they were included in the early editions, is because the Olympics was previously only open to amateur's. That was always a ridiculous rule IMO. IIRC it was a way for the rich/elite of society to keep the poor out of competing in 'their' sports. IE early on if you were a mailman, then you couldn't compete in any kind of running because you're a professional.

Footballs/Soccer's inclusion in the Olympics outdates the world cup. I don't mind football because it is an under 23 comp IIRC. An attempt to differentiate it from the world cup. As far as I know, the underage world cups don't get a ton of media, at least not compared to the world cup or the Olympics. The world cup was inspired by/created because of the success of football in the Olympics. It would be a shame to remove it.

Until 2016 boxing was only open to amateur's. Amateur as defined by boxing was/is someone who does not get paid to fight. Communist countries ruled this era because their best talent was only paid to train. They lived more or less the same lifestyle as the pros would. I am a fan of it being opened up to pros. The rules are different enough that its almost a different sport. Big stars don't take part because the embarrassment of not winning, in a rule set they are no longer training for year wide would put a massive dent in the earning potential. I am probably in the minority that I think the move to open it up to pros was the right move. People came out and said stuff about teens fighting adults in their prime etc, the flaw in that argument, as I touched on before is that it has always been the case because of communism.

Basketball is a bit of a funny one to me. There is never any reason why the USA should not win every single time. At least now that amateur status is no longer a requirement. I don't know that it should be an Olympic sport based purely on that. It's like if we had AFL in the Olympics. Yeah we would win a gold medal but for every other nation, the silver would be their aim and as good as winning.

I think inclusion of most/more sports is always a good thing. Whether people want to watch that sport or not, athletes that dedicate their lives to a sport deserve to represent their country, especially so when their dedication to the sport does not have alluring financial incentives. I'm not sure that it has to be the pinnacle of sport, as some like tennis would be a shame to lose and are a major reason why the games can support the sports that no one cares about watching. But if it isn't the pinnacle of the sport, it is nice when there is a rule in place to make it slightly different such as an age limit, different length, quicker than usual turn arounds etc.
 
M Malice said:
I really only follow the track running in the Olympics, I would also get up early/stay up late to watch Australia in a Hockey Gold medal game.

Most of the other sports while I appreciate the fantastic effort it takes to get to that level of competition are of no interest to me at all eg. Skateboarding, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Sailing, Shooting... Breaking(what the hell is that?)
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See I think if you have boxing, why not BJJ? I get why you wouldn't / couldn't have MMA but BJJ ties in with Wrestling and Karate and some of the other martial arts, although I couldn't tell what is and isn't in the Olympics.

The other ones I would include are the equine events. So why not horse racing? I dont care for any horse "sports" if Im being honest particulalry steeple chase because i think they only exist for betting, but equine is odd IMO. May as well have motorsports if we are going down equine and sailing and surfing.

Why not snooker? Wouldn't mind seeing that if we are rolling out breaking - Neil Robertson v Ronnie O'Sullivan or a Judd Trump in the final would be awesome. I'm not a lawn bowls person either but again, if we have 14 year olds competing why not a 74 year Mavis or Norm from the Redcliffe Bowls Club?

Love your suggestion for Futsal to.
 
McIvor said:
See I think if you have boxing, why not BJJ? I get why you wouldn't / couldn't have MMA but BJJ ties in with Wrestling and Karate and some of the other martial arts, although I couldn't tell what is and isn't in the Olympics.

The other ones I would include are the equine events. So why not horse racing? I dont care for any horse "sports" if Im being honest particulalry steeple chase because i think they only exist for betting, but equine is odd IMO. May as well have motorsports if we are going down equine and sailing and surfing.

Why not snooker? Wouldn't mind seeing that if we are rolling out breaking - Neil Robertson v Ronnie O'Sullivan or a Judd Trump in the final would be awesome. I'm not a lawn bowls person either but again, if we have 14 year olds competing why not a 74 year Mavis or Norm from the Redcliffe Bowls Club?

Love your suggestion for Futsal to.
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I have always thought that.... if gambling didn't exist horse racing/greyhound racing would cease to exist IMO.

Unlike AFL/Rugby League/Soccer etc that would continue quite fine without it.
 
McIvor said:
I'll preface this by saying I actually don't really care about the Olympics and whilst I do watch the odd thing if someone in the house has it on, my interest is moderately fleeting and I also don't get why some sports are included and others included; I mean BMX and Skateboarding yet sports like squash and racquetball, baseball & softball or even cricket yet modified sports like Rugby 7s is included. Same as archery being included, why not darts? Why not CrossFit either?

Anyway, having seen one of the Australian teams balling at losing their third place match, Im always bemused at Olympic athletes celebrating coming second or third and being thrilled with a medal. Sure, I get the gold medal and why that is celebrated, but for the life of me Ive never been able to comprehend the concept with being thrilled with a silver or bronze, particularly the team sport events where in my eyes, if your not first you're as good as last. Look at any teams sports where runners up get medals, they all take it off, yet the silver medalists in Olympics are running around as if they've won and seem the least bit upset.

To me at least, its a really odd mentaility.
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I yell, scream and pump my fist when the Lions win a tight one and I had absolutely zero to do with it.

I guess that makes me even sadder and odder.
 
Dalions said:
This is a pretty sad take imo.

A lot of these athletes in many Sports the Olympics is the pinnacle of their sport.
And they train extremely hard to firstly get there and to be able to compete at a level to get yourself any coloured medal is an achievement that anyone should be proud of.

I was a swimmer back in my day and went very close to making the Olympics on 2 occasions, so I would have been over the moon to even just make the Olympics let alone get a medal.

Yeah sure, getting a Gold Medal is of course the desired result for any sportsperson but to be considered the second or third best in the World in your event at that particular time is an amazing achievement and nothing to be sneezed at.

The years and years of bloody hard work to get there should also be recognised by anyone including the couch potatoes and keyboard warriors who claim otherwise.

Sad really.
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Crikey Dalions you must have been some sort of swimmer if you almost made the Olympics.

If you don't mind me asking what era were you in ?

We've had some phenomenal swim teams over the years.

I picture you as a Breast Stroker.
 
martinson said:
Crikey Dalions you must have been some sort of swimmer if you almost made the Olympics.

If you don't mind me asking what era were you in ?

We've had some phenomenal swim teams over the years.

I picture you as a Breast Stroker.
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I do love Breast stroking☺️ but no, I was a butterfly swimmer.
Was close to making the team in 88 as a 14yr Old and again in 92.
I gave it away after the trials in 92 as an 18yr old which is very young to give it away but I just wanted to start earning some money of my own rather than relying on my Parents for everything.

Went to the 1991 Pacific Games in Canada which was big in its day and some World Cup meets over in Europe in 90
 

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