The Olympics Are The Planet's Best Celebration.

[MyUncle]

I am old enough to have seen the transition from all amateurs (mostly) to all corporate. Overall, I think it is a very positive thing for the millions of athletes who fail to fulfill their dream of going to the Olympics. They win because they did dream and did try.

I was a competitive swimmer growing up. From around 8-9 years old, I knew when my Olympic window was, what years and where. I of course was delusional and never had the talent to be able to pull that off. But, even paying attention, training, competing, keeping myself relatively healthy (trust me I was no monk in H.S.)was a good thing to go through and has been a good balance in my life.

Also, for many people around the world, it is really a time to see the scope of the world we live in. The flags, foreign faces, costumes all are educational. Yeah, we should know all that stuff, but we don't. I guarantee that 99+++% of the people who watch an Opening Ceremony or any significant amount of competition learn something new and extraordinary about sport, people and places.

Look at all the hope, joy and love on the young faces of the thousands of athletes who will not win gold, not get million$$$. It is the privilege of their lives just to be there.

I revere the Olympic Games.

They are not perfect, but they are the best thing we have in terms the celebration of the potential of humans.

[elleng]

1. Happy to join everyone at this great festival!

:popcorn:

[Swede]

2. Under every skin,just another human being.

Nice post.

[MyUncle]

3. A heart felt thank you.

A friend of mine said it was somehow fitting that one of the flames did not work yesterday during the Opening Ceremonies in light of the loss of an athelete.

[Captain Hilts]

4. The Soviets consistently sent professionals. The East Germans also. nt

[MyUncle]

7. I agree.

That's why I said "amatuers (mostly)".

[paulsby]

11. in a socialist state like the USSR/east germany there is no real

difference between professional and amateur

[Captain Hilts]

12. Someone who competes in 4 consecutive Olympics - as the hockey players did...

is obviously a professional.

[paulsby]

14. edwin moses competed in

76, 84 and 88

we boycotted 80, otherwise he would have done 4

not a professional

i'm very familiar with the soviet sports schools (and the chinese) most of my training texts are translated from the great russian sports scientists

it is TOTALLY different to how it works in the US (or any free country).

kids are shuffled into sports schools at an early age. if they show genetic predisposition/talent for a certain sport, they are trained (en masse) with other kids, and the poor performers weeded out over time. as athletes reach the higher levels, CMS CMSIC, their sport IS their job. they are given some essentially fake job, that they rarely if ever go to, so they can be paid through that, frequently, but their real job is to win glory for the soviet machine.

the distinction between amateur and professional at least has some meaning in a free country. it has essentially no meaning in a totalitarian society. that's my point

[Captain Hilts]

16. He was unusual. I remember that. My point is I've lived in Russia and was there in '80

and THEY thought the competition was unfair. They considered their athletes professionals as they did their sport full time and had many privileges and were resented by a lot of people.

Folks in East Germany HATED Katerina Witt because she was tight with Erik Honnecker. They saw her as a professional.

I also saw the Soviet Women's basketball team up close. They were, on average, ten years older the Old Dominion U's women's team. They were professionals.

[paulsby]

18. those are good points

the GENERAL distinction between amateur and professional is - do you get paid to compete?

prior to the overhaul of the AAU (thanks prefontaine etc!) the amateur athletic leagues, etc. basically owned the athlete. if the athlete even competed in a "non sanctioned " event, they could pull their amateur status. the situation got much better after the overhaul.

in the USSR, etc. all athletes were paid by the state. but then in a socialist society, that's basically true of everybody.

so, where's the distinction?

[Captain Hilts]

19. I never understood the AAU. I know military guys competed as AAU athletes, didn't they?

Athletes had privileges that regular folks in the Soviet bloc didn't have. Better apartments, etc.

THE big perk was access to the 'dollar' shops where the goods were better.

[paulsby]

27. i've competed in AAU

it's open (as far as i know) to all amateur athletes in the US.

the military guys certainly could compete as AAU. as long as they aren't pro's, they can.

[JVS]

54. Like the Dream Team™?

[Captain Hilts]

63. Yes. The Soviets sent their 'Dream Teams' for decades. nt

[Blue_Tires]

5. Personally, I'll still take the World Cup 10 times out of 10...

[Captain Hilts]

13. The World Cup is the only fair global competition where $$ means the least.

Though I REALLY like Champions League as they are actual teams, rather than amalgamations of all stars.

[Blue_Tires]

37. and damn near every nation participates

in the qualifiers at least...

[Captain Hilts]

62. When was the last time Cameroon got close to winning ANYthing global? '90 World Cup!

And, yes, they got hosed!

[MyUncle]

73. Sorry, only one sport one game.

By time it gets to South Africa, how many teams/countries are acctually there?

The world cup is a great world championship in only one sport.

No comparision.

[MyUncle]

74. Sorry, only one sport one game.

By time it gets to South Africa, how many teams/countries are acctually there?

The world cup is a great world championship in only one sport.

No comparision.

[Blue_Tires]

75. 32 teams go to SA

but that number is whittled down from 200 over the course of 2.5 years...

Nevermind the fact that soccer is by far the most accessible game in the world, bar none (all anyone ever needs is a ball)...

I'm not saying one is better than the other; you like the winter games and that's you, I like the World Cup and that's me....

[MyUncle]

76. I like the Summer Games also.

And The Super Bowl, The World Series, March Madness, Stanley Cup, World Cup, World Championship Baseball, pretty much everything.

But I love the lower level, non celebrity, just happy to be there Olympians more than anything. Most of the athletes will go to the games, march in the Opening Ceremony, get through maybe one heat of their events, party, march in the Closing Ceremonies.

I went to Korea in 88 to root on a friend who was on the team. I had so much fun partying with the athletes so I am forever jaded.

[tridim]

6. I logged many childhood hours as a competitive gymnast

By the time I was 14 it was obvious I had reached my limits, Olympic level stuff was freaking scary! I had nowhere near the guts required to continue. The high bar and parallel bars destroyed my hands and arms, and I watched several of my teammates crack their skulls on concrete. Honestly I quit because I didn't want to get hurt or worse.

I watch the Olympics in awe every 2 years.

[TuxedoKat]

30. Yes, me too

the watching in awe part! Good for you for sticking with it for so many years. My daughter does gymnastics but just for recreation. I never wanted her to compete; it looks like too much to sacrifice time-wise and health-wise.

[Posteritatis]

8. Yep - love the games and the underlying concept even if I can't stand the IOC. (nt)

[jaxx]

9. The idea that all those people from all those countries

can come together and get along is a glimpse of what peace would look like. I watch them too and cheer them on, amateur or pro they are in there to do their best.

[HeresyLives]

10. Better the Olympics than war.

Countries can compete all they want...without weapons.

A step forward for humanity.

[KittyWampus]

15. Sorry, but the fact this much money gets thrown at Sports while a pittance goes to the Arts

says quite a lot about humanity at this point in time.

[SidDithers]

17. Are arts somehow more noble than sports?...

more worthwhile? more important?

What do you think it says about humanity?

Sid

[Hugabear]

79. In a word....YES

200 years from now, nobody will remember who won the most gold medals in the Olympics, who won the Super Bowl, World Series, NCAA tournament, World Cup, or any of that. But they will remember great works of literature, music, drama, etc.

[Captain Hilts]

21. It's not an either/or. The major league arts have priced themselves out of popular culture...

and athletics will be the same way if you can see them through only pay per view.

[KittyWampus]

26. So you're saying major league sports is more affordable? Really? We should compare

season tickets.

It's be fun... in fact, I'm not feeling well tonight and will see what I can find. ;)

Edit- first notice what happens when you google "season tickets". It's all sporting events.

Okay, Yankees Field Sections (behind pitcher up in the ozone) US $20,250.00

I had no freaking idea it was that much!

[Captain Hilts]

32. No. But I know what it costs to go the Met, the Houston Opera and the Kennedy Center....

Getting those seats at Yankee Stadium isn't most folks' radar.

But the Met does something similar. I have a friend that sat in Exxon's seats there.

For both you need connections. Besides, the Yanks play 80 games. The Met opera doesn't do that many operas.

But I wish there were greater information / knowledge about 'minor league' arts events. I love symphonic music, but it's tough to find in lower-priced venues. Universities are the alternative, I guess.

A friend of mine runs a Bach Festival here in DC.

[KittyWampus]

34. Lincoln Center has lots of different performances going on. Many are free. Especially in the summer

I have never been to an opera!

And many theater productions have $20 Rush Tickets and also Standing Room Only you can get on day-of during midweek.

You don't have to pay to go to an art exhibit.

Museums are very often suggested donations or at most an affordable fee.

[Captain Hilts]

61. You have to pay to go to many art exhibits! Even at the Smithsonian now. The KC here in DC

has a lot of free things, but getting to the KC is a terrible hassle (pedestrian polo) and their symphonies, etc. just don't do freebies at all that I'm aware of.

I DID go see the KC's simulcast of its opera. They put a jumbotron on the mall and 10,000 folks showed up to see Porgy and Bess. The next year it rained and they've moved it to the baseball stadium, which is neat, but not as accessible as the mall.

The NYT had an interesting article discussing the differences between actually going to the opera and paying to see one of the live, filmed versions in a movie theatre. Each has its pluses and minuses.

Here in DC the Corcoran, and the Philips charge admission and in Toronto the AGO does. I saw "Expressionists in Winter" at the Philips - I was 3rd in line because you want to be able to see the paintings both close up and far away. The Whistler, Monet and Turner exhibit at the AGO was among the best I've ever seen. Loved it. And the Expressionists in Winter.

[Withywindle]

41. You can get Chicago Symphony Orchestra tickets for $20 - $40.

Not the best seats of course, but there aren't very many *bad* seats in Orchestra Hall, at least as far as sound is concerned (which is what matters).

Best orchestra in the US and 5th best in the world, according to the snobs at Gramophone magazine.

[Captain Hilts]

60. Same $ as in baseball. I tried to get C symph tickets when I was in town...nt

[Withywindle]

66. It's a crap shoot. They do sell out A LOT. Chicago people turn out for the good stuff!

And yes, of course they still need funding (disclaimer: I work in fundraising for the CSO.)

This year, every single one of the musicians has agreed to donate a rehearsal and a concert worth of time, just to maintain the balanced budget we've had for 3 years.

Concert musicians are not rich people. Balanced budgets are not easy to come by in a country where the mouthbreather faction rails against funding of the arts. (Meanwhile, in most of the world, it's understood that funding of the arts is worthwhile, because the arts are about who we are as a species.)

But yeah. That's one of the best things about Chicago. Symphony tickets are high-demand, competitive, and sell out quickly.

[H2O Man]

23. Sports are art.

[KittyWampus]

25. No. One may say there is an artistic component to SOME sporting events, even that bit has been

whittled down. Take ice skating. The expressive side has given way to importance of including triple axles.

And the fact you'd say that really exemplifies the degradation of the Arts today.

[H2O Man]

29. Sports are art.

[Captain Hilts]

33. The skills required to succeed in both are very similar. nt

[EFerrari]

65. They are. My brother approaches soccer and jazz

in precisely the same way. The same part of my brain wakes up when I'm at a keyboard or easel as when I'm holding a tennis racket or a basketball. Sports are art.

For some reason, this comes to mind:

Entering a state of flow

Creativity is generally addictive for a very good reason -- the sensation of being in a state of full concentration or hyper-concentration is both pleasant and productive. The author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi devotes three works to this and related topics. He describes this state of "flow" as:

Over and over again, as people describe how it feels when they thoroughly enjoy themselves, they mention eight distinct dimensions of experience. These same aspects are reported by Hindu yogis and Japanese teenagers who race motorcycles, by American surgeons and basketball players, by Australian sailors and Navajo shepherds, by champion figure skaters and by chess masters. These are the characteristic dimensions of the flow experience:

1. Clear goals: an objective is distinctly defined; immediate feedback: one knows instantly how well one is doing.

2. The opportunities for acting decisively are relatively high, and they are matched by one's perceived ability to act. In other words, personal skills are well suited to given challenges.

3. Action and awareness merge; one-pointedness of mind.

4. Concentration on the task at hand; irrelevant stimuli disappear from consciousness, worries and concerns are temporarily suspended.

5. A sense of potential control.

6. Loss of self-consciousness, transcendence of ego boundaries, a sense of growth and of being part of some greater entity.

7. Altered sense of time, which usually seems to pass faster.

8. Experience becomes autotelic: If several of the previous conditions are present, what one does becomes autotelic, or worth doing for its own sake.
The Evolving Self - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, 178-179

http://www.uwsp.edu/education/lwilson/creativ/flow1.htm

[anonymous171]

35. Sport is an art. nt

[MyUncle]

38. Even the demise of the Olympics

would not mean an increase in funding for the arts. As much as you wished, if the Olympics ceased to exist tomorrow, that would not mean an increase in funding for ANY of the events or things we personally love.

[KittyWampus]

44. And that does indeed say volumes about our modern society.

[SidDithers]

72. What does it say?...nt

Sid

[fishwax]

67. One of the great things about the Olympics is that they are very supportive of the arts

There are always arts festivals coordinated with the Olympics.

[H2O Man]

20. The Olympics ruined

international amateur boxing.

[Captain Hilts]

22. Interesting! I need to know more about this. Boxing was/is big in the

military community. I remember guys like Dwayne Bobick.

Sweetpea Whitiker is my man.

Did the Olympics make them stars too early?

[H2O Man]

28. Duane Bobick

was a good fighter. Other than the Cuban heavyweight, Teo Stevenson, Bobick would have been the best amateur heavyweight of his era.

And Sweetpea Whitaker remains one of my very favorite fighters. I love those with defensive skills, and he was extraordinary in that sense.

Literally, several other countries (representatives) felt that the US style of boxing made it where our teams won too many titles. And so they changed the amateur rules, so that the sport has become a combination of "light-touching" and "fencing," which puts the US fighters at a disadvantage. Our best teams, from '76 and the '80s, would not "win" as many fights by today's rules. It's a shame.

I think that starting kids young is fine. Of course, a person's career will be an individual thing -- it only goes on so long. Some people do not go far beyond the amateurs. But there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's better than going too far.

As I write this, my son & friends are watching the NYS amateur championships. (If my health allowed, I would have loved to have gone with them.) We've watched one young man, from NYC, since he was 13 or 14. He is now either 16 or 17 -- I lose track -- but I am confident he will be representing the US in the Olympics. I saw him win the NE Silver Gloves twice, putting him in the final four. This kid fought like Whitaker and/or Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather. I've only seen one kid land a punch on him, and remember, this is at a national level of competition.

[Captain Hilts]

31. Oh, man, DO I remember Stevenson!!! He was so tall!

I ADORE Sweatpea. Best pound per pound fighter in a long time.

I remember when he got married in the ring at Norfolk, Scope - where I saw the ODU Women play the USSR National team, by the way.

I remember when I was in Toronto watching Sweatpea fight on TV on a Saturday afternoon and he got totally hosed by the referee and I was so upset and I felt bad I couldn't be there to help him. Damn. It still stings. He fought the better fight.

Bobick was the pride of the Navy and he got his start at the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek gym in Va. Beach/Norfolk.

[H2O Man]

46. Duane was a very good boxer,

both amateur and professional. And he actually had gotten his start long before the Navy years, as he came from a "boxing family." (His brother Rodney, you may recall, was a fair heavyweight, though not nearly as good as Duane. He was 37-7, before dying in an auto wreck in '77.)

Duane followed Ron Lyle as the top amateur heavyweight in the world. By 1971, he had won the National AAU title, then the Pam Am Games -- beating Teofilo Stevenson there. In '72, he won the US Golden Gloves, and it was the "Olympic Trials" year. In their return bout, Teo won.

Joe Frazier managed Duane in the pro ranks. He had impressive victories over guys like Mike Weaver, Scott LeDoux, and Chuck Wepner, building a 38-0 record. Then he fought Ken Norton in '77. His 1-round KO defeat led to a cruel SNL skit, which while funny, hurt him. He won a few more fights, but then lost focus. He was KOed in all of his loses after Norton.

My brother fought on the undercard of one of Duane's fights. We were in the same dressing room as him and Frazier. At the time, Joe was trying to get his undefeated fighter a match with Ali.

I had the opportunity to meet Whitaker a couple of years ago, at the Hall of Fame. I appreciated having the chance to thank him for all of his great fights. He was never a favorite of promoters, and hence was robbed of a number of fights that he definitely won. He defined "hit and don't get hit." I always thought of Willie Pep's statement, "You couldn't hit me with a handful of pebbles," when I watched Pea.

[Blue_Tires]

36. yeah, the way olympic boxing is scored is dubious at the least...

i remember some highly questionable decisions in 88 and 92...i'm sure there have been some since, but 92 was the last summer games i really watched...

[H2O Man]

48. Right.

Look at '84, and compare it to '88.

[H2O Man]

69. Per last night's fights ....

My son said the card was not among the better that he has seen. It will take a while for amateur boxing to rebuild in upstate NY. (NYC is still strong.)

He did bring me three of this year's new BHoF "Ali" t-shirts.

[MyUncle]

39. The Olympics did not ruin amateur boxing.

How can you say it ruined it when if the Olympics did not exist, you would never have ever EVER heard of any boxers in the countries that were then behind the Iron Curtain or Cuba?

I would say the opposite. The Olympics introduced us to athletes we would never have gotten to know. The Cuban boxers being to me the most enjoyable. Every 4 years there we a whole new group of incredible athletes I never heard of and in many instances never heard from again.

[H2O Man]

42. Take your logic

a mere baby-step forward. Most people from the US were unaware of "Iron Curtain" fighters -- though, of course, I was not, being rather well acquainted with the sport -- but learned about them in the Olympics. No problem with that. But this was before amateur boxing was ruined by the IOC.

Today, of course, there are numerous quality professional fighters from those "Iron Curtain" nations. Most of them come to the US. And even among those countries such as Cuba, without professional boxing, real US boxing fans know their best fighters today, not because of the Olympics, but despite them.

[MyUncle]

40. The Olympics did not ruin amateur boxing.

How can you say it ruined it when if the Olympics did not exist, you would never have ever EVER heard of any boxers in the countries that were then behind the Iron Curtain or Cuba?

I would say the opposite. The Olympics introduced us to athletes we would never have gotten to know. The Cuban boxers being to me the most enjoyable. Every 4 years there we a whole new group of incredible athletes I never heard of and in many instances never heard from again.

[H2O Man]

47. I've already answered this.

[proteus_lives]

68. I was reading your posts and I thought of this site.

You mighr be interested in the link.

http://www.badassoftheweek.com/sully.html

[TuxedoKat]

24. I enjoy watching especially the opening ceremonies and

did anyone hear that beautiful song sung by K.D. Lang? I usually don't notice or like songs right away the first time I hear them but the more she sang the more entranced I became.

[Withywindle]

43. Oh yes.

The song is called "Hallelujah," it was written by Leonard Cohen. It's become a standard: lots of people have done beautiful versions of it (John Cale, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright). I know kd lang recorded it on an album a few years back, I don't know what it's called but I'm sure you can find it online.

[TuxedoKat]

50. Yes, thanks

I just now googled it finally. Hard to believe I'd never heard it before, although parts of it sounded familiar. Maybe I just heard some not so good versions of it! What a hauntingly beautiful song. I saw they already had that version for sale on ITunes! I will check out these ones that you mention too though. Thanks!

[Withywindle]

52. It's been used in a lot of movies and TV shows

including "Shrek," of all things. So you probably have heard it before.

I don't know if it really suits the Olympics, but they got a Canadian-content twofer with that version (Lang and Cohen are both Canadian). :D

[TuxedoKat]

53. Okay

Probably that's why it sounded familiar. Yes, I figured out Lang was Canadian but I didn't know about Cohen, cool.

I like your name, "Withywindle" sounds sort of magical, Harry-Potterish or something. Also, it sounds like a good name for a cat! Hope you don't mind me saying that! Obviously, from my name you can tell I like cats. If I could figure out how to put an avatar in of one I would.

[Withywindle]

56. My username is from 'The Lord of the Rings', actually

So you were close! It's not mentioned in the movies, it's just a creepy little river in the Shire.

It would be a most excellent name for a cat. I love cats - I have a wicked little tortoiseshell. :hi:

[TuxedoKat]

57. Ahah!

Well, it's been so many years since I read that trilogy and at the time I wasn't enjoying it, although I loved The Hobbit. I should try reading it again after all these years, now that I know how to really read. I think I would appreciate it now.

[TuxedoKat]

59. You're going to love this...

I was just in the kitchen singing this song and my 7 year old started singing along! She knew it better than I did!

The song "Barcelona" for the 1992 Olympics was a great song too, BTW.

[Withywindle]

45. I love the Olympics too.

My biggest problem is with the way they're covered in the US.

I want to see a LOT more about the athletes from the smaller lesser-known countries. I don't care if they're not really in the running for a medal, it's not about the hardware for me. I want to hear more about their stories.

[asdjrocky]

49. For me the best celebration of our planet is when the sun rises.

Or the way fresh rain smells.

[farmout rightarm]

51. The BEST thing the games do is to bring those kids together...and the worst is that it

promotes nationalism almost to the exclusion of fraternity (moreso among spectators though, to be fair)
\

[JVS]

55. I think they're lame.

[oldlib]

58. The Olympics are great

and they should be a competition of athletes and not of nations. What I truly dislike is the American media counting the medals from each day of competition as a measure of the greatness and success of our country.

[niyad]

64. is this taking into consideration the economic, environmental and cultural destruction that takes

place in the host venues?

perhaps you should check out some of democracy now's programs over the last few weeks on these very issues.

[MyUncle]

77. Nothing is perfect. The Olympics at least aspire for greatness.

Investments are made, resources are spent, events happen. On this planet, wealth does not go to where you might want it to even if nothing ever happened. I argue that 99+++% of the money that would be saved by not having events like the Olympics would not go to the things you would like it to.

Just a guess, not an attack. If the sponsors did not fund the Olympics, it might go to World Cup or Golf or Nascar. It would not go to Planned Parenthood. They are mutually exclusive spending outcomes.

I hope there is something you enjoy in seeing the worlds best young athletes compete. I do.

[H2O Man]

70. Ali & the Olympic Flame

There have been many, many highlights at the Olympics for me. I still put the black-glove statement at Mexico in 1968 near the top. I also enjoyed Big George Foreman, carrying the flag in the ring that same year. And the 1976 boxing team was outstanding.

But the single greatest event featured, of course, The Greatest. Thirty-eight years after capturing the gold in Rome, Muhammad Ali surprised the world when he lit the flame to open the Olympics in Atlanta. Evander Holyfield had carried the torch into the stadium; he passed it to Janet Evans, who brought it up the ramp. Only a very few people knew that she was not going to light the cauldron.

Then came Ali.

I'll never forget that scene.

[RB TexLa]

71. I'd have to go with World Cup over the Olympics for that

[MyUncle]

80. self delete

[bdamomma]

78. I love watching the Oltympics I'm just an Olympic junkie!!

World Cup is great too.