s/o: NOT watching the Olympics

[Hen]

we will not be watching any of it either, you are not alone. 

[Corraleno]

2 hours ago, HS Mom in NC said:

If someone wants to risk themselves for a greater good like being in emergency services or rescue operations or something like that, they legitimately earn the admiration society has for them.  Sports...no. Just no. Do it if you like it, have a great time, but don't expect oohs and aahs; it's just playing a silly game. Game playing is a nice little hobby no matter who does it or how well they do it.

I think the very concept of spectator sports is nuts with the two exceptions I listed in my previous post. That thing that exists inside some people, making them capable of giving a rat's rear about the location of a ball or how fast a person can run/drive/spin/flip or how far/high they can jump, outside of those exceptions, is something I don't have and don't want. It's in no way relatable to me.

But you could say the same thing about art and music and dance and poetry — they aren't "practical" or necessary, but some people feel driven to do those things and many other people enjoy watching/reading/listening to those who do. I think life would be much less interesting and meaningful if we were limited to only the most practical and useful activities and no one saw any point in trying to express themselves or expand their physical and mental capabilities through art, music, dance, literature, sports, and other "frivolous" things. 

[frogger]

10 hours ago, regentrude said:

Am I the only one who has strong moral objections to the Olympics?

Every time a totalitarian regime hosts, it becomes a propaganda event where international participation is construed as an endorsement of their politics. (And no, having the token Uyghur light the flame does not make the human rights violations go away.)
The energy and water wasted for creating the artificial snow to play on is insane in times of climate change. Why hold the winter Olympics in a region that does not reliably get snow?
Not to mention the general concept of building completely new infrastructure in a new location every four years that then is left to crumble. 

I agree with all this. I am ticked that it wasn't held in Kazakhstan for the same reasons. 

I add I do think courses on bare ground (especially if they are built up) are not only dreadfully wasteful from an environmental aspect but also more dangerous for the athletes. Crashing into a snow is different than falling at high speeds onto the hard ground. 

[frogger]

3 hours ago, HS Mom in NC said:

Yes, it's gone on forever to various degrees in various forms.  We don't have to celebrate/support/participate in it.

So what if sports are safer? If someone wants to risk themselves for a greater good like being in emergency services or rescue operations or something like that, they legitimately earn the admiration society has for them.  Sports...no. Just no. Do it if you like it, have a great time, but don't expect oohs and aahs; it's just playing a silly game. Game playing is a nice little hobby no matter who does it or how well they do it.

I think the very concept of spectator sports is nuts with the two exceptions I listed in my previous post. That thing that exists inside some people, making them capable of giving a rat's rear about the location of a ball or how fast a person can run/drive/spin/flip or how far/high they can jump, outside of those exceptions, is something I don't have and don't want. It's in no way relatable to me.

I doubt most people do it for the ooo's and ahhh's. People like to know they are good at something. They like to be the best they can be. People who just want ooo's and ahhh's probably spend more time daydreaming than working.

 

I'm a practical person. People sometimes give me knick-knacks or pictures for the wall. I think "Great, more crap in my house."  I see lots of women spend gobs of money and time on arts and crafts and guess what, "It doesn't save people's lives. It doesn't feed people or keep them warm and honestly I don't give a rat's ass how great someone is at putting colors on a piece of paper or sewing little colored squares together but guess what? It's part of the human experience and I won't begrudge them wanting to do something well. If they do a great job I will tell them that. They worked hard for it. They may turn out to be starving artists but if it brings them joy then that is up to them. If other people want to support them then it is none of my business. I suppose we could all just farm or build plain square houses or other entirely practical things but I think the world wouldn't be as great a place to live in. 

NFL players may make the big bucks but most athletes make poverty level wages. Nordic skiers just live in their parents basement. 😂  Alpine skiers might actually get ad revenue and such but really they don't make big money from winning, they tend to get money from selling their name. That is no different than selling a painting or making a video or being an actor. If other people want to pay them I don't see what the problem is.

 

Edited to add, oooops, Corraleno beat me to it. 

Edited February 6, 2022 by frogger

[frogger]

9 hours ago, Corraleno said:

That may be true in some sports and in some countries, but I know many Olympians in DS's sport and (1) they had perfectly normal childhoods and (2) they were entirely driven by their passion for the sport, not because someone else was pushing them. DS's former coach didn't even get into the sport until mid-teens, and it actually provided him with a way out of a bad family situation and gave him a future he would never had had without it — he went from a homeless teen struggling to stay in school to an Olympic athlete who went on to have a great coaching career. DS had his first lesson at 14, got serious about it at 16, and is currently ranked 8th in the US (top 4 went to Tokyo); if he decides to get more serious about training and starts doing World Cups next year he has a genuine shot at 2024. Not only was his childhood not ruined by his passion for the sport, it gave a super shy, anxious (and physically clumsy) kid a level of self-confidence he never had.

I totally agree that the Olympics are a huge waste of money and resources and a major propaganda fest. But the truth is that even if the Olympics didn't exist, these athletes would still be training and competing at the same level, they'd just have one less international competition every four years. In some ways a World Championship is more athletically meaningful (although less financially rewarding) than an Olympic medal, because the regional quotas for Olympic teams often results in whole countries being excluded in order to provide adequate geographic diversity, which results in some high-level athletes being passed over in favor of lower ranked athletes from less represented countries. There's nothing wrong with that, that's how the Olympics are designed, but World Championships are often a more accurate measure of athletic accomplishment than the Olympics.

Ditto!

My son raced two guys on the Olympic development team (not qualifiers this year)  today along with a bunch of others. He lost. 😂 Well, he beat a lot of people but not the top ones. But the people I know who are moving to that level just love their sport. It is the fun part of their day.

I do think this is sport dependent. I have a hard time imagining gymnastics is entirely the same way. They peak younger (skiers peak late 20's early 30's) gymnasts peak so young and do such dangerous stuff. 

I think people can push schooling the same way. Want their kids to be the smartest and try to drive them to it. The kid ends up stressed out and mentally unhealthy with a lost childhood. That doesn't make education bad. It means the method of driving someone that way is abusive. 

What sick authoritarian regimes do is child abuse. What overzealous parents do who want to live vicariously through their kids is child abuse but I don't think that makes sports bad. That makes states or parents abusive. Period.

[Ausmumof3]

I see some articles indicating that the Winter Olympics might be the thing that’s held Russia back from making a move in Ukraine? I don’t know how believable it is but it feels really sad to me if true.

We never really watch Winter Olympics as I don’t get much of how the sports work to enjoy it.  So I can’t actively boycott it. I can imagine for those who’ve grown up in countries with those kind of regimes it’s very hard to watch it play out.

[Amira]

Not watching.  Instead, we’re celebrating and remembering the Muslim heritage of western China and Central Asia in any way we can. We lived in a town with a significant Uyghur and Dungan (Hui) population in Kyrgyzstan.  We’ve seen Uyghur friends living in our current country who have been forced to claim asylum in a third country to avoid being deported back to China.  There are almost no Uyghurs left here anymore, even though there was a strong but small community just a few years ago. The repression that is going on in China isn’t just something we read about online, and it’s not only affecting Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Mostly, I’m dismayed at how little pushback there has been on this from most countries.  

While we’re at it, can we pronounce “Uyghur” correctly?  The usual way English speakers are told it’s pronounced is Wee-gur, but that’s influenced by the Mandarin pronunciation of the word.  The “uy” sound is a little more like ü in German. You can hear how it’s pronounced here.   https://forvo.com/word/ئۇيغۇر/

[kristin0713]

12 hours ago, Corraleno said:

There have been suggestions to build permanent facilities in Switzerland, where the the IOC is headquartered, and just always have the Olympics there, which makes a lot of sense and would eliminate a huge amount of pointless waste.

This is a fantastic idea. At the very least, they should rotate between a few locations and that’s it. It’s so sad to scroll through pictures of past Olympic sites. Completely unnecessary waste in this day and age. 
 

11 hours ago, Farrar said:

 

Dh feels that nothing we do makes a difference. It's not like boycotting has any dollar value attached - even a tiny one - because we would watch and follow on actual live TV. 

 

I agree with this. I feel this way about boycotting in general. It doesn’t make a  difference unless it is done on a large scale. I think that standing firm in personal conviction in these instances can give people a sense of “being the change.” I understand that and I think it’s admirable. But personally, I find it pointless most of the time.  

[regentrude]

40 minutes ago, kristin0713 said:

I feel this way about boycotting in general. It doesn’t make a  difference unless it is done on a large scale. I think that standing firm in personal conviction in these instances can give people a sense of “being the change.” I understand that and I think it’s admirable. But personally, I find it pointless most of the time.  

I think this is a very general issue which has not only the aspect of creating change, but also of acting in a way that reflects one's personal values. The vegan who is aware that his foregoing animal products isn't enough to stop humans from slaughtering animals does it because of his personal ethics. The person who avoids packaging waste and composts knows she won't change the society's compulsive consumption and wastefulness, but does it because it is the right thing to do. It's about needing personal integrity to live with oneself. 

[Faith-manor]

22 minutes ago, regentrude said:

I think this is a very general issue which has not only the aspect of creating change, but also of acting in a way that reflects one's personal values. The vegan who is aware that his foregoing animal products isn't enough to stop humans from slaughtering animals does it because of his personal ethics. The person who avoids packaging waste and composts knows she won't change the society's compulsive consumption and wastefulness, but does it because it is the right thing to do. It's about needing personal integrity to live with oneself. 

I agree. I am very well aware that not watching the games has zero effect on China's human rights abuses nor a positive effect on behalf of climate change. It won't stop the depravity of the IOC. But, I don't decide what is ethical for me based on the impact. I choose my ethics for much deeper reasons than that.

It should be noted that there is NO pass for the IOC for choosing Beijing for the winter games. None. If no one else wanted it, don't have it. Artificial snow is WAY more dangerous! It creates much icier surfaces and packs down like pure ice causing a grievous number of serious and life threatening injuries in comparison to mother nature's natural powder. A mix of natural and some man made is doable, and certainly ski lodges at lower elevations or experiencing drought conditions do it though those are nearly always for leisure winter sports where folks are going pretty slow and easy. If no country that has wanted it that had the natural climate to host the winter games, then the IOC should have canceled. Period. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/06/mounting-concern-over-environmental-cost-of-fake-snow-for-olympics

There are many other articles on this as well. I picked that one for being a quick, easy read. I find it interesting that the answer to, "Hey, you are building ski runs on the nature preserve" was, "Let's just re-draw the boundary lines and shrink the reserve." 😡

For the record, we love winter sports. My boys and husband ski and snowboard. If it were not for the ankle disability, I would be right out there with them. But, I do hike the easy winter trails at the lodge. We limit our alpine activities to late enough in the season that we are on natural snow, not man made. None of us want to support the diversion of water from the Great Lakes to ice cannons, and the likelihood of major injury increases when skiing on artifical.

[KungFuPanda]

Ok, but can we call a time out in the boycott to watch the Jamaican bobsled team? My non-sporty son loves them and it’s feeling like Cool Runnings Part II.

[chiguirre]

9 hours ago, frogger said:

I agree with all this. I am ticked that it wasn't held in Kazakhstan for the same reasons. 

I add I do think courses on bare ground (especially if they are built up) are not only dreadfully wasteful from an environmental aspect but also more dangerous for the athletes. Crashing into a snow is different than falling at high speeds onto the hard ground. 

Honestly, Almaty would have been an even bigger goat rodeo than Beijing. Kazakhstan has been having a coup/counter-coup in January. The story is pretty convoluted but this editorial does a decent job of recapping it and putting it into context.

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/1/16/a-coup-a-counter-coup-and-a-russian-victory-in-kazakhstan

[mommyoffive]

10 hours ago, Corraleno said:

But you could say the same thing about art and music and dance and poetry — they aren't "practical" or necessary, but some people feel driven to do those things and many other people enjoy watching/reading/listening to those who do. I think life would be much less interesting and meaningful if we were limited to only the most practical and useful activities and no one saw any point in trying to express themselves or expand their physical and mental capabilities through art, music, dance, literature, sports, and other "frivolous" things. 

Totally agree.  I am not big into sports, performing arts, and music but man when the pandemic shut everything down and there was none of it going on I realized how important that is to my life even though I am not in them, just a spectator.    I remember being a soccer player as a  kid and how it was what I loved to do everyday.  When that is your passion in life it why you wake up everyday and what you want to spend your days doing.   All the people who have passion in sports, writing, arts, music, and on and on make life so beautiful.   

[frogger]

I can appreciate wanting athletes to have a venue and also disliking the Olympics for all the other reasons mentioned above. 

The truth is almost all the sports I know about (relatively few) have other competitions and those are typically yearly. They usually reuse facilities etc. even if it is in a different place every year. The best athletes show up regardless of what country they are from.  So it isn't like there aren't other venues. Everyone knows the audience for the Olympics is bigger though. 

If the audiences shrunk for the Olympics and people started tuning into the World Cup or whatever their favorite sport's competition was then the Olympics would lose revenue. Of course, a few people won't make a difference but in all honesty the crowds drive the ad revenue. The ad revenue is where most of the profit is from what I can see. 

So I can see it making a difference. Although, big name athletes choosing not to participate would probably make more of an impression. 

[KungFuPanda]

3 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Totally agree.  I am not big into sports, performing arts, and music but man when the pandemic shut everything down and there was none of it going on I realized how important that is to my life even though I am not in them, just a spectator.    I remember being a soccer player as a  kid and how it was what I loved to do everyday.  When that is your passion in life it why you wake up everyday and what you want to spend your days doing.   All the people who have passion in sports, writing, arts, music, and on and on make life so beautiful.   

I feel this desperately. My dance classes provided me with exercise, socialization, a respite from caregiving, a creative outlet, and a supplemental income. It also makes dinner time more interesting when everyone at the table has t just experienced the exact same day . . . again. I can only imagine how it feels for teenagers to loose that outlet. At least I was stuck at home with my significant other. To be isolated from peers as a teen is a significant hardship. 

[kristin0713]

8 hours ago, regentrude said:

I think this is a very general issue which has not only the aspect of creating change, but also of acting in a way that reflects one's personal values. The vegan who is aware that his foregoing animal products isn't enough to stop humans from slaughtering animals does it because of his personal ethics. The person who avoids packaging waste and composts knows she won't change the society's compulsive consumption and wastefulness, but does it because it is the right thing to do. It's about needing personal integrity to live with oneself. 

Yes totally. I guess I’m thinking more in terms of, choosing one store over another. For example, Walmart. I know they are not a great company. They don’t treat their workers well. But, we have a local Walmart and the closest Target is 25-30 min away. So sometimes I go to Walmart out of convenience. And if I overthink these things, I’ll make myself crazy.  

[Angie in VA]

I have so many reasons not to watch, including NBC's coverage. They lost me when they spoiled Missy Franklin's 2012 win. 😠

But I am seeking out Nathan Chen's performances, because he is perfection and this is his Olympics. 

Years ago, a beloved board member posted about watching on Tunnel Bear. I watched the UK's coverage some and Canada's coverage. Both were MUCH better than the US's coverage!

 

[katilac]

I think watching or not watching can both be reasonable positions. 

The 1936 Olympics were held in Nazi Germany, leading to Jesse Owens winning four gold medals in front of Hitler and his gang. Delightful! 

I would watch if it were easy to do so. It's really not, so I'm not. 

[J-rap]

Gosh, I understand both sides too.  I know a lot of you have put far more thinking into this than I have and I greatly respect your decision to not watch.  

I've known several athletes who either made it into the Olympics or almost did.  They were just nice, normal people who happened to be very talented athletically.  I think of the Hmong-American gymnist Sunisa Lee who won a gold in the summer Olympics, and how much it meant to her entire community.  I want to support the athletes who worked hard to get to where they did.  They're not doing it for political reasons.  

 

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, Angie in VA said:

I have so many reasons not to watch, including NBC's coverage. They lost me when they spoiled Missy Franklin's 2012 win. 😠

But I am seeking out Nathan Chen's performances, because he is perfection and this is his Olympics. 

Years ago, a beloved board member posted about watching on Tunnel Bear. I watched the UK's coverage some and Canada's coverage. Both were MUCH better than the US's coverage!

 

I watched, if memory serves, the London Games on Tunnel Bear. It was sooooo nice compared to US broadcasting.

[Dianthus]

Not reading all the posts. If you're not watching because of the host country, I hope you're also not purchasing products from the host country. I don't, and it is a huge effort. If I cannot find new products made elsewhere, I resort to buying secondhand or I go without. So I pay more for products made elsewhere or I save money by deciding I don't really need it.

What I don't understand is why does China get to host an Olympics again so soon? They did Beijing in 2008.

Edited February 7, 2022 by Spirea

[Melissa Louise]

Just re infrastructure left to crumble.

It doesn't have to happen. Sydney Olympic Park and venues have had a useful post-Olympics life. 

[catz]

I'm not boycotting.  I do really respect many of the athletes and their stories, so I am following individual events sparingly.  I have been to China and I know the issues better than most.  I agree that boycotting China also means buying nothing made in China.  I have been trying on that front for many years, but that is exceedingly difficult to do.  

Suni Lee (summer gold medalist in gymnastics) is from my city.  She started tumbling out of a gym my kids took rec classes and she had just an amazing story.  Her story was and continues to be such a bright light to the midwestern Hmong community.  She is well adjusted and humble and doing really well at college.  Anyway, supporting young people doing what they love is important to me despite the issues that I know exist.  

I do agree the Olympics should just have a home or rotate between the venues that currently exist.  

[katilac]

31 minutes ago, Spirea said:

If you're not watching because of the host country, I hope you're also not purchasing products from the host country. I don't, and it is a huge effort.  

Good point. 

I also think that not watching organized sports doesn't mean much if you're not, y'know, a sports fan. When a true sports lover tells me their considered reasons they don't watch televised sports, I will listen. I'm no great sports fan, and people should completely ignore the fact that I don't watch sports on a regular basis. 

While I'm getting it all out there - I absolutely love when they include personal stories about the athletes, lol. 

 

 

[wintermom]

11 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

Just re infrastructure left to crumble.

It doesn't have to happen. Sydney Olympic Park and venues have had a useful post-Olympics life. 

That's great about Sydney. The exact same thing is true for the two Canadian cities who have hosted winter Olympics, Calgary and Vancouver. These are the two major centres (often only locations) where athletes who participate in winter Olympic sports train in Canada. 

Edited February 7, 2022 by wintermom

[GoodGrief3]

20 hours ago, frogger said:

My son raced two guys on the Olympic development team (not qualifiers this year)  today along with a bunch of others. He lost. 😂 Well, he beat a lot of people but not the top ones. But the people I know who are moving to that level just love their sport. It is the fun part of their day.

I know exactly where you were, have lots of friends at that race 🙂 One of my daughters was a serious Nordic skier, went to JNs :-)

I agree with you that it is somewhat sport dependent, and parent dependent. I know one of the Olympic figure skaters and I would say he had a somewhat normal life because of exceptionally grounded parents. My daughters were quite involved in figure skating, and I would say he is the exception rather than the rule there, as far as skaters that commit their childhoods to the sport. It's pretty toxic.

[regentrude]

2 hours ago, Spirea said:

What I don't understand is why does China get to host an Olympics again so soon? They did Beijing in 2008.

Because nobody wants to host the Olympics,  since it's such a huge money loss for the host city. There was only one other bid, by Almaty, Kazakhstan. All other candidates pulled out.

[Corraleno]

1 hour ago, wintermom said:

That's great about Sydney. The exact same thing is true for the two Canadian cities who have hosted winter Olympics, Calgary and Vancouver. These are the two major centres (often only locations) were athletes who participate in winter Olympic sports train in Canada. 

Vancouver is currently the leading contender for the 2030 winter games, which would be great because they could reuse a lot of the facilities and there's no controversial politics. Sapporo and Salt Lake City also indicated interest, but Tokyo just had the 2020 summer games and Los Angeles will have 2028, so Japan and the US are unlikely to get the games again so soon — unless all the other bidders withdraw again. One of the most interesting possibilities is a joint bid from Spain, France, and Andorra that would have the big opening and closing ceremonies and skating events in Barcelona, and then the other events would be spread out to other cities in the Spanish & French Pyrenees, with Andorra getting some of the skiing and snowboarding events.

[Murphy101]

I don’t think boycotting means for me what it does for others. 

I am not boycotting anything. I’ve never thought of myself like that. It’s just not how I function. I’m a simple person. I’m not boycotting the Olympics by not watching them for all those reasons previously mentioned. It more that all those things push watching the Olympics below other things I don’t have those issues with.

Boycotts never did and never will replace making laws and social policies that reflect better goals.  Refusing to do business with employers that keep employees in bad situations or poverty wages will never replace having laws and social policies that make it more and more difficult for large companies to get away with those employment practices. 

[Frances]

4 hours ago, katilac said:

Good point. 

I also think that not watching organized sports doesn't mean much if you're not, y'know, a sports fan. When a true sports lover tells me their considered reasons they don't watch televised sports, I will listen. I'm no great sports fan, and people should completely ignore the fact that I don't watch sports on a regular basis. 

While I'm getting it all out there - I absolutely love when they include personal stories about the athletes, lol. 

 

 

Growing up, I loved watching the Olympics, especially some of the in-depth personal stories about the Olympians, filmed in their home countries before the Games. Jim McKay was a wonderful host. I rarely watch anymore because NBC has just ruined the broadcasting. Bob Costas is so incredibly annoying.

[Laura Corin]

6 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

Just re infrastructure left to crumble.

It doesn't have to happen. Sydney Olympic Park and venues have had a useful post-Olympics life. 

Yes, London too. The housing was built on reclaimed industrial land in a previously run-down part of London. 

[frogger]

5 hours ago, GoodGrief3 said:

I know exactly where you were, have lots of friends at that race 🙂 One of my daughters was a serious Nordic skier, went to JNs 🙂

I agree with you that it is somewhat sport dependent, and parent dependent. I know one of the Olympic figure skaters and I would say he had a somewhat normal life because of exceptionally grounded parents. My daughters were quite involved in figure skating, and I would say he is the exception rather than the rule there, as far as skaters that commit their childhoods to the sport. It's pretty toxic.

I can see that. I think different sports have different cultures. Yes, a variety of people can be involved but the overall culture can be pretty strong.  

 

[Corraleno]

I was just reading that one of the big reasons cities are reluctant to host the games anymore is because the IOC now takes such a huge portion of the revenue. Back in the 90s cities could still make money on the games because the IOC's cut of the broadcast revenue was less than 10%, but now they take 70%! So it's very hard for cities to break even, and the 2014 games in Sochi were a serious cautionary tale because they ended up costing over $50 billion —  five times the original $10 billion budget. 

[Meriwether]

11 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

Just re infrastructure left to crumble.

It doesn't have to happen. Sydney Olympic Park and venues have had a useful post-Olympics life. 

I've always wondered (since realizing as a young adult that housing was often built for the Olympic village) why it wasn't built for future low income housing.

[Meriwether]

And, tv has changed a lot in my lifetime. I don't know why we have to have curated viewing at specific times when we could have all events available from streaming sources.

[TexasProud]

5 minutes ago, Meriwether said:

And, tv has changed a lot in my lifetime. I don't know why we have to have curated viewing at specific times when we could have all events available from streaming sources.

They are available. You can watch any event live if you want to.  

[Meriwether]

I meant available to watch an event at my convenience for a few days or a week. I wasn't able to that the last time I looked, but that may have been awhile ago and may have been limited by my own subscription. I'll have to look. My husband only has a couple of hours to watch anything most days. Technically I have more, but not if I want to have a good school day.

[plaidpants]

I just realized I don't watch sport in general for several of the reasons outlined in this thread. It's horrible for the people participating, turns people into commodities, I don't like having advertising shoved at me, I don't like the way women are treated in many of their sports, I cannot stand the commentary... Politics, money, taste... I miss the idea of supportive competition where you learned and improved at practice and then went and had a game or whatever, and yes winners and losers and someone takes the league, but there was less... Angry? Willingness to take anyone down to get yours? I don't know.

 

I don't watch the Olympics for those reasons, but even if I was inclined to, the American coverage is atrocious and I refuse to watch any of it. I can't remember which year it was, but these young skaters from Poland were in the pairs or ice dance and the only thing the coverage would talk about was how close their rink was to Auschwitz. And the modern coverage! Nationalist jingoism! Not even, yay American kids doing their best, just utter trash!

[Murphy101]

5 hours ago, Meriwether said:

And, tv has changed a lot in my lifetime. I don't know why we have to have curated viewing at specific times when we could have all events available from streaming sources.

Amen.  We don’t watch anything that drops an episode at a time or is only available at certain times.  I do not miss scheduling my life by the TV guide. Lol

[Grace Hopper]

Not watching, but just heard a news story about the manufactured snow being looked at the cause of at least one serious accident and a number of falls/incomplete runs. Furthers the thought that the games should be permanently located in a climate suitable to the events. 

[kbutton]

13 hours ago, Frances said:

I rarely watch anymore because NBC has just ruined the broadcasting. Bob Costas is so incredibly annoying.

QFT
We are watching on Peacock, and there seems to be tons less commentary and no Bob Costas.

[Corraleno]

14 hours ago, Frances said:

 I rarely watch anymore because NBC has just ruined the broadcasting. Bob Costas is so incredibly annoying.

And unfortunately NBC has tied up the broadcasting rights until at least 2032

[TexasProud]

Um, you guys do know that Bob Costas hasn't been commentating since 2016, right???  

[itsheresomewhere]

On 2/6/2022 at 9:45 AM, KungFuPanda said:

Ok, but can we call a time out in the boycott to watch the Jamaican bobsled team? My non-sporty son loves them and it’s feeling like Cool Runnings Part II.

I admit I am so excited for them.  
 

It’s Bobsled Time!  

[Frances]

1 hour ago, TexasProud said:

Um, you guys do know that Bob Costas hasn't been commentating since 2016, right???  

Nope, didn’t know that. We don’t actually have TV, so anything I watch is just online. Since Costas is only one of many things that bother me about the NBC coverage, I haven’t bothered checking it out at all this time. It’s a more of a hassle than just turning on the TV and finding the right channel and from prior experience, not worth it. So unless things have majorly changed in the way NBC provides coverage, I’m not going to bother checking it out.

[TexasProud]

12 minutes ago, Frances said:

Nope, didn’t know that. We don’t actually have TV, so anything I watch is just online. Since Costas is only one of many things that bother me about the NBC coverage, I haven’t bothered checking it out at all this time. It’s a more of a hassle than just turning on the TV and finding the right channel and from prior experience, not worth it. So unless things have majorly changed in the way NBC provides coverage, I’m not going to bother checking it out.

And that is fine. Most years I have not watched anything but figure skating.  But I am all by myself in my house, so I like the noise. A lot of times, I am working on something on the computer.  Don't feel like you have to check it out. Just so many people were saying they were not watching because of him, so I wanted to make sure people knew he was not announcing.  Sorry if I offended somehow.

[kbutton]

4 hours ago, TexasProud said:

Um, you guys do know that Bob Costas hasn't been commentating since 2016, right???  

I must've been hearing him in annoyed anticipation because I would've sworn he was still doing it, lol! 

[ieta_cassiopeia]

On 2/6/2022 at 9:13 AM, Ausmumof3 said:

I see some articles indicating that the Winter Olympics might be the thing that’s held Russia back from making a move in Ukraine? I don’t know how believable it is but it feels really sad to me if true.

One of the purposes of the Ancient Olympics was to create a truce between Greek city-states for the duration of the festival. If the articles are correct, then "Winter Olympics stopping Russia from attacking the Ukraine" may be the most traditional thing that has happened all Olympics.

I've not watched the Winter Olympics because I've been getting the vibe this was a particularly badly-organised edition (the most north-east and north-west parts of China, unlike Beijing, still get reliable natural snow*, the COVID-19 app was a mess and less thought appeared to have been put into social distancing than the not-distanced-enough Tokyo Games), in the middle of a pandemic. Hard to get excited about an event when "super-spreader event" is the overriding feeling when considering doing so...

* - The Beijing resorts usually expect natural snow until March, so there is a bit of surprise that artificial snow was needed despite not picking the optimal part of the country. However, it does seem like there was a missed opportunity to highlight parts of China that often get less attention than the capital and reduce the risk of having to resort to technology. Even as a political event, I have issues with how China has proceeded with this event.

Edited February 8, 2022 by ieta_cassiopeia

[LucyStoner]

I’m not happy they are in China and I’m disgusted with the way the world is willing to turn a blind eye to China’s treatment of the Uighurs and other minority groups.  

That said, I am not going to pretend I am not interested in competitive sports.  I definitely am.  

I haven’t watched any of the games this year thus far and I don’t expect to.  When I have had more time though, I usually *do* watch the Olympics.  Mostly for winter I enjoy hockey and the speed skating.  

The Olympics are the pinnacle of competition for a lot of women’s sports and I tend to enjoy following women’s sports.  If someone made a channel just for women’s sports, I’d pretty much have it on all the time, 365 days a year.  A professional acquaintance of mine tried to launch such a network but it didn’t get off the ground.  Someone else is trying now, with a launch this summer.  

Edited February 11, 2022 by LucyStoner

[wintermom]

I tried to enjoy the Olympics and support the athletes' efforts. I'm so disgusted with the doping issues, however, that I can't watch anymore. I'm so done with the world allowing Russia to continually cheat. The World Anti-Doping Agency made recommendations that Russia ignored. No penalty. The Russians are still allowed to have their athletes compete on every international setting, with the only penalty being they don't fly the Russian flag or play the national anthem. Crap "punishment." 

And knowing that the world will most likely stand by and let Russia invade more of the Ukraine very soon is also very upsetting.