2024 Nebrasketball Olympics

[Swan88]

 

[hskr4life]

So you're saying I either need to pick up Diving, Shooting, Ping Pong, or Badminton in the next four years?

[hhcmatt]

16 hours ago, hskr4life said:

So you're saying I either need to pick up Diving, Shooting, Ping Pong, or Badminton in the next four years?

 

We needed you to breakdance in Paris

[aphilso1]

18 hours ago, Swan88 said:

 

 

My knee jerk reaction is to say that diving is a sport, while the other three aren't.  But using the Oxford definition of "sport" means the activity needs only the following three elements: physical exertion, skill, and competition.

 

Under that rubric, I have to admit that table tennis and badminton are indeed sports, even if in North America they are relegated to games played while holding a paddle in one hand and beer in the other.  Diving is borderline -- highly skilled, definitely done competitively, but not sure whether it can be considered physically exerting.  Would probably need a former diver to weigh in on that one.  Shooting though? Not a chance.  If it can be performed at the highest level in jeans and eye glasses with your hand casually in your pocket, it simply is not a sport.

 

I hereby reduce China's gold medal count by five.  America wins! USA, USA, USA!

[Navin R. Johnson]

1 hour ago, aphilso1 said:

 

My knee jerk reaction is to say that diving is a sport, while the other three aren't.  But using the Oxford definition of "sport" means the activity needs only the following three elements: physical exertion, skill, and competition.

 

Under that rubric, I have to admit that table tennis and badminton are indeed sports, even if in North America they are relegated to games played while holding a paddle in one hand and beer in the other.  Diving is borderline -- highly skilled, definitely done competitively, but not sure whether it can be considered physically exerting.  Would probably need a former diver to weigh in on that one.  Shooting though? Not a chance.  If it can be performed at the highest level in jeans and eye glasses with your hand casually in your pocket, it simply is not a sport.

 

I hereby reduce China's gold medal count by five.  America wins! USA, USA, USA!

 

I always thought it was ridiculous to count medals won because one swimming event (or whatever individual sport) counted the same as a full team winning a gold.  The men's basketball team for example should be counted as 12 gold medals, one for each player, and not one medal.  Then again, I don't really follow the Olympics very close and I'm glad they are over with so I get the good TV back in our house. 

[HuskerFever]

I'm sure people in China are also arguing that cycling, skateboarding, wrestling, etc. aren't sports either. And I'm sure the same can be said about future sports in flag football, etc.

 

If it's offered, a country has a minimum of 4 years to prepare their team to qualify in that sport's federation to compete. And some of these sports have been around for a very long time. So the USA can decide to fund programs to encourage competitiveness in those sports we're not as good at.

 

Everybody and their dog owned a table tennis set. Nothing was stopping us from taking it seriously and competing. And China's attention to detail and consistency is incredible in diving. USA is losing its dominance in swimming to countries like Australia. We just choose to invest where we think we can win, just as much as China does for their sports (but I think the only difference is that China goes for "gold or nothing" more than we do).

 

Nevertheless, I'm excited that cricket is being added to LA28. We're about to see some powerful teams come through and if you haven't been following, USA beat a #1/#2 powerhouse team this year in the T20 world tournament. USA also has Major League Cricket which started a couple years ago. This is a prime example of some founders investing in the sport in their country in the hopes of competing on the national stage.

[hskr4life]

7 hours ago, hhcmatt said:

 

We needed you to breakdance in Paris

 

I could have taken that chick from Australia.  No 

 

(I think that's how the kids do it these days)

[cornfed24-7]

9 hours ago, aphilso1 said:

Would probably need a former diver to weigh in on that one.

Not a diver. Gonna say at this point in my life that climbing the stairs to get to the board counts as the physical exertion portion. Therefore a sport.

[aphilso1]

5 hours ago, HuskerFever said:

I'm sure people in China are also arguing that cycling, skateboarding, wrestling, etc. aren't sports either. And I'm sure the same can be said about future sports in flag football, etc.

 

If it's offered, a country has a minimum of 4 years to prepare their team to qualify in that sport's federation to compete. And some of these sports have been around for a very long time. So the USA can decide to fund programs to encourage competitiveness in those sports we're not as good at.

 

Everybody and their dog owned a table tennis set. Nothing was stopping us from taking it seriously and competing. And China's attention to detail and consistency is incredible in diving. USA is losing its dominance in swimming to countries like Australia. We just choose to invest where we think we can win, just as much as China does for their sports (but I think the only difference is that China goes for "gold or nothing" more than we do).

 

Nevertheless, I'm excited that cricket is being added to LA28. We're about to see some powerful teams come through and if you haven't been following, USA beat a #1/#2 powerhouse team this year in the T20 world tournament. USA also has Major League Cricket which started a couple years ago. This is a prime example of some founders investing in the sport in their country in the hopes of competing on the national stage.

 

Not sure how one could argue that cycling and wrestling aren't sports.  Skateboarding maybe, just because it isn't an inherently competitive activity.  

 

That being said, shooting isn't a sport at all.  Zero physical exertion required.  Competitive baking is just as much of a sport as shooting.

[AuroranHusker]

On 8/12/2024 at 11:15 PM, aphilso1 said:

 

Not sure how one could argue that cycling and wrestling aren't sports.  Skateboarding maybe, just because it isn't an inherently competitive activity.  

 

That being said, shooting isn't a sport at all.  Zero physical exertion required.  Competitive baking is just as much of a sport as shooting.

 

Shooting and archery are definitely competitive sport.

 

[aphilso1]

11 hours ago, AuroranHusker said:

 

Shooting and archery are definitely competitive sport.

 

 

Why?  Again, physical exertion is a fundamental element in the definition of "sport." 

 

Archery I don't know enough about to state one way or the other.  I'm ignorant as to the amount of physical effort required to pull a bow string and hold it taught.  So similar to diving, I'll just shrug my shoulders and say "I don't know."  But pistol shooting is not a sport.  Does it take skill?  Absolutely yes.  But is it physically exerting?  No.  Not remotely.  I'm saying that both from personal experience and from observation.  If you can win a gold medal while wearing blue jeans, with a hand in your pocket, and not breaking a sweat, it ain't sport.  Don't blame me, blame the dictionary. 

[49r]

I've always felt that the core sports of the Olympic Games are what they are because historically they have some type of military application.  Running, throwing, jumping, swimming, hand-to-hand combat (like wrestling, et al.) and so on, so I can see why rifle and archery events are included.

 

It's things like golf and rhythmic dance that kind of seem tacked on to me.

[aphilso1]

20 hours ago, 49r said:

I've always felt that the core sports of the Olympic Games are what they are because historically they have some type of military application.  Running, throwing, jumping, swimming, hand-to-hand combat (like wrestling, et al.) and so on, so I can see why rifle and archery events are included.

 

It's things like golf and rhythmic dance that kind of seem tacked on to me.

True, military application is the proper litmus test for Olympic events. Can’t wait to watch drone flying, torpedo launching, and competitive contract writing in the 2032 summer games