Olympic Games a Waste?
819698
The Games themselves may not be a waste but the pointless tedious cermonies at the beginning and the end are certainly no use to anyone and should be scrapped in favour of a simple parade of all the competitors.\n\nThe construction of new arenas and stadia etc should be justified solely on the basis of the benefit to the local community AFTER the Games.\n\nPersonally I think that one venue should be selected and used for every Olympics ... such as a Greek Island. This will stop all the political squabbling and millions of dollars wasted in competing for the right to host the Games which would be much better spent on just about anything else.
640642
I AGREE WITH YOU BERT\ngolf is not a sport it doesn't require any athletic ability. same with ping pong (although I still think ping pong is cool) it just doesn't require athletic ability.\nBASEBALL AND SOFTBALL DESERVE TO BE IN THE OLYMPICS MORE THAN GOLF OR PING PONG!!!!!!!!!
567735
Who says the Olympics are about unity? The Olympics are about sport, and sportmanship...There are plenty of examples throughout Olympic history where an athlete has chosen to forego competition in observation of the Sabbath or other religious rites. See "Chariots of Fire"\n\nThis is purely between the athlete and their faith, it's not the responsibility of the Olympic organizers to accomodate the religious requirements of every athlete. Instead, it's up to the athlete to decide for themselves if they wish to observe the requirements of their faith.
93846
Its all in the name. Trust me. The Olympics is all the sports with a Big Name...that's it.
81764
you mean at the olympics? no.
316512
Yes, slight problem with this theory though and that is Softball is on the way out. Yes, it will be done in Beijing 2008, but London 2012 has said "No" to softball. And it's unknown whether or not the bids for the 2016 Games have even got the sport considered.
515695
Cities spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build the sports facilities needed to host the Olympics. Even preparing plans to bid on the Olympics cost millions of dollars.\n\nDon't most cities have more immediate needs than the unlikely option of hosting the Olympic games ?
175340
Absolutely NOT. And I dont do football or baseball either. Just shooting and swimming as personal activities. The profesional sports are going to be the fall of our culture.
131664
What they would need to do is divert resources into athletics facilities and provide financing for athletes to allow them to continue to train for the various events.  \nBe selective in which events you choose to support so that you are not in direct competition with some of the world's superpowers.
1157767
The two sports were kicked out of the Olympics, unwanted by international sports officials who felt they were too American for the world sports stage.\n\nThe decision, made during a secret vote in Singapore, is effective for the 2012 London Games, meaning the two sports will have a final fling at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The sports, the first eliminated since polo in 1936, are eligible to reapply for the 2016 Games.\n\nEach of the 28 existing sports was put to a secret vote by the IOC, and baseball and softball were the only two that failed to receive a majority. The IOC then rejected adding squash and karate, which failed to get the necessary two-thirds approval. Softball reportedly was only one vote short of 50% needed to remain.\n\nIOC officials were unhappy about the absence of major leaguers. The NBA has sent its best players since 1992 and the NHL stopped its season for 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics.\n\nSo, basically the IOC wants to blame MLB for not disrupting their season so major leaguers can play in the games.  But who knows for sure. I think the ballot should be made public, but it won't happen...to think, we'll have EXCITING sports like Archery, Badminton, BMX racing, Canoeing, Equestrian, Field hockey, Team Handball, Open water swimming, Synchronized Swimming, Modern Pentathlon, and Table Tennis, but no softball/baseball...utter BS....
90983
You should have said NO back in 2001 when the IOC voted democratically (one member, one vote except for those IOC members from the countries still in the running) to give the 2008 Games to Beijing. In other words, you've rather missed the boat by about 5 years.
145846
no way! come on get a life. olympics come once every 2 years and winter olympics come once every 4 years! try something new. look at skeliten or downhill ski racing instead.
928912
That would just never happen. Even the Tibet situation isn't enough to persuade the IOC to take the games away from China.
421384
Well, I hear, don't know if this is true, that China is presently re-creating NY City.  For the Olympics.  Cool huh, I am sure it must be out of the wilderness.
312546
The Olympics games were not originally an international competition, they were held with in Greece.  They used to be male only competitions, and the men had to compete naked to prove they were male after a woman competed and beat some men somewhere back in history before they had to do it nude.\nThere are many more sports in the modern olympics than there were in the classic games, tho there are some that remain, mainly athletic events such as javelin, discus, jumps and running events.\nDuring the classical period the olympic movement did not have the same ideals as the modern one, and there were no winter olympics.\nThe 5 interlocking rings is a new symbol, though there was a torch in the classical period.\nThe games from classical greece were held to honour the gods, now they are used to spread a message about good sportsmanship and international co-operation.\nRules have become rationalised in the modern olympics, no doubt in the classic games the final decision was made by an important official, probably with a few favourites....
756244
I was not aware that it was not included in the olympics, this is a disgrace. I know a great many female boxers that are equal or greater in skill and determination to thier male counterparts. There is no doubt in my mind that females should be allowed into the olympics for boxing. I've been training in martial arts for far too long to believe that a genetic difference is a great separation of the human race, it's all in ignorant people heads.
1021795
What many of these nimrods fail to see is the **$$$$$$$$$** that the games will bring into the the UK and European economy. \n\nLondon should not need to build too many new facilities (but probably will anyway). The broadcast rights alone will bring in a fortune. Since these rights are negotiated for each country, the sums will be PHENOMENAL! NBC won the US rights for $2.2 billion US. They expect the worldwide totals to exceed $4 Billion when all contracts are awarded.\n\nAs long as the UK avoids overspending and corruption such as what occurred in Athens, then they have a great chance to cash in on the games. The worse they'll have to deal with is the traffic and the South London thugs....but hey, the Brits made the '48 games a huge success and this was only 3 years after the end of WWII!\n\nFrankly, I'm excited by them winning the games, cause they could be great.