Usacomp2k3 wrote:Flying Fox wrote:I just wish you were not saying that because you are anti-China or something.
At this point I honestly am. Just like with the USSR athletes of old, I'm not a fan of state-owned athletes.
The problem is, this has become almost the only way to win (and if a person does not follow that and still win s/he makes a much better story). Call him what you want, but Dan Wetzel
had a point. So you are not a fan of state-owned athletes? How about corporate-owned? It's not that much different. It's not just in the Olympics. Take Formula One (we can leave whether motor racing is a sport as another topic for another day) for example, all the heavy corporate sponsors that are needed for the increasing costs are demanding certain "molds" from the drivers. No more "colourful personalities" and so on.
In the future there is less likely boycotts of the 1980s, plus equipment, technology, and training costs (did they have sports psychologists back in the 60s? not sure) are rising. To cling to the idea that Olympics must be amateur sports is not going to work anymore. People want to see the best, that's why we are back to NBA players in the Men's basketball or ATP/WTA players in tennis, and so on. With NBC paying almost 1 billion for the TV rights, you think they want all the "unknowns" show up every 4 years and people will be flocking to watch? Everyone is as guilty of creating this situation, from the IOC, the individual sport's governing bodies, TV networks, countries, and so on.
fixed