my unpopular opinion is that they are a waste of time and effort.
I would have no problem with a few internationally funded standardized Olympic facilities with rotating hosts that offer their nations cuisine and hospitality to the games.
Sort of a reverse tourism thing.
The sports and competition are not. Will my kids ever be Olympic athletes? Probably not. But there’s been a hell of a lot of pretending going on at my house the past month, and I like that.
Is moving the Olympics ever 4 years and building bigger, more elaborate facilities purely as a dick measuring contest a waste of time and effort? Absolutely, 100%.
They should just pick a location and stick to it. Same with the World Cup.
You could say the same to your favourite sporting events like MMA, Superbowl, Euro Finals, Copa America, and even e-sports, etc.
I can see where you’re coming from but the Olympics is a healthy way for countries to compete with each other, instead of going on battlefields. Like the other poster mentioned, the Olympics promote international cooperation. For example, even though China is getting a bad rap in international politics, their athletes have notably been professional and wholesome which boost their country’s image.
I also think that the high prestigious image of the Olympics will inspire more people to pursue sports; regardless of whether or not they will want to compete in the event. It’s still good to be healthy!
Basically all professional sports.
I believe sports should be done for fun and exercise. Not as a professional career.
Almost nothing good comes from professionally played sports. It only brings the worst of human beings.
The original olympics promoted well-rounded athletes who would compete in many sports, not just yak-shaving on one particular sport.
I think the spirit of the original olympics was more humanistic, as it was implicit that some athletes would be good in some events but not so good in others, a.k.a they were all winners
While I certainly believe many sports events are really just a waste of money, Olympics is probably not.
Not only does it serve as a way to promote sports worldwide, boosting public health and inspiring people, it also is a remarkable feat of international cooperation, contributing to the relative peace and harmony.
Now, all those football leagues and stuff should really vanish. They cost way more than their benefit could ever be.
contributing to the relative peace and harmony.
There’s no way you’re talking this way about the Fucking Olympics…
remarkable feat of international cooperation
But it shouldn’t be political. Get rid of the countries endorsement of said athletes, so that both israeli and russian athletes can compete, instead of deciding which one depending on political affiliation.
Of course that would turn the olympics into a purely individualistic endeavour¹, and funding for training athletes would likely fall on private enterprise² who would likely only fund already good budding athletes³ instead of funding schools and communities in general.
¹ - read: “Go Bell!” instead of “Go GB!”
² - read: replace country badges with BMW logos
³ - read: rich kids from good homes
So, in conclusion: *shrug emoji*
Russian athletes not being able to compete has nothing at all to do with constant doping scandals and is purely political?
LOL give me a fucking break
