Comments on: Medal Tally http://www.bananasontoast.org/2004/08/30/medal-tally/ Just another WordPress weblog Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:32:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: The Backflipboy http://www.bananasontoast.org/2004/08/30/medal-tally/comment-page-1/#comment-219 The Backflipboy Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.bananasontoast.org/?p=239#comment-219 I was reading the historical section of the newspaper during this sports event and the general idea I got of the whole shebang when the "Modern" Olympics was started was tht it wasn't about winning or losing, but participating. Somewhere along the line, the whole thing has become twisted into a political plaything and an "us and them" attitude mars what should just be something fun. The introduction of professional athletes with the "win at all costs" attitude has completely taken the spirit out of the event. Just look at the drug cheats and how the legal system benefits when someone doesn't get picked to go. I was reading the historical section of the newspaper during this sports event and the general idea I got of the whole shebang when the “Modern” Olympics was started was tht it wasn’t about winning or losing, but participating. Somewhere along the line, the whole thing has become twisted into a political plaything and an “us and them” attitude mars what should just be something fun.

The introduction of professional athletes with the “win at all costs” attitude has completely taken the spirit out of the event. Just look at the drug cheats and how the legal system benefits when someone doesn’t get picked to go.

]]> By: Mitch Malone http://www.bananasontoast.org/2004/08/30/medal-tally/comment-page-1/#comment-220 Mitch Malone Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.bananasontoast.org/?p=239#comment-220 Yeah, I think that "winning at all costs" is stupid, but I do believe that the Olympics should be competetive. It's a way of a country to showcase their sporting achievements and I think that as an athlete it would be important to me to be able to show my country how good I am. Apart from a very select sports in most countries, a large majority never get noticed until the olympics, so if it was my only chance show my country what I could do. I think that the mateship and fun is reserved mostly for the spectators. I don't think there is anything particularly brutal about the spectators and I think that most people tend to get along in the crowds. I remember when I was in Sydney at the time of the 2000 Olympics, me and my mates sat in a pub on Darling Harbor and spoke to so many different people from different countries and had a blast! :) Yeah, I think that “winning at all costs” is stupid, but I do believe that the Olympics should be competetive. It’s a way of a country to showcase their sporting achievements and I think that as an athlete it would be important to me to be able to show my country how good I am. Apart from a very select sports in most countries, a large majority never get noticed until the olympics, so if it was my only chance show my country what I could do.

I think that the mateship and fun is reserved mostly for the spectators. I don’t think there is anything particularly brutal about the spectators and I think that most people tend to get along in the crowds. I remember when I was in Sydney at the time of the 2000 Olympics, me and my mates sat in a pub on Darling Harbor and spoke to so many different people from different countries and had a blast! :)

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