In case you don't have your calculator handy, that is 15 condoms per athlete.
Now, you have to figure based upon religious views or personal beliefs and the fact that some of the athletes are married, we can deduct 4,000 athletes from participating in the sport of "hey you come here often?", that leaves 6,500 athletes for 150,000 condoms...slow down, I got the math for you right here...that makes it an average of 23 per athlete...
Well, I guess that number depends upon how many the track and wrestlers and those frisky archers have used during week one.
But really...is it a sport if people give you a score?
If you are not judged by how fast you are or how many points/runs you score is it really a sport?
Gymnastics, figure skating, diving, synchronized swimming, snowboarding...seriously, how are these Olympic sports?
Don't get me wrong, the people who participate in these EVENTS are athletes. They have to be in excellent shape to participate in their EVENT. But to call these a sport is mind-boggling to me.
You perform and a panel of "experts" give you scores? And these people are from countries other than yours who have their fellow country(wo)men competing against you?
OH sure, tell me, well they throw out the worst and best scores to make it more even.
Seriously? Some 'judge' has a horrible day...they have an argument with their spouse...find out one of their kids is in trouble, find out they can't pay all their bills that month...and then they need to focus to make a judgement on something that in many of these EVENTS happen in less than a blink of an eye and give a score?
Sorry...not a sport if you are not judged by how fast you are or how many points/runs you score.
So, Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the National Football League has called for American Football to be played in the Olympics...
Ummmmmmmm...WHAT???
OK, have you stopped laughing yet? It gets better...Goodell states (he thinks) 64 countries play American Football.
Went to the International Federation Of American Football site, yes Virginia it does exist...and checked it out...Here is some of what I found:
- Argentina - 2 youth 15 - 19) teams listed and 6 19-45 teams. BUT, the last championship was 2008.
- Cayman Islands - it is a FLAG football league...
- Guatemala - web site listed on the IFAF site does not exist.
- Croatia formed a team in 2006..they are the only team that plays 11-11 tackle football. Where they play is anyones guess.
- Israel - the league is known as the Kraft Family - Israel Football League and has 10 teams...OK, that's one so far! (yes, NE Patriots Kraft, the sole sponsor of the league)
- Thailand - 5 on 5 football...nope, doesn't count.
- Kuwait - just joined this year..a powerhouse indeed.
You know the laugh of this all...Baseball which is actually played well in 28 countries (the number competing in this years World Baseball Classic) and the USOC has booted it to the side...along with Softball - where truthfully we did kick major butt.
But I get it Roger...you have been in the spotlight over the New Orleans Saints situation and your all-powerful role as governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, so why not shift the subject to something else.
Unfortunatley bud...this suggestion is just plain stupid.
After seeing all the celebrations over Ryan Lochte's very active love life, I'm guessing he is skewing the numbers a bit. In fact, I'm guessing almost all the swimmers are using more than their fair share.
Jay
Those events you named...sports, I say. And I think you do a disservice to the people who compete in them and, yes, judge them. Yes, there have been scandals. There have been judging errors. But the same can be said of the sports where runs or times decide, too.
Jim Joyce? Ed Hochuli?
A baseball ump or a football ref can have the same issues you describe and make mistakes. There is an element of subjectivity mixed in with the objectivity in enforcing the rules of any game, event, or sport. After all, these people are human.
Vinny, I'd have to agree with Travis on this one, particularly since I'm a fan of gymnastics and (of course) figure skating. There are technical elements that are required, and if you were to compare a vault by McKayla Maroney to a vault by Susie Somebody from Turkey, you'd see a HUGE difference in the quality (height, form, landing, etc.). Additionally, compare a triple Lutz by Michelle Kwan during her 12-year run (say, from the 1998 Olympics) and compare it to the triple Lutz fellow American Tara Lipinski (even though she won the Olympic gold), the differences are clear. Michelle's edging is better.
In 1984, Japan's Yuka Sato won the world championship over France's Surya Bonali. Bonali complained that Sato's program was inferior because it had fewer triple jumps and not even a full set of the triples (Lutz, flip, loop, toe lop, salchow). What Bonali failed to realize was that she herself did not skate on an edge but rather the "flat" of her blade. Sato was and still is a superior skater because she uses beautiful edges to construct her programs.
Their technique might not be measured by time, but they are still athletes competing in a sport.
I like Songbird's argument, and not just because she makes my case way better than I did.
Travis and Songbird...The question was put out there and I do have some wonders...BUT I did state they were ATHLETES. I guess Songbirds comment has shown me that I might need to rethink this whole thing.
Rethink...maybe yes, maybe no. Your opinion is, after all, your opinion. We just beg to differ with you.
Cheers!
BMX racing is an Olympic sport! Really?