- 04:09 AM
- 12/22/24
| Gender: | I'm all for it. |
|---|---|
| Member since: | February 03, 2002 |
| Last visit: | March 21, 2002 |
NortonDC has posted 0 links and 5 comments to SportsFilter and 0 links and 0 comments to the Locker Room.
Prince Valium - If interaction with opponents is a prerequisite to legitimacy, then downhill skiing, most track and field events, gymnastics, and figure skating are out.
Strawman.
Read what I wrote. It includes this important qualifier: "If the activity itself isn't that exciting to watch..."
That describes bowling. It does not describe downhill, gymnastics or figure skating, though it does describe ice dancing and much of track and field.
Much of track and field, however, is redeemed by it's head-to-head nature, highlighting the agon that was the foundation of ancient Greek Olympic competition (FYI - the Greeks never even tried to time events, it made no sense to them, it was purely about beating the other man right beside you).
Many Olympic competitions, even those non-interactive and non-head-to-head ones are exciting to watch.
Uneven bars still blows my mind every time.
Lifting f'ing scares me.
Ice skaters push the boundaries of human strength and coordination. Bowling, despite the enjoyment it brings to me to pursue, does not floor me like these things do, it does not push me to redefine my ideas of what humans can do.
Brettski - We can lose all sports that need a judge for a start (Gymnastics, Ice dance, synchronised swimming)
Start by naming a single Olympic sport that doesn't involve a judge. I dare you.
Second, should you find any, does their existence mean we should drop boxing? Wrestling?
posted by NortonDC at 01:26 PM on March 01, 2002
In curling you interact with your opponents' play, correct? In bowling you do not. If the activity itself isn't that exciting to watch, you need that direct interaction to heighten interest. Croquet would be a more exciting spectator sport than bowling. And I used to be a regular bowler as a kid. Somehow I never started smoking, though...
posted by NortonDC at 05:09 PM on February 27, 2002
I was fortunate enough to catch what just may have been Jordan's last great NBA performance Saturday at the sold-out game against the Heat. 37 points. It makes me feel both sad and honored to think about how things may turn out.
posted by NortonDC at 08:48 AM on February 27, 2002
jennak - Every observation in your comment contradicts your judgement of the message communicated by the SI issue. There is some serious dissonance between your observation of the year-round content and the word "just."
posted by NortonDC at 11:53 AM on February 24, 2002
Prince Valium - Bowling is more interesting to me than figure skating, and I could find a small army that agrees with me.
First--"Interesting" is not "exciting."
Nothing about watching the ball roll down the lane is anywhere near as exciting as any halfway competitive throw in pairs skating.
Second--"Interesting" is not the same as "interesting to watch." Third--Your "small army" would be much smaller than the large army watching skating any time it's up against bowling.
you can't argue that we're actually trying to emulate the ancient Greeks
Correct, nor am I saying we should. I am saying that the top Olympic priority of the Greeks, the agon, is what keeps running around an oval while never leaving your lane dramatic to watch: the head-to-head simultaneous struggle to beat that man straining to do the same thing one lane over.