Actually, it’s more like the white-water event. It involves having my head in close proximity to rapidly swirling water.
Ok, maybe not Speedos, I was just trying to think of something analogous to the women’s bikinis.
I definitely know which outfits you are talking about! While I prefer men with a little more meat on their bones, I can’t help wondering just how high you could bounce a gold medal off the stomach of some of those swimmers. wow
Oh, by the way, I am thinking that with a little talcum powder and some serious determination you could get those suits off pretty quickly.
Then why are they wearing anything? They could have somebody paint their country’s name on their backs and be done with it.
I just want to say that it’s about time the IOC gave straight men something to watch during the Summer Games. Too long has primetime been clogged with men’s basketball, track, and diving with the only major women’s sport being gymnastics, and as Ferret Herder said, most of them are underage or look it (though there was this Russian on the balance beam tonight who looked 22). Beach volleyball is easily the greatest sport to hit the Olympics in decades and ever since the rules were changed to prevent a repeat of Katerina Witt falling out of her costume it has replaced figure skating in my heart.
But I am still not as shallow as BobLibDem.
Whenever I feel like a slime for ogling Mohini Bhardwaj, I’ll think of BobLibDem and not feel so bad.
Yep. 'Bought time Ron Jeremy got a gold medal.
That turns out not to be the case. I took the liberty of opening that webpage (which, incidentally, sucks) and http://www.fivb.ch/en/beachvolleyball/rules/rules.htm actually does have a link to a PDF file named “Beach Volleyball Official Uniforms’ Guidelines for the Olympic Games 2004”. The link is, however, broken.
Dude, she’s 26. What state do you live in?
Not only that, she’s been able to stay in the sport because of financing from Pamela Anderson (Lee).
Ogle away. Just don’t let the wife/gf catch you.
A report I heard on NPR yesterday seemed to say that the bikinis were required for the women for the Olympics. I have been unable to find online documentation of that, however.
It would appear that the bikini is regulation wear. I’m still not sure if it’s the ONLY thing a competitor can wear, though. FIVB website still doesn’t want to cooperate.
But McPeak has exactly the right attitude. If it’s a side benefit that puts butts in the seats, and it doesn’t take away from how the game is played, then so be it. It’s still the score that matters.
I disagree. I don’t think “butts in the seats” should be the bottom line. The Olympics isn’t just about making money. There ought to be a certain amount of dignity, as well as tradition, to the games. I realize that the first Olympic competitors were nude, but I doubt that the reason for that was to titilate.
Ummmm…
Re-read (or just read) my words that you quoted.
You aren’t disagreeing with me. Butts in the seats is not the bottom line.
But hey, if you want to go to a beach volleyball game or a gymnastics meet or a rowing regatta BECAUSE we wear tight clothes, hey, your money is just as green as anyone else’s. And I’ve got no chance of making you a fan if you aren’t at the event. So come for a bogus reason. Stay for the real reason.
I could have sworn I saw some women’s beach volleyball this week where the women were wearing one-piece outfits. And no, they weren’t topless. Peach or orange fabric, don’t remember the country, but it was central European… dang. Short-haired blonde ladies. Not wearing bikinis.
Oh, excuse me. All right, it shouldn’t be a “side benefit” then, Mr. Particular.
Sorry, you might be Ms. Particular. Don’t want you busting my balls for that, either.
Having read only the OP, I predict that at least 50% of the replies defending beach volleyball as an Olympic sport focus on the appeal of watching buff bodies in skimpy swimsuits. I shall now go and read the rest of the thread. I promise to come back here and eat crow if my prediction’s wrong. 
The tallying was trickier than I expected, but I think the pro-cheesecake ratio of pro-beach volleyball responses worked out to something like 12/22. IOW, no crow for me. Y’all in the Pit are getting too predictable. 
What I want to know is - why isn’t Dog Agility (at the Masters/Elite level) an olympic sport yet? It requires a hell of a lot more energy and physical involvement from the handler than all the equestrian “sports” combined!
YEAH!
Link to FIVB Beach Volleyball Regulations for Athens Warning: PDF
The relevant section:
and
There’s a lot more detail in the PDF.
Basically, they can choose between a one piece or two piece outfit, but it has to be very form fitting made of some kind of stretchy/elastic material.
Oh, it’s Mr. Particular.
And why shouldn’t it be a side benefit? If you play a fringe sport, which beach volleyball certainly is, then you DO want to fill seats. Cheesecake gets people to the games. Hopefully interest keeps them there. But one way or the other, the more successful the Tour is, the easier it is for the players to make a living at volleyball and not have to wait tables in the offseason. No “real” job offers months off for National Team training. Mine didn’t. Neither did those of any other National Teamer I’ve met (and that’s been quite a few).
Women who watch the NFL go ga-ga over the butt factor (Sorry, ladies, but most of it is padding). If you think many women at NBA games are there exclusively for the purity of the sport, you’re mistaken. That may be part of it, but it’s not all of it, and who cares?
I like beach volleyball. I think it’s fun to watch, and I get ito the matches. But I’m not ignorant of the fact that Misty May is ridiculously hot, and I refuse to pretend to be.