# Here is a thread about the 2016 Summer Olympics **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 6, 2016, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911 "2016-08-06T05:00:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/241 "2016-08-14T00:27:03Z")
(That was soccer i was talking about in the last post, of course) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/242 "2016-08-14T00:42:36Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > The object of a game is to win within the rules. If you’re doing that, the term “cowardly” is inapplicable. That’s clearly an over-generalization. “Cheese” tactics is a well-worn topic for gamers, and it’s no giant leap that similar issues exist in sports. I’m not sure if “cowardly” is the best synonym for cheese tactics, but I strongly disagree that “playing within the rules” is the sole criteria for judging the worth of play. It appears that the Swedes adopted a strategy that is considered cheese in some soccer circles, and those circles consider that strategy to be cowardly. I don’t have any knowledge of the issue other than what I’ve read in this thread, but the absolutist “within the rules can’t be cowardly, by definition” doesn’t pass the smell test for me. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/243 "2016-08-14T01:05:22Z")
Shout-out to Mo Farrah of Great Britain! Stumbled during the 10,000m, and still won the gold! ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/244 "2016-08-14T01:09:46Z")
Yo, Simone Manuel isn’t going to leave Rio with the most medals but, AFAIC, she’s a national hero. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/245 "2016-08-14T01:17:29Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > Shout-out to Mo Farrah of Great Britain! Stumbled during the 10,000m, and still won the gold! Another Gold for a British Muslim. We can assume there won’t be any talk of cowardice about the other 36 runners in the final. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/246 "2016-08-14T01:19:42Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > It’s not a question of words meaning “whatever I want them to mean.” I simply don’t concede that it is axiomatic that acting in one’s own rational self-interests =/= cowardly. For example, in college basketball, zone defense is something that is completely within the rules of the game, has been part of the game for decades, and is considered by (many) coaches, (some) players, and (many) fans alike to be reasonable and justified strategy. I happen to think that zone is for cowards. Your first sentence contradicts your last. I hate to introduce an actual definition into this discussion but “cowardly” means lacking courage. And “courage” means the ability to do something that one finds frightening. Do you think the Swedes were _frightened_ of playing an attacking game? Of course they weren’t. They just didn’t think that would be a winning strategy. That’s what is childish and insulting about saying they were cowards. This asshat was accusing them of being frightened (a personal insult) when actually they were just being smart. Doing something bold that could possibly allow one to win when there is a conservative strategy that is far more likely to achieve that result isn’t courage, it’s recklessness. I’m not sure what the word is for lacking recklessness, but whatever it is, it’s the only word this whiny bitch was entitled to use. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/247 "2016-08-14T01:25:09Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Your first sentence contradicts your last. I hate to introduce an actual definition into this discussion but “cowardly” means lacking courage. And “courage” means the ability to do something that one finds frightening. > > Do you think the Swedes were _frightened_ of playing an attacking game? It’s not the most implausible proposition I’ve ever heard of, let’s put it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/248 "2016-08-14T01:26:57Z")
Italy goes 1-3 in the men’s 1500m freestyle, after having never won a medal in this event. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/249 "2016-08-14T01:36:36Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > It’s not the most implausible proposition I’ve ever heard of, let’s put it that way. LOL. I don’t think you’ve met many Swedes. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/250 "2016-08-14T01:45:19Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > It’s not the most implausible proposition I’ve ever heard of, let’s put it that way. If you live by piss poor arguments, you die by piss poor arguments. It’s not implausible that you are wrong about this entire subject. If that’s a good enough basis for you to consider the Swedes to be cowards, it’s a good enough basis for me to consider you to be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/251 "2016-08-14T01:45:43Z")
Bra v Col is a spirited match 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/252 "2016-08-14T01:46:45Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > LOL. I don’t think you’ve met many Swedes. Fair to say. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/253 "2016-08-14T01:47:04Z")
And 5 minutes added time in the first half? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/254 "2016-08-14T01:48:22Z")
Ibtihaj Muhamad, the American fencer who got a lot of attention for fencing while wearing a hijab, won a bronze medal today as part of the saber team. ---
**Author:** ![Tierce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Tierce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tierce)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/255 "2016-08-14T01:50:53Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Ibtihaj Muhamad, the American fencer who got a lot of attention for fencing while wearing a hijab, won a bronze medal today as part of the saber team. Four medals for the US in fencing. Not as good as Beijing, but better than London, better than Athens, and better than the latter half of the twentieth century… ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/256 "2016-08-14T02:06:01Z")
Congratulations to the USA women for winning the 4x100 IM relay. The most interesting subplot of this race to me is, after running her mouth, Lilly King ends up getting outswam by Yulia Efimova in two out of the three races they swam head-to-head. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/257 "2016-08-14T02:32:48Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Ibtihaj Muhamad, the American fencer who got a lot of attention for fencing **while wearing a hijab** , won a bronze medal today as part of the saber team. Is that pertinent or important in any way? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/258 "2016-08-14T03:00:47Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > LOL. This is instructive. I’d be interested to see a full list of things you think are cowardly. > > Using the brakes in your car, perhaps? > Declining to eat uncooked chicken? > Refusing to call your boss an asshole if he tells you to work overtime? > Complying with the police officer who demands your license and registration? Telling your wife that she looks great in that dress? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/259 "2016-08-14T03:08:12Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > Is that pertinent or important in any way? No, She was the [politically correct](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/04/ibtihaj-muhammad-olympics-muslim-american-fencer-trump)choice to make at an event that denies political statements. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911/260 "2016-08-14T03:47:41Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > Is that pertinent or important in any way? Some anti-Muslim people were hoping she would lose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-is-a-thread-about-the-2016-summer-olympics/761911.md?page=14)