# Regarding Certain Olympic Sports **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 20, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664 "2004-08-20T03:45:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/21 "2004-08-20T17:46:42Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > What the hell kind of stupid sport is whitewater kayak racing? > [@Hyperelastic](#): > > It should be followed with interest by at least 0.1% of the population. And just how does that make it a stupid sport? For some of us, sports are based on physical and intellectual challenges, not on popularity with spectators. If you prefer to watch rather than participate, and if your preference as to what you watch is based on how many others also watch, then by all means go watch. But don’t go pitting sports for being stupid on that basis. Hey, whatever floats your boat (oops, I forgot, you don’t paddle, you couch potato or whatever the verb form for couch potatoing might be). ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/22 "2004-08-20T17:51:53Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > Weren’t the Olympics originally played in the nude? Still occasionally applies to wild water paddling, though usually not intentionally. 😃[Ottawa's Phil's Hole](http://my.tbaytel.net/culpeper/OttawaRiversPhilsHole.html) ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/23 "2004-08-20T18:00:40Z")
I’ve gotten nothing but Women’s Indoor Gymnastics this week. Where can I get an eyefull of these beach volleyball wimmen? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/24 "2004-08-20T18:01:18Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > It should be followed with interest by at least 0.1% of the population. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that kayaking does not meet this criterion. If you like to kayak, great, have fun. But they almost eliminated softball, which is far more popular as a spectator and participant sport than kayaking… Far more popular WHERE??? I don’t even know what softball could be, while I’ve seen tons of ordinary people kayaking (in tourist spots, for instance), and I occasionnally practiced it. Popular in your corner of the woods, perhaps… ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/25 "2004-08-20T19:01:33Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > And just how does that make it a stupid sport? > > For some of us, sports are based on physical and intellectual challenges, not on popularity with spectators. > > If you prefer to watch rather than participate, and if your preference as to what you watch is based on how many others also watch, then by all means go watch. But don’t go pitting sports for being stupid on that basis. Hey, whatever floats your boat (oops, I forgot, you don’t paddle, you couch potato or whatever the verb form for couch potatoing might be). OK, it’s not a stupid sport. Sorry if I hurt anyone’s feelings 😛 . But it shouldn’t be in the Olympics. I think it’s interesting how when anyone criticizes sports, they’re immediately accused of being a lazy shit. FTR, I played college tennis. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/26 "2004-08-20T19:04:45Z")
No, silly, it’s not when someone _criticizes_ sports. It’s when someone says “it’s not a _real_ sport,” when those who’ve done it know that it is. Savvy? Again, though, why shoudl it not be in the Olympics? ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/27 "2004-08-20T19:31:13Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > I’ve gotten nothing but Women’s Indoor Gymnastics this week. Where can I get an eyefull of these beach volleyball wimmen? Dude, you’re just minutes away from miles and miles of it! :smack: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/28 "2004-08-20T19:40:21Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > 1. Could the women’s beach volleyball players wear skimpier clothes? How about topless with a thong? As hot as it is in Athens these days, I consider the women volleyball players to be the most sensibly dressed. In fact, except where protective gear is needed, I think all the outdoor athletes should be dressed as skimpily. Even the men. After all, in ancient times they performed in the nude, didn’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/29 "2004-08-20T20:17:50Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > I think it’s interesting how when anyone criticizes sports, they’re immediately accused of being a lazy shit. FTR, I played college tennis. What sport do you play on a regular basis today? ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/30 "2004-08-20T20:22:10Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > 1. Could the women’s beach volleyball players wear skimpier clothes? How about topless with a thong? I can dream, can’t I? ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/31 "2004-08-20T20:47:09Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > I think all the outdoor athletes should be dressed as skimpily. Even the men. That goes DOUBLE for the male swimmers. I am not a fan of Speedos on mere humans, but on these demigods, they should be required! What is UP with those biker shorts they’re wearing now? Show some leg, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/32 "2004-08-20T21:47:56Z")
Well the divers aren’t shy at least. They still wear speedos. I’ve been following the Olympics like some sort of obsessed Olympic watcher. I honestly do not get people who say “such and such” shouldn’t be a sport because it’s “stupid.” I think handball and sailing are stupid, but you know what? The people who actually play handball and sail work damned hard to get to that place in their careers. I’m not interested in the sports as much as I am in the people. I even watched tennis (something I normally can’t sit through) because we’re looking at amazing athletes at the pinnicle of their careers playing and working as hard as they possibly can for the gold. It’s about the beauty of the human body, the grace of athleticism, the awe of the perfect game, strength and skill I could never touch in my wildest dreams. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/33 "2004-08-20T22:04:02Z")
OK, I got one for you: walk racing (or racing walk, or whatever it is). Telemundo’s switched from the boxing qualifiers to this and the announcers were more excited than if someone actually scored a goal in soccer. I didn’t think this warranted its own thread, but someone please explain this to me: it appears to be a sport where all the contestants are given a maximum speed and have to figure out a way to win from there. There’s gotta be something more to it than this, please educate me! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/34 "2004-08-20T22:51:31Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > Dude, they choose to wear that skimpy clothes. Actually, they’re forced to wear bikinis. The international volleyball people made it against the rules to wear one-peice bathing suits, in an effort to get more attention. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/35 "2004-08-20T23:08:32Z")
> [@Yeticus Rex](#): > > Dude, you’re just minutes away from miles and miles of it! :smack: 😛 Sure, but by the time I get home, put the kid down, tend to chores, and have time to even eyeball a scantily-clad bikini beach volleyball player, they’ve all gone home, changed into their skimpy evening duds, and are doing the sixteen-nightclubs-in-one-night tour. This is one of those rare times where the Olympics’ tape delay works in my favor, knowhutImean? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/36 "2004-08-20T23:31:18Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > That goes DOUBLE for the male swimmers. I am not a fan of Speedos on mere humans, but on these demigods, they should be required! What is UP with those biker shorts they’re wearing now? Show some leg, dammit! Ditto the women, of course. The bodysuits they’re wearing now are ridiculous. And, according to something I heard on NPR not long ago, there’s really no conclusive evidence that these newfangled swimsuits actually improve performance; instead they merely seem to be a marketing gimmick. If you’re Speedo, Inc, would you rather sell the briefs which retail about $30 a pop, or these newer models which surely must cost much more? Whatever. We’ve really been enjoying the Olympics this year, which is odd. I don’t remember caring much in 2000 or 1996. Maybe it’s the Greek thing. And speaking of that, I love the way they’re crowning them with laurels as well as awarding medals. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/37 "2004-08-21T00:04:06Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Ditto the women, of course. The bodysuits they’re wearing now are ridiculous. And, according to something I heard on NPR not long ago, there’s really no conclusive evidence that these newfangled swimsuits actually improve performances Oh, I agree with you 250%. I was actually doing a little happy dance when I saw Amanda Beard wearing a _regular_ bathing suit the other night. Those track-outfit-style suits seem counterintuitive to me – isn’t the point supposed to be to _reduce_ drag? How does more fabric = less drag? All I know is … I swam the mile (1650 yd / 1500 m) in college, and you couldn’t pay me to wear one of those ugly-ass things for that damn long. (Of course, I did always threaten to swim nekkid.) Oh, and **pepperlandgirl**? I noticed the divers. Also the water polo players. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/38 "2004-08-21T00:14:29Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > How does more fabric = less drag? Most of the way down in this link - - laminar flow paragraphs: [http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/ViewMiscArticle.aspx?TabId=59&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&mid=437&ItemId=337](http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/ViewMiscArticle.aspx?TabId=59&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&mid=437&ItemId=337) ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/39 "2004-08-21T01:59:43Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > What sport do you play on a regular basis today? None whatsoever. However, my point was that just because I think _your_ sport is dorky, it doesn’t mean I think sports in general are bad. I am going to take it a step further. I claim that any sport that is judged by human beings without the involvement of a timing device, a tape measure, the marks on a playing field, or some similar objective means, should in fact not be scored at all. For instance, if they stopped scoring gymnastics except to decide who advances, it would be an enjoyable exhibition and not a popularity contest or a poll of the conventional wisdom. Figure skating is even worse. Not that any activity that can be scored belongs in the Olympics. I do not, for instance, advocate Olympic “bus rodeos”. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664/40 "2004-08-21T02:51:31Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > I think it’s interesting how when anyone criticizes sports, they’re immediately accused of being a lazy shit. > [@Muffin](#): > > What sport do you play on a regular basis today? > [@Hyperelastic](#): > > None whatsoever. Thanks for confirming my suspicion. > [@Hyperelastic](#): > > I claim that any sport that is judged by human beings without the involvement of a timing device, a tape measure, the marks on a playing field, or some similar objective means, should in fact not be scored at all. I hate to break this to you, but Olympic wild water kayaking is a timed event, not a judged event. Penalties only come into it when a racer bumps into a gate, or misses a gate entirely. > [@Hyperelastic](#): > > OK, it’s not a stupid sport. > [@Hyperelastic](#): > > I think _your_ sport is dorky. OK, so you think wild water kayak racing is dorky but not stupid. What, pray tell, are the attributes of wild water kayak racing that make it dorky? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-certain-olympic-sports/260664.md?page=3)