# Summer Olympics 2021 ongoing discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** olympic-sports-track\ **Created:** [July 23, 2021, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137 "2021-07-23T12:00:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/161 "2021-07-26T13:28:35Z")
Also under 16 are the Gold Medalist Momiji Nishiya and Silver Medalist Rayssa Leal, both 13 who won today in Women’s street skateboarding. `//i\\` ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/162 "2021-07-26T13:32:24Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Then there was a Jamaican gymnast who did about five seconds on the lower bar of the uneven bars, did a simple dismount, and walked off with a big smile. My wife and I were like “WTF?” The commentators just said how great she was. I mean, WT-everloving-flying-F??! We had to actually pause it and Google to see what the heck was going on because these two numbskulls, who are paid to talk about what’s going on, were too stupid to let the viewing audience know what was actually going on. Turns out this gymnast had torn her ACL on Friday, had to withdraw from most of her events, but still wanted to compete, so she did a short routine on the uneven bars. How hard would it have been for these cheddar-brains to say that? I hadn’t heard this (I’m not boycotting women’s gymnastics, I’m just not very interested) but that’s a great story in the vein of you come, you try, and you do your best. But you’re right, that it’s meaningless to the viewer who wouldn’t otherwise know that unless you tell them. Frankly, that’s why I prefer the live feeds. They often don’t have any commentary, and I’ll take no commentary over bad commentary. When they do, I don’t know where it originates from, but I assume possibly OBS if they do that and not just camera pooling. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/163 "2021-07-26T13:34:24Z")
The Philippines wins its first ever Olympic gold medal. Congrats to Hidilyn Diaz, gold medal winner in Weightlifting, Women’s -55 kg. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/164 "2021-07-26T13:50:27Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > > [@madsircool](#): > > > > This isnt really true. The 1984 Olympics in LA was supposed to be a traffic apocalypse but it turned out to be just the opposite. Some work schedules were adjusted and the traffic was better than a normal August. > > Same with London. It was a huge worry going into the Games, and Londoners were more grumpy about it than usual, but once the games started, everything ran like clockwork. I think those that didn’t fancy being here just went on holiday for a couple of weeks. _Much_ smaller example; in 1995, New Haven, Connecticut hosted the Special Olympics World Games. My mother still remembers the dire warnings on the local TV and radio stations of a traffic nightmare, so many locals avoided downtown New Haven for the duration. The result? No traffic nightmare but also few people attending the events (the competitions of course but they also programmed cultural and other events around this). ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/165 "2021-07-26T14:12:57Z")
I’m watching volleyball, and maybe this is the place to ask a question I’ve had for a long time: why do some teams sometimes have one player on the field with a different shirt than the rest of the team? What does that signify? Is it the team captain? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/166 "2021-07-26T14:20:03Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Frankly, that’s why I prefer the live feeds. They often don’t have any commentary, and I’ll take no commentary over bad commentary. Me too. Bad, inane commentary just makes me want to smash things. Or at the very least, watch something else. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2021, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/167 "2021-07-26T14:21:38Z")
Apparently he is the libero. > **[Why does one volleyball player wear a different color jersey?](https://www.cbs8.com/article/sports/olympics/olympic-volleyball-libero/507-7310f88d-9239-447c-9cb0-42cec15d766b)** > > The International Volleyball Federation introduced the libero in 1996. They never made Beckenbauer wear a different jersey. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/168 "2021-07-26T14:34:01Z")
Ah, thanks, **madsircool**. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/169 "2021-07-26T14:52:06Z")
I just watched the Korean men’s team win the archery gold. They also won the mixed and women’s team gold medals. I believe their women’s team has won the gold medal every single year since 1988. It’s insane. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/170 "2021-07-26T15:20:47Z")
I see that North Korea is not there at all this year. Must be Covid numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/171 "2021-07-26T15:24:02Z")
Sending a bunch of people overseas to possibly be exposed to an infectious disease? Probably not a great idea. I doubt that North Korea is prepared for a mass spread of the virus. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/172 "2021-07-26T16:24:58Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I just watched the Korean men’s team win the archery gold. I watched part of the women’s gold medal match. I think one time they showed the view from behind, illustrating just how high they aim. I’d much prefer to see more of that then the closeup of their faces, the release, and then a jump to the target to see where it lands. Makes the skill involved much more obvious, I think. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/174 "2021-07-26T17:29:17Z")
The skateboarding has to be the most underwhelming new “sport” I have ever seen. One guy fell and his phone popped out of his pocket, and the announcers seem to be speaking in some sort of English-like language. NBC is spending entirely too much airtime on it. Please show something else! The swimming has been pretty good, but there is someone (a coach, or someone in the stands) whistling incredibly loudly and irritatingly, and it is being picked-up by the mic. I wish they would let the US gymnasts just do their thing without super-zooming into their faces. I do not need to see their least expressions as they prepare to compete. And please stop putting Biles onto a pedestal only to tear her down if she is not perfect. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/175 "2021-07-26T17:41:06Z")
As an occasionally-jingoistic-in-matters-of-sports American, I always enjoy watching men’s and women’s volleyball. In both, USA is good enough to have a shot at a medal, but it’s a long enough shot that if they do win one, it’s really exciting. (Spoiler for US men vs ROC, which I watched last night but is also somehow being broadcast tonight, beats me.) US Men lost a heartbreaker three sets to one to Russia, in which all three sets they lost were by 2 points (it’s win-by-2, meaning that’s basically as close as possible). They seem to be in a pool-of-death according to the commentators. Volleyball is the rare sport in which there seem to be powerful teams from basically all around the world. China, Russia, USA, Brazil, Italy, Poland, Cuba… all are or have been elite. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/176 "2021-07-26T18:02:23Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I heard one of the NBC commentators explain to us about 4 times in two minutes how the Olympics only come once every four years. Thank goodness you’re here, Captain Obvious! Similarly, I laugh whenever someone says “It’s been 8 years since so-and-so won a medal!” So… two Olympics then? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/177 "2021-07-26T18:21:13Z")
One of the swimming commentators has been saying that, during the medley relays, switching from breast stroke to freestyle is “exponentially faster” I do not think that means what she thinks it means. Her partner said that there were only three landlocked countries in the world. He meant enclaves. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/178 "2021-07-26T18:48:34Z")
One of my favorite Olympic pastimes every 4 years is rooting for the Chinese to fail to obtain gold medals in diving. Thank you to Tom Daley and Matty Lee for making my day in the 10m men’s synchro. Also, what an amazing men’s gymnastics final. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/179 "2021-07-26T19:10:11Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > The skateboarding has to be the most underwhelming new “sport” I have ever seen. I support all these new events coming in. Love BMX biking(that is still in, right?), but I agree that skateboarding failed to thrill at all. Are there any variations of it coming that will be more interesting than what we saw? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/180 "2021-07-26T19:14:08Z")
We were discussing what would make it more interesting, and the idea is to just turn the skateboarders loose in Tokyo and watch them do tricks out there. The skate park is boring as hell and ends-up making them do the same routine over and over. The other idea I had was skateboarder-cross, like they have in winter for snowboarding. There was a really steep hill used for the cycling event - close that off, and send 8-10 skateboarders at a time down that hill with the hairpins and a few jumps - THAT would be entertaining! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/181 "2021-07-26T19:22:15Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > We were discussing what would make it more interesting, and the idea is to just turn the skateboarders loose in Tokyo and watch them do tricks out there. The skate park is boring as hell and ends-up making them do the same routine over and over. [I thought it was going to be like snowboarding, where they go down a long half-pipe type of thing, doing tricks along the way.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0nJr_cpYWU) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137.md?page=10)