# Why should I care about the Olympics **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 17, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560 "2012-07-17T21:25:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tellthetruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@tellthetruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellthetruth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/1 "2012-07-17T21:25:42Z")
Other than the patriotism of it…USA USA, our teams winning medals, who cares about the Olympics? When is the last time anyone scoured the channels looking for broadcasts on track and field and swimming? I wish our corporate masters would stop trying to shove the Olympics down our throats. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/2 "2012-07-17T21:27:36Z")
I find it fun, why don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![tellthetruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@tellthetruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellthetruth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/3 "2012-07-17T21:30:59Z")
I might if I enjoyed the sporting events… ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/4 "2012-07-17T21:33:02Z")
With DVRs and such, I’ve found the whole two weeks relatively easy to ignore. I liked to watch in the 1970s, but the hype since then has turned me off. I think our corporate masters might be trying to shove the Olympics down our throats, but we can foil their plans. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/5 "2012-07-17T21:33:55Z")
Moved to The Game Room from Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/6 "2012-07-17T21:38:01Z")
OP: _ **Why should I care about the Olympics** _ You shouldn’t. And neither should anyone else. Everyone should be like me, and vow to only care about the Olympics again when they return to only allowing amateurs to compete. And having the Summer and Winter Olympics both take place in leap years. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/7 "2012-07-17T21:42:35Z")
The Agony of Defeat. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/8 "2012-07-17T21:45:16Z")
Maybe if they advertised more or showed more commercial endorsements, I might be interested. [/sarcasm] ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/9 "2012-07-17T21:47:29Z")
For the glory of sport. I don’t care about any of the major team sports played in the U.S., but there’s something about the “higher, faster, stronger” purity of Olympic events – particularly the track & field events and weightlifting – that I find compelling enough to watch every four years. After a really upsetting scoring kerfuffle at one Olympics, I was annoyed enough to sit out the next one completely. I didn’t really miss it, but 2 years later I was back and watching again, and feeling like it was worth it. The patriotism aspect has no influence on me at all. I root for the athlete I find most interesting (recognizing that the particular broadcast I’m watching can have a huge influence in that regard), without caring whether he or she is an American. ---
**Author:** ![Bilbo1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bilbo1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bilbo1967)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/10 "2012-07-17T21:48:26Z")
So the OP doesn’t like sport. In what way is that worthy of a thread? If you don’t like sport, don’t watch the Olympics - it’s not rocket science. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/11 "2012-07-17T21:48:38Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The Agony of Defeat. That wasn’t at the Olympics. That was from the 1970 Ski Flying (120 meter jumping) Championships, an event that isn’t in the Olympics. They only do 70 and 90 meter hills. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/12 "2012-07-17T21:49:08Z")
If you don’t want to watch, then watch any other station than NBC and its sister networks and you’ll be mostly fine then. Be careful as ESPN will have some highlights during Sportscenter after the NBC embargoes are passed for the events. It’s no skin off your’s or anyone else’s back if you don’t watch. Your corporate masters really could give a flip. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/13 "2012-07-17T21:49:59Z")
:rolleyes: I don’t like sports, why are sports shown on TV, waaaahhh… ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/14 "2012-07-17T22:06:18Z")
There is an inverse relationship between Olympic success and the quality of a nation as a whole. [Some college professors told me this.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=658662) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/15 "2012-07-17T22:29:05Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > That wasn’t at the Olympics. That was from the 1970 Ski Flying (120 meter jumping) Championships, an event that isn’t in the Olympics. They only do 70 and 90 meter hills. Whoops. Good eye. But I maintain that for many watching events like The Olympics, NASCAR, UFC, etc the highlights are the relatively rare disasters. ETA: sit in a bar sometime when an event is on TV. Most people only stop their conversations to see replays of the wrecks. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/16 "2012-07-17T22:52:15Z")
> [@tellthetruth](#): > > Other than the patriotism of it..USA USA, our teams winning medals, who cares about the Olympics? I do, but only in the winter, when they have curling. > [@tellthetruth](#): > > When is the last time anyone scoured the channels looking for broadcasts on track and field and swimming? Just last week, a guy in Encino, California did this. > [@tellthetruth](#): > > I wish our corporate masters would stop trying to shove the Olympics down our throats. If only there were hundreds of TV channels, so nobody could “cram anything down our throats”. Or better yet, if only there were some sort of electronic portal that would allow one to read about or watch anything at any time. Well, we can dream. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/17 "2012-07-17T22:57:06Z")
I maintain, probably incorrectly but it’s my sovereign right to maintain it anyway, that going to a split year schedule was a mistake. Now it feels like “oh, another Olympics”. Really, my formative Olympics memories were all of the 70’s and 80’s when it was East vs West and free burgers at McDonald’s and stuff. How does one compete with that? ---
**Author:** ![gvozd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gvozd/32/7301_2.png) [@gvozd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gvozd)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/18 "2012-07-17T22:58:55Z")
You should not care if you do no want to care. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/19 "2012-07-17T23:00:53Z")
The Olympics are awesome. I am continually impressed with the drive that people show throughout the games. I don’t particularly root for the U.S. (although that’s perhaps the default if no one else is particularly engaging), but the bredth of events and the class of competition is breathtaking. Where else are you going to see Benjamin Boukpeti roar in elation and break his paddle over his canoe after earning Togo its first ever medal? How about Petra Majdic earning a bronze medal in the cross-country sprint while skiiing with five broken ribs and a punctured lung? Or Zhang Yining and Wang Nan bashing the shit out of a ping pong ball at each from three feet off the table? At its core, high-level sports is about the triumph of the human will over the limitations of the human body. And when it’s good, it’s breathtaking. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560/20 "2012-07-17T23:31:19Z")
> [@tellthetruth](#): > > I might if I enjoyed the sporting events… If only it were about sports I would watch it. I personally have no interest in watching 500 hours of bathetic stories of dead grandmas, Autistic brothers, car accidents, and being cut from the JV squad of a popular sport. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-should-i-care-about-the-olympics/628560.md?page=2)