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Ask HN: What caused the Olympics to become so terrible?

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Re: Ask HN: What caused the Olympics to become so terrible?

#51

Post by mint2 »

goodguyamericun wrote: post #24

It went wrong because you think anyone you don't like is propaganda. For the likes of you fb is propaganda and twitter is harbinger of truth. Fox news is a lie but the "Russia collusion" nyt is truth. America is the upholder of democracy and china, where there are no daily riots by blm is somehow a bad place

None of those comparisons make any sense. No one thinks like that even in a hyperbolic sense.

The final one really takes the cake, simultaneously repeating the right wing propaganda that Black Lives Matter protests were are all riots when less than 5% had any violence, and also implying countries that don’t allow protests about equality are a better place, and specifically a country known to abuse minorities.

Re: Ask HN: What caused the Olympics to become so terrible?

#52

Post by thatwasunusual »

PaulHoule wrote: post #7

The model of "go to a new place every four years, build an Olympic village and a bunch of athletic facilities" doesn't work economically. It doesn't make enough money in the short term, and the facilities don't get enough use in the long term to justify it either. That makes it hard for a city in a free society to want to be the host. The costs are very real but the benefits are elusive. Probably the last time the Ol…

> Probably the last time the Olympics were profitable to the host city was the 1984 Los Angeles games

The 1994 winter olympics in Norway did make a profit.[0]

[0] https://www.nrk.no/ytring/mytene-og-sannheten-om-ol-1.111989...

Re: Ask HN: What caused the Olympics to become so terrible?

#53

Post by dehrmann »

Alex3917 wrote: post #16

> We use to follow the stories of the atheletes The advent of the Internet made it much more widely known that the athletes are being badly exploited and forced to risk getting permanently injured or killed in order to make more money for the corporations that run the Olympics, so it no longer seems ethical to prop it up by paying attention. Especially since several do die each year while training. Also the fact that…

> athletes are being badly exploited

This is all high-level sports. You just get paid less for sports no one cares about.

Re: Ask HN: What caused the Olympics to become so terrible?

#55

Post by bufferoverflow »

mucholove wrote: post #42
PaulHoule wrote: post #7

The model of "go to a new place every four years, build an Olympic village and a bunch of athletic facilities" doesn't work economically. It doesn't make enough money in the short term, and the facilities don't get enough use in the long term to justify it either. That makes it hard for a city in a free society to want to be the host. The costs are very real but the benefits are elusive. Probably the last time the Ol…

Barcelona 92 was the Olympics that most benefited a city. What a wonderful city! And amazing port / beach transformation.

And that Freddy Mercury song...

Re: Ask HN: What caused the Olympics to become so terrible?

#56

Post by telesilla »

mucholove wrote: post #42
PaulHoule wrote: post #7

The model of "go to a new place every four years, build an Olympic village and a bunch of athletic facilities" doesn't work economically. It doesn't make enough money in the short term, and the facilities don't get enough use in the long term to justify it either. That makes it hard for a city in a free society to want to be the host. The costs are very real but the benefits are elusive. Probably the last time the Ol…

Barcelona 92 was the Olympics that most benefited a city. What a wonderful city! And amazing port / beach transformation.

Depends on who you talk to! Infrastructure yes, but came with it waves of unsustainable tourism.

Re: Ask HN: What caused the Olympics to become so terrible?

#58

Post by WriterGuy2021 »

There are many more things competing for people's time and attention. Also, nationalism is waning in many places due to globalism. The Olympics is inherently a nationalistic event. If you don't buy into these artificial divisions of mankind, the whole flag-draped charade is nauseating. Not to mention the outright absurdity of the idea that national representatives competing against eachother in sports has any significance whatsoever.

For me, the precariousness of our time has made me sober up. I'm sick of spectacles. I want real answers and substantive initiatives that work towards solving the problems of our age. Not sports, not bread and circuses, for goodness sakes!

Re: Ask HN: What caused the Olympics to become so terrible?

#59

Post by mym1990 »

Alex3917 wrote: post #16

> We use to follow the stories of the atheletes The advent of the Internet made it much more widely known that the athletes are being badly exploited and forced to risk getting permanently injured or killed in order to make more money for the corporations that run the Olympics, so it no longer seems ethical to prop it up by paying attention. Especially since several do die each year while training. Also the fact that…

'Forced to risk'? High level training brings many inherent risks that the athletes are presented with, whether it is at the Olympics or at other international/national competition. Sponsorship has been a part of the Olympics for a long time, and not something that came about in the last 20 years.

I am not sure where you are getting your death rate statistics, but based on https://www.olympedia.org/lists/59/manual it does not look like 'several' die each year.

The Olympics have discontinued only a handful number of sports in both the winter and summer segments. I am not sure what you mean by a 'real' sport, but if anything the olympics are adding sports that have gained popularity over time.

And you boiling down the victories for Olympians down to 'luck' reeks of a schmuck that is on their couch being a keyboard warrior. There people train their whole lives, but I doubt you think of that.

Re: Ask HN: What caused the Olympics to become so terrible?

#60

Post by thesuperbigfrog »

airstrike wrote: post #17

It made more sense before globalization. It was a chance to consider going to some unexpected destination, bringing people together from all nations. Maybe take your spouse or your kids with you, go on a cruise, hire a tour guide, grab a book with some tips and short phrases in the local language and embark on an exciting adventure. In the 21st century, we interact with the rest of the world on a daily basis. You can…

>> Plus there's no Cold War to raise the stakes to the point where anything but the gold medal wins utter defeat.

I have to disagree here.

The amount of politics and rivalry between authoritarian vs. non-authoritarian regimes is the same as it was in the past

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