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Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

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Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#111

Post by braza »

TriangleEdge wrote: post #10

Opinion: I stopped thinking the olympics was cool when I saw a 14 year old win gold in diving. Now I think it's a business exploiting people for money. Like any other business, if they don't like it they can stop doing it. Sports has a bad ROI on average afaik.

I knew 2 former UFC fighters (circa 2010/2016) that got USD 20K in average for their fights. The issue is that this does not cover 100% of the whole preparation that they need to be in the octagon. For instance, from little things since food and flight tickets, going to special medication (one of them was suspended by the USDA and got banned from UFC), sparring, fighting camping, and so on. One of them told me that the UFC was only the marketing for his personal Jiu Jitsu academy as a top of the pipeline for new students.

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#112

Post by jalapenos »

braza wrote: post #106

Being a former athlete (100/200 meters), the issue is that the top-tier sports (e.g., football, volleyball, basketball, etc.) capture the majority of money/value, and if you are from javelin throwing, fencing, or racewalking, unless you have a great sponsor, it will definitely require personal sacrifices to make it to the games. In Brazil a very long time ago, there was a gigantic tug of war between the top-tier spor…

Fencing as done now looks legit stupid, so does racewalking.

Javelin, while slightly more cool, is you throwing a stick. Mildly interesting for a few seconds.

Football is a top tier sport because it's entertaining. People will pay to see it. Hence there's money to be earned.

If someone wants to spend their time seeing how far they can throw a stick, cool, but they shouldn't be surprised they're waking up to an empty bank account every day.

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#113

Post by reshlo »

chii wrote: post #108
reshlo wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> national performers/artists Who is in this group?

So you hold a competition to see who is the best...

Is this trumpet player better than that painter? Is this sculptor better than that beat poet?

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#114

Post by braza »

blitzar wrote: post #101
anotherhue wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the economic output? Entertainment as far as I can tell. For a few days every four years. That's not a good return on the time invested. If it's a hobby then there's no expected return, so it feels closer to that. I don't begrudge them, and would be in favour of a sensible fixed amount of federal funding, but it ain't a job.

> What is the economic output? The tv rights and advertising sell for billions. In person ticket sales in the 100's of millions. The economic output is the same as all the other sports, theatres, movies, television, museums, landmarks and royal families.

> The tv rights and advertising sell for billions. In person ticket sales in the 100's of millions.

I acknowledge that this economic output is relevant, but the real issue for me is how this is distributed downstream.

I do not think it's correct that the IOC captures a ton of value [1], and at the same time we have huge issues in terms of funding, even in very rich countries [2].

The countries and athletes make their sacrifices (i.e., one hosting and investing and the latter personal finances), but the IOC still insists on this model.

Back in the day, we used to have the idea to make the Summer Olympic games cheaper by having a permanent country/facility and fewer sports, but for any reason the IOC is against it.

[1] - https://olympics.com/ioc/funding [2] - https://www.forbes.com/sites/lindseyedarvin/2024/07/31/paris...

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#115

Post by jalapenos »

System working as designed?

Like, if your hobby is throwing a disc as far as you can, have fun. But don't expect many people to pay to watch right?

But people pay a whole lot to see nice bodies doing sexual stuff. So since money comes from what other people value, no need for a surprised Pikachu face.

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#116

Post by braza »

jalapenos wrote: post #112
braza wrote: post #106

Being a former athlete (100/200 meters), the issue is that the top-tier sports (e.g., football, volleyball, basketball, etc.) capture the majority of money/value, and if you are from javelin throwing, fencing, or racewalking, unless you have a great sponsor, it will definitely require personal sacrifices to make it to the games. In Brazil a very long time ago, there was a gigantic tug of war between the top-tier spor…

Fencing as done now looks legit stupid, so does racewalking. Javelin, while slightly more cool, is you throwing a stick. Mildly interesting for a few seconds. Football is a top tier sport because it's entertaining. People will pay to see it. Hence there's money to be earned. If someone wants to spend their time seeing how far they can throw a stick, cool, but they shouldn't be surprised they're waking up to an empty…

I know where the argument comes from, but at an extreme watching football with 22 folks running behind a ball in a slow game where 97% of the time nothing happens in terms of scoring, and in terms of tactics, today sounds like a handball game; it's boring (and I say that as a Brazilian and having attended more than 100+ in the stadium and more than 600 on TV).

The entertainment in the Olympic games is in the fact that those folks (especially track and field) go to the extreme and human limit. In other words, for regular sports entertainment, I can go to watch Green Bay Packers vs. Vikings or Chelsea vs. Manchester City; for olympic entertainment (athletes pushing to their limits), Olympics are the place to watch.

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#117

Post by llamaimperative »

AngryData wrote: post #79
a2tech wrote: post #14

This is the reality of building your life around sport—-there’s basically no money in it unless you’re on the extreme edge. I wish people would stop dumping their entire life’s energy into chasing it—-do something more useful like stamping parts out in a factory. Olympic athletes are stunningly focused achievers—I’d love to see that energy and drive applied to something that mattered.

Define "something that mattered", because over half the stuff posted on hackernews is a complete waste of time and effort if your only real metric is profitability. The vast majority of "hacking" in general is of negative financial value.

Right but GP’s comment would apply if someone posted a complaint about “why is no one paying me a salary to build an ESP32 thermometer that tickles my feet when it gets below 80 outside?”

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#118

Post by llamaimperative »

syndicatedjelly wrote: post #69
a2tech wrote: post #14

This is the reality of building your life around sport—-there’s basically no money in it unless you’re on the extreme edge. I wish people would stop dumping their entire life’s energy into chasing it—-do something more useful like stamping parts out in a factory. Olympic athletes are stunningly focused achievers—I’d love to see that energy and drive applied to something that mattered.

This is one of the most dystopian and depressing things I've ever read. Quit your dreams and be productive for the Economy, peasant.

Is it equally dystopian if you consider that “be productive for the economy” is shorthand for and quite closely related to “do something of value for your fellow community members?”

(Yes obviously there are extreme and very visible edge cases, but 99.999% of things normal people get paid to do is something valuable for their neighbor)

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#119

Post by pjc50 »

Boldened15 wrote: post #99
AngryData wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it was originally, but now you gotta have the money and time to pursue that sport at a professional level if you want to have any chance of even getting into the Olympics. Personally I think it would be better if it was just regular joes doing the Olympics again, but state political interests kept dipping their hand into the pool to try and secure wins for some dubious political points.

Hmm I've never thought of any Olympic victory as being attributed in part to like, the current President, and I'd be surprised if anyone thought that would be the case. But it's not dubious that Americans (including myself) love to see our country winning things, and if we suddenly started tanking at the Olympics most of us would want our country to get our act together. Of all the things the state does having nation…

This is much more an autocratic country thing. Or small countries trying to promote themselves on the world stage, usually by picking a particular event and focusing on it.

Everyone's already heard of America, they don't need the marketing.

Re: Olympians turn to OnlyFans to fund dreams due to 'broken' finance system (2024)

#120

Post by 542354234235 »

linotype wrote: post #84
disqard wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you can s//g that in various ways, and it would be true: * Music, musicians * Publishing/journals, academics * (and more that I can't think of right now)

* Startups that exit, software engineers * Pharma companies, US taxpayers funding basic research * Waltons, Walmart employees The list is endless.

It is weird that it seems like the people that are generating value and the people extracting value aren't ever the same people.
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