Olympic Talk

[CMJ]

Ok , but how many great jumpers who are too short for the NBA or just not good enough might be able make the switch to a new sport like football and track athletes switch to bobsled?

And how many of those could be world class cross country or alpine skiers? The skill sets and body types for all these things make it impossible to make any sort of comparison.

Edited February 18, 2014 by CMJ

[KRAM1]

Olympians are our 3rd and 4th tier athletes.

Tell that to JQ.

[Rudy]

During NBC's opening theme, does anyone else have the image of the Spaceball drummer in their head?

Regarding the ski jumping, I've seen a ski jump ramp up close. NFL and NBA athletes have too much body mass. Their knees would be destroyed.

On other sports, just because a country has the most money doesn't mean they will be the best at everything. There are several countries who have great speed skating teams, but the Netherlands live and breath that sport. The Norwegians ski. The loss in the 4x5km relay was mourned in that country.

[CMJ]

During NBC's opening theme, does anyone else have the image of the Spaceball drummer in their head?

Regarding the ski jumping, I've seen a ski jump ramp up close. NFL and NBA athletes have too much body mass. Their knees would be destroyed.

On other sports, just because a country has the most money doesn't mean they will be the best at everything. There are several countries who have great speed skating teams, but the Netherlands live and breath that sport. The Norwegians ski. The loss in the 4x5km relay was mourned in that country.

One of my most vivid Olympic memories was the way Norway followed the cross country skiing in 1994. I think there must have been over 250K people on the course. Usually at the cross country venue, there are folks in the stadium...at those games the entire course was wall to wall people.

Ignore the Italian commentary...just look at all those people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8sDxbH5VJo

[Green P1]

Tell that to JQ.

I didn't mean it as a slight to JQ or any of the other athletes... It's just where our nation's athletic priorities are. As experienced as JQ is in the industry of athletics,don't believe he'd argue otherwise.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Green P1

[UNTFan23]

Oh please. If they chose to do it, LeBron, Clayton Kershaw & Peyton would have swept the medals for the US.

Le Bron James is 250 lbs. He'd fall like a rock on the ski jump.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Le Bron James is 250 lbs. He'd fall like a rock on the ski jump.

Only after doing a 1080, while smashing the world record set by some skinny Norwegian nerd.

[UNTFan23]

Only after doing a 1080, while smashing the world record set by some skinny Norwegian nerd.

Which do you think can glide further without any engine power -- a Boeing 737 or a Cessna?

[MeanGreenTexan]

Which do you think can glide further without any engine power -- a Boeing 737 or a Cessna?

Which plane is Peyton Manning piloting?

[Army of Dad]

Which plane is Peyton Manning piloting?

Peyton in a plane without engines!? Now we are talking!

[MeanGreenTexan]

Peyton in a plane without engines!? Now we are talking!

Of course, we all know the heartland city where that plane will land safely...

[Censored by Laurie]

I often wonder if we are finding our best athletes in some of these events?

For instance, do we even field a ski jumping team because I've never recalled seeing the U.S. ever do a thing in that event. And just now a Japanese team just medaled, are you kidding me? We have football players consistently jumping over 10 feet and as far as 11 1/2 feet in the standing broad jump, and as high as 46 inches in the vertical at the NFL combine. And who knows what the highest NBA player vertical jump is? But you can't convince me we don't have some people who can get us to being more competitive than we are in ski jumping.

I understand in places like Norway where the standing broad jump is still a national competition. In fact it was an Olympic event in the early 1900's. Still, surely we can do much better that what we got now?

Rick

Still sounds more interesting than NASCAR.

[TheTastyGreek]

I didn't mean it as a slight to JQ or any of the other athletes... It's just where our nation's athletic priorities are. As experienced as JQ is in the industry of athletics,don't believe he'd argue otherwise.

Yeah, I love Quinn as much as anyone other than Quoner, but he couldn't latch on with either of two NFL franchises, and wound up getting hurt and cut from Canadian football.

He takes up Bobsled, and 3 and a half years later, he's in the Olympics on his first try.

Johnny Quinn is an American hero on par with George freaking Washington himself, and an inspiration to anyone that loves North Texas. But as an example, he proves rather than disproves the point.

[TheTastyGreek]

Which plane is Peyton Manning piloting?

The one that glides out of orbit and lands on the MOON.

Obviously.

[CMJ]

Yeah, I love Quinn as much as anyone other than Quoner, but he couldn't latch on with either of two NFL franchises, and wound up getting hurt and cut from Canadian football.

He takes up Bobsled, and 3 and a half years later, he's in the Olympics on his first try.

Johnny Quinn is an American hero on par with George freaking Washington himself, and an inspiration to anyone that loves North Texas. But as an example, he proves rather than disproves the point.

On the other hand, Herschel Walker did the Bobsled thing as well (when he was still doing pretty well in the NFL), and it's not like that was automatic gold for the USA (his team finished 7th).

[TheTastyGreek]

On the other hand, Herschel Walker did the Bobsled thing as well (when he was still doing pretty well in the NFL), and it's not like that was automatic gold for the USA (his team finished 7th).

Troy Aikman would have won gold.

[TheTastyGreek]

On the other hand, Herschel Walker did the Bobsled thing as well (when he was still doing pretty well in the NFL), and it's not like that was automatic gold for the USA (his team finished 7th).

Serious face:

Walker, on the downslope of his NFL ability, did Bobsled part time in his offseasons while still active, and was still good enough to make the Olympics. He didn't medal, but then again, nobody from the U.S. had in over 40 years at that point.

If you're going back to the discussion that we'd dominate all Olympic sports... I'm not trying to argue that. Other than agreeing with MeanGreenTexan's hot takes, I'm not in on that conversation.

If you're in on the discussion that many Olympic sports feature our 3rd and 4th tier national athletes, I tend (IN GENERAL) to agree. Otherwise, part time dilettantes and Johnny Quinn-come-latelys wouldn't be able to make the field over Americans that had devoted their athletic careers to the same sport already.

[CMJ]

Serious face:

Walker, on the downslope of his NFL ability, did Bobsled part time in his offseasons while still active, and was still good enough to make the Olympics. He didn't medal, but then again, nobody from the U.S. had in over 40 years at that point.

If you're going back to the discussion that we'd dominate all Olympic sports... I'm not trying to argue that. Other than agreeing with MeanGreenTexan's hot takes, I'm not in on that conversation.

If you're in on the discussion that many Olympic sports feature our 3rd and 4th tier national athletes, I tend (IN GENERAL) to agree. Otherwise, part time dilettantes and Johnny Quinn-come-latelys wouldn't be able to make the field over Americans that had devoted their athletic careers to the same sport already.

I guess I'm arguing both things in a sense. Honestly, with something like a push man in a bobsled probably doesn't need to have anything other than part time devotion. Now the driver is a different story. He really needs to be world class to medal.

I guess I just can't get behind the idea that we send out 3rd and 4th tier athletes to the Olympics. Sure, someone like Shani Davis isn't gonna be able to ball like Lebron James, but i doubt if the tables were turned than James would ever do well in speed skating, no matter how much time he put in.

Edited February 18, 2014 by CMJ

[MeanGreenTexan]

I guess I'm arguing both things in a sense. Honestly, with something like a push man in a bobsled probably doesn't need to have anything other than part time devotion. Now the driver is a different story. He really needs to be world class to medal.

I guess I just can't get behind the idea that we send out 3rd and 4th tier athletes to the Olympics. Sure, someone like Shani Davis isn't gonna be able to ball like Lebron James, but i doubt if the tables were turned than James would ever do well in speed skating, no matter how much time he put in.

Can you imagine a 2 man bobsled with Justin Gatlin pushing and Jimmie Johnson driving? Hello American dominance.

[TheTastyGreek]

Can you imagine a 2 man bobsled with Justin Gatlin pushing and Jimmie Johnson driving? .

Better question: can I imagine it without getting a flagboner?

Answer: obviously not.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Better question: can I imagine it without getting a flagboner?

Answer: obviously not.

A hark back to the Golden Age of GMG.com! TTG makes a fluffy kitten joke.

[TheTastyGreek]

A hark back to the Golden Age of GMG.com! TTG makes a fluffy kitten joke.

Another echo of days gone by... Cerebus and his bad word filter for Richard Joke.

[Quoner]

Yeah, I love Quinn as much as anyone other than Quoner, but he couldn't latch on with either of two NFL franchises, and wound up getting hurt and cut from Canadian football.

You know that feeling when your favorite band goes mainstream? Imagine that, but with your genitals. I DON'T LIKE IT.

[forevereagle]

You know that feeling when your favorite band goes mainstream? Imagine that, but with your genitals. I DON'T LIKE IT.

Having trouble getting or maintaining a quoner?

Edited February 18, 2014 by forevereagle

[FirefightnRick]

I am not sure that's fair at all. You can't convince me that NFL/NBA/MLB players could do some of that stuff.

Take Rick's ski jumping example. It takes a different body type entirely to do that sport. Rick is wrong, in that ski jumping isn't about jumping at all. You need slight frame (as to be aerodynamic). The average size for a ski jumper is about 5'11, 140lbs.

Sure it is. If its not about jumping then why do they crouch then jump at the end of the ramp?

And I dont know what his weight is but Peter Prevc, the Slovakian Bronze Medalist in the individual Large Hill at Sochi is 6'1". You have seen enough basketball players and other athletes over the years who look like they could use an extra burger or two. Plus, one of the rules say's you can't be too light a body frame to compete or your penalized.

Ski jumpers below the minimum safe body mass index are penalized with a shorter maximum ski length, reducing the aerodynamic lift they can achieve. These rules have been credited with stopping the most severe cases of underweight athletes, but some competitors still lose weight to maximize the distance they can jump.

I'm just not convinced we are getting our best athletes. And I wonder if the USOC doesn't think this also because for the first time that I can recall the U.S. Olympic network...NBC, is running ads during the Sochi games asking its viewers if they are interested in competing in any of the events to go to a website and click on the sport of interest and apply.

Rick

Edited February 19, 2014 by FirefightnRick