How pointless is the pastime and hobby that is the Olympics?

Spot on imho.

You haven't heard of these "so-called athletes" is because the media concentrate on over paid, prima donna footballers most of whom achieve nothing during their career yet get plenty more headlines than highly decorated world champions.

I think you will find that the Olympics were around well before the BBC, Sky or ESPN.

The Olympics are not pointless at all and quoting your 13 year old's simplistic comment does not really help your arguement. (also Archery at the beach is not a good idea).

shiraz is an overrated wine, but his intellect is underrated.  all those with sense agree with him.

Original poster,

You have to consider the millions/billions of people that watch these couple of weeks. Everyone with a telly in the world will be watching at least part of it. So, it's great for the promotion of sport .. all sports. If you like sport then its great for you.

Where was British cycling 10 years ago?  Where is it today?  Have you notice how many cyclists there are on the roads now?  That's the effect that success has.  You may not like all the sports. I don't either but if it encourages participation, isn't that great?

The media coverage is often skewed but I think the BBC and other media outfits are right to hook on to the fact that minority sports have great potential and the fact that you can be entirely selective about what you watch, makes your statement a bit limp.

This is a great time you are living in if you like sport. Is it not?

Agree with you beetle and Darlo Bantam is so right. These are the real sports and I'm saying that as much a football fan as the next man.

"Nobody has ever heard of 99.5% of the so called "atheletes".

Nobody? I can't agree with that.

I've heard of loads of them, and I'm not particularly a sports fan.

It's obvious here that there's a few people who for their own reasons are just here to have a dig about the Games. I'd rather sit back and watch. What I've seen so far, I've enjoyed. Yes, the empty seats are appalling although watching today someone seems to have talked to someone and venues look full.

Let's come back in a fortnight and take a view on how it all went.

substantially less pointless than taking the time and making the effort to pontificate on how pointless they are.

WHOKNOWSTHEBOWLER.
I have just watched archery, fencing, handball and rowing

you sound like an avid olympic watcher to me!!

Every single sport I've watched, which is nearly everything, twitter is jammed with kids talking about wanting a go.

Handball, they went mad for it. Canoe slalom, 'looks so much fun'. Achery, 'those bows are so cool' etc etc etc.

Tired cynics on here need to get a fking grip.

Most impressive outcome on this thread is the OP's 13 year old daughter's ability to row on the beach

Every single sport I've watched, which is nearly everything, twitter is jammed with kids talking about wanting a go.

Handball, they went mad for it. Canoe slalom, 'looks so much fun'. Achery, 'those bows are so cool' etc etc etc.

Tired cynics on here need to get a fking grip.


Number of sports said kids will take part in in future: 0

Activities said kids will take part in in future: Stabbing, mugging, thieving

Jul 29, 2012 -- 10:08PM, Diamond_Joe_Quimby wrote:

Every single sport I've watched, which is nearly everything, twitter is jammed with kids talking about wanting a go.Handball, they went mad for it. Canoe slalom, 'looks so much fun'. Achery, 'those bows are so cool' etc etc etc.Tired cynics on here need to get a fking grip. Number of sports said kids will take part in in future: 0Activities said kids will take part in in future: Stabbing, mugging, thieving

Your kids? Or prob not as you need a female to do that

Leemo you clown, its in quotations......read the previous posts

The Olympics by definition is about amateurs. I have just watched archery, fencing, handball and rowing...even my 13 year old daughter said "this isn't sport ..it's something you do on the beach!"

What a load of tosh! This is written by a complete moron, or someone who works for Sky Sports News. Wait, its probably a complete moron who works for SSN.

some of the games in olympics are pointless. the most interesting games in the Olympics are athletics and a few of the field events. the rest of the competition is a pointless waste of time and money.

Footballers are a majority of w@nkers - diving, spitting, playacting. It's a game followed by hooligans and children (just look at the betfair football forum for confirmation). I would rather watch the Olympics any day of the week.

Try listening to Talksport as they talk about football, it all sounds so tired and boring at the moment. Contrast it with buoyant optimism of the Olympics.

I was channel hopping last night and accidentally strayed onto Sky Sports news.  No Olympic news obviously.  Just utterly banal lower league transfer speculation.  I am realising more and more how I have totally fallen out of love with football.  It's just so fckg boring these days, particularly with the Sky & Talksh!te's nauseating obsession with the Premier League.

^i think for us, gamblers, the only reason we are tired of football is because we spend very long time watching and analyzing games. Can you imagine what you would feel if you spend the same amount of time watching any of the olympics sports

Jul 31, 2012 -- 2:25PM, sky panel wrote:

Try listening to Talksport as they talk about football, it all sounds so tired and boring at the moment. Contrast it with buoyant optimism of the Olympics.

I had to laugh at the newspaper headlines last night. Olly what's his face from the Mirror was laughing (quite rightly) at another newspaper for leading on a story about Man City players' bonuses. Pity that the Mirror lead on some Gareth Bale story or something similar the previous morning the day after our first two medals.

Jul 31, 2012 -- 3:22PM, henok wrote:

^i think for us, gamblers, the only reason we are tired of football is because we spend very long time watching and analyzing games. Can you imagine what you would feel if you spend the same amount of time watching any of the olympics sports

Two weeks. Just two weeks every four years. We get 24/7 banal transfer speculation. They can give it a rest for just two weeks for real news.

Clearly anyone who thinks the way of the OP has never applied themselves to anything. Otherwise they wouldn't have this view.

In my sport the Olympics is the absolute pinnacle. In order to become a champion you need to have started no later than 8 years old but many start at 4 or 5 and practice and train every day in a very tough, physically demanding sport for 20+ years just to have the chance to win a gold medal - and all because they love the sport

your sneering is symptomatic of a lazy couch potato who has never trained or competed in anything and I dare you to go down to your local judo club and tell them what you think about the sport. While you're at it go down the amateur boxing, tae kwon do and wrestling clubs and tell them too

what an arse

......and find yourself beaten by a steroid fueled freak


Oh well its the taking part that counts

Op is clearly a tit or fishing.

what I get tired of is "everyone is proud of you" when an athlete doesn't get a medal

Sorry Judorick I win, Tax payers money funding middle class people with "contacts" to indulge in a hobby, somehow classed as sport - the BBC can't afford to compete with Sky/BT/Eurosport for "real" events , so try and make the olympics of interest and relevant , but nobody is interested. Look at the Winter Olympics, the "spectators" were totally made up of family's and friends of the athletes - it was like school sports day - laughable!