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Last post 6 years ago by tailgater. 16 replies replies.
NHL isn't going to the Olympics
tailgater Offline
#1 Posted:
Joined: 06-01-2000
Posts: 26,185
League made the decision to not interrupt the 2017/18 season for the South Korea games.

I hate having professional athletes in the olympics.

NHL finally got one right.
JGKAMIN Offline
#2 Posted:
Joined: 05-08-2011
Posts: 1,388
And I think they totally got it wrong. Every athlete in the games is a "professional", you might as well make sure everyone sends their best.
SteveS Offline
#3 Posted:
Joined: 01-13-2002
Posts: 8,751
I'm with 'gater on this one ... had we sent the Islanders or the Flyers to Lake Placid in 1980, it wouldn't have been the "Miracle on Ice" and it wouldn't have been the least bit memorable, to say nothing of far less interesting ...
rfenst Offline
#4 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,112
JGKAMIN wrote:
And I think they totally got it wrong. Every athlete in the games is a "professional", you might as well make sure everyone sends their best.


+1
jjanecka Offline
#5 Posted:
Joined: 12-08-2015
Posts: 4,334
Yeah, no point in not sending the most elite and most professional, also I am for injecting athletes with steriods. Whatever it takes to be the best. All advantages must be examined.
jjanecka Offline
#6 Posted:
Joined: 12-08-2015
Posts: 4,334
Actually, I met this pretty cool dude that does funding for non-professional olympians so that they can train and compete. A lot of these folks are students on a small income some of them have families et cetera and need the money so that they can continue to make it to the games. It is extremely chitty to make a qualifier but not be able to participate due to lack of funds.
TMCTLT Offline
#7 Posted:
Joined: 11-22-2007
Posts: 19,733
JGKAMIN wrote:
And I think they totally got it wrong. Every athlete in the games is a "professional", you might as well make sure everyone sends their best.




And yet it was NEVER meant to be that way....and the IOC should do everything in their power ( and they have plenty ) to get back to the original RULES governing who can participate!!! It is suppose to be a stage for NON PROFESSIONAL athletes to compete on.

IMHO it is similar the way that Nascar allows Winston Cup drivers to participate in Busch Cup racing...and drivers like Kyle Busch etc. win the majority of the races. If that is such a desirable way to govern sports in our country....why not allow college and pro teams to compete against one another??? d'oh!
tailgater Offline
#8 Posted:
Joined: 06-01-2000
Posts: 26,185
If we want the professionals then we should stop funding the IOC. Pro's by definition already make money to train and perform their skills, so why should we bother?


The olympics are special BECAUSE the athletes aren't pros. Or weren't.
Send our best?
In hockey (the sport in question) there are World Cup games or some equivalent. Let the pros play those. Put the amateurs into the olympics.

We watch professional athletes all year every year. Each olympics are once every 4 years.
Why the hell would we want to watch the same athletes in those games?


Steve mentioned Lake Placid. The most obvious example.
Another is basketball: Other than the original Dream Team with Larry and Michael has anyone even watch an olympics basketball game since then?

Olympics should mean no professionals. At least not in the major sports.
I think they should keep the professional women curling team. So we can showcase our very best...
RMAN4443 Offline
#9 Posted:
Joined: 09-29-2016
Posts: 7,683
Jim Thorpe
When American athlete Jim Thorpe competed in the 1912 summer Olympics in Stolkholm, Sweden, there were strict rules that competitors had to be amateurs to play in the games. He was stripped of his gold medals for the pentathlon and decathlon after it was revealed that he played professional minor league baseball three years earlier. The medals were later reinstated in 1983 and presented to Thorpe's children Gale and Bill, almost thirty years after his death.

The good old days.............well before most of our times, but the Olympics were pure and for amateurs only.
Stinkdyr Offline
#10 Posted:
Joined: 06-16-2009
Posts: 9,948
Olympics are corrupt. They care mostly about $, and putting plenty of it into their own pockets.

I fart in their general direction.

fog
TMCTLT Offline
#11 Posted:
Joined: 11-22-2007
Posts: 19,733
Stinkdyr wrote:
Olympics are corrupt. They care mostly about $, and putting plenty of it into their own pockets.

I fart in their general direction.

fog



I generally agree with your directional Fart Beer
dstieger Offline
#12 Posted:
Joined: 06-22-2007
Posts: 10,889
tailgater wrote:
If we want the professionals then we should stop funding the IOC. Pro's by definition already make money to train and perform their skills, so why should we bother?


The olympics are special BECAUSE the athletes aren't pros. Or weren't.
Send our best?
In hockey (the sport in question) there are World Cup games or some equivalent. Let the pros play those. Put the amateurs into the olympics.

We watch professional athletes all year every year. Each olympics are once every 4 years.
Why the hell would we want to watch the same athletes in those games?


Steve mentioned Lake Placid. The most obvious example.
Another is basketball: Other than the original Dream Team with Larry and Michael has anyone even watch an olympics basketball game since then?

Olympics should mean no professionals. At least not in the major sports.
I think they should keep the professional women curling team. So we can showcase our very best...



I wholeheartedly agree with all of this.

Maybe I'm just a nostalgic old fart, but to me, the Olympics still should be an amateur competition. I'm well aware that it got difficult to tell what amateur meant... but, just get few smart sports people i a room and hammer out a definition.

And while they're at it, tighten up the rules (if there are any) regarding who can play for what nation. I don't care if its citizenship, or some period of validated residency...whatever....but the Olympics' 'rent-a-pro' crap is really depressing to me.
teedubbya Offline
#13 Posted:
Joined: 08-14-2003
Posts: 95,637
The host city should have some events but primarily be the opening and closing party. The events themself should be all over the world. With communications being what they are why build new stadiums etc for everything or have events where they don't make sense.

Time to change.
tailgater Offline
#14 Posted:
Joined: 06-01-2000
Posts: 26,185
teedubbya wrote:
The host city should have some events but primarily be the opening and closing party. The events themself should be all over the world. With communications being what they are why build new stadiums etc for everything or have events where they don't make sense.

Time to change.


Thinking outside the box!



JGKAMIN Offline
#15 Posted:
Joined: 05-08-2011
Posts: 1,388
SteveS wrote:
I'm with 'gater on this one ... had we sent the Islanders or the Flyers to Lake Placid in 1980, it wouldn't have been the "Miracle on Ice" and it wouldn't have been the least bit memorable, to say nothing of far less interesting ...

It was special because we sent our lowly college kids to get slaughtered by the Red Army machine that were essentially professionals that practiced together year 'round for years and they upset them. What we consider pros in the States are amateurs elsewhere; only way to even the field is to just let the best of the best in. Olympic athletes are all paid, it's just a matter of how much. Track stars routinely pulled in huge appearance fees and/or the exotic car to show up, other Olympic caliber athletes train all year for room, board and a stipend.

People get bored watching our pros like basketball thump the opposition and cry we should send our 'amateurs'. Sure, so they can get cheated (see 1972) out of the gold or beaten by the other country's pros.
tailgater Offline
#16 Posted:
Joined: 06-01-2000
Posts: 26,185
JGKAMIN wrote:
It was special because we sent our lowly college kids to get slaughtered by the Red Army machine that were essentially professionals that practiced together year 'round for years and they upset them. What we consider pros in the States are amateurs elsewhere; only way to even the field is to just let the best of the best in. Olympic athletes are all paid, it's just a matter of how much. Track stars routinely pulled in huge appearance fees and/or the exotic car to show up, other Olympic caliber athletes train all year for room, board and a stipend.

People get bored watching our pros like basketball thump the opposition and cry we should send our 'amateurs'. Sure, so they can get cheated (see 1972) out of the gold or beaten by the other country's pros.


If I had a time machine I'd give you a resounding AMEN!!

But in 2017 there aren't any Russian Hockey Phenoms who aren't in the NHL already.
Same with basketball.
Or any other major profession sport.


So unless you're talking about curling or speed skating or the luge, I don't think your info is up to date.


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