Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

Watch the Olympics

Rate this topic


Marc K.

Recommended Posts

try to kick a soccer ball and miss it entirely

LOL, I wasn't quite that bad myself, but physical education did happen to be the only class in which I ever got a "1" (the Hungarian equivalent of an "F").

Although I haven't been watching the games, I've been curious to read the results. I supported the Hungarian swimmers as usual, but having an American win 8 golds is even better news!

lots of what he eats is flat out unhealthy, e.g. chocolate chip pancakes.

Those are mostly sugar and caffeine--both of which he needs a lot of!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 63
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

This has got to be taken in context, and with Phelps' context, it is not unhealthy. Even with myself, who does not swim five miles every single day and is not an Olympic machine which requires an incredible amount of additional calories, I eat anywhere from 3000 to 4000 calories a day, just to maintain my current weight.

Also, in the context of a balanced diet (not even one catering to an athlete), chocolate chip pancakes can be perfectly healthy.

Hmmm, I don't know. Sugar is fine in small doses, but it has a high glycemic index, which means your liver has to work harder to convert the glucose to glycogen. But, he is probably burning all of the energy, so from a caloric balance perspective he's probably not unhealthy.

Phelps is the man! I don't care all that much about swimming, but he had a hefty set of goals, and he's achieving them really well!

No doubt. Very inspiring.

LOL, I wasn't quite that bad myself, but physical education did happen to be the only class in which I ever got a "1" (the Hungarian equivalent of an "F").

I often hear this argument, that if you don't like sports you're not athletic. I've also heard it claimed many times that if you could be a pro-athlete you would do it. Perhaps most people would, and the money would be good, but there are other things in life I treasure much more than athletics. I love science and it's potential to improve life. I think Newton was cooler than Babe Ruth, and Babe Ruth was cool.

Those are mostly sugar and caffeine--both of which he needs a lot of!

He needs carbs ... but that doesn't have to come in the form of sucrose. Why do you say he needs caffeine?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've also heard it claimed many times that if you could be a pro-athlete you would do it. Perhaps most people would

I wouldn't myself. But that's only because I can be a pro software developer. :D

He needs carbs ... but that doesn't have to come in the form of sucrose.

Well, he probably does eat a big bowl of spaghetti before those pancakes. :)

Why do you say he needs caffeine?

I'm pretty sure his competitors take some caffeine, so can he afford not to?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i love basketball, and have been watching the US team preparation for the games quite closely. Its nice how words dont mean anything anymore, as the players are being hailed as selfless and showing great sacrifice, opposed to previous years when they apparently were selfish..... And all this because now they are actually doing things that are consistant with achieving what they want.

Its like they are saying that Kobe is just dying to hog the ball and take stupid shots and play weak defense, but that he refrains from this because he is sacrificing himself. Everytime someone gives a sweet pass they are called unselfish, when all i see is selfishness.

Its like calling me selfless and sacrificial because i let the airline pilot fly the plane. I value getting to my destination safely, more than i value flying the plane ---> i let the airline pilot fly the plane.

If Kobe values being an integral part of winning an olympic gold medal, more than he values winning the scoring title, then why is it unselfish, if he passes the ball to an open man? Who is it he is sacrificing himself to?

With that said, many top level athletes are immoral, because the main driving force for many is not personal achievement and happiness, but the animal drive for competition. Usually a good way to see who did it for the right reasons and who didnt, is to look what they do 5 years after retiring. If they are drugged up and gambling all their money away in Las Vegas, then its quite clear that they arent part of the moral athletes, the ones we should admire.

Many athletes become great for the wrong reasons, and in those cases there is no value in their greatness. Even though their competitive pseudo-instincts and whims make them work really hard and improve their talent, they themselves dont really get anything out of it, at least not anything more than a drug-addict gets from his daily fix. Its not surprising to see so many athletes being totally messed up in their personal lives, and its not just because many of them come from poor families with bad ubringings. They are just sick, and should not be admired....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My suspicion is that the people here who don't enjoy watching the Olympics were, coincidentally, the worst players on their childhood sport teams (you know, the loner who had no hand-eye coordination and couldn't get the bat to connect with the ball in baseball, or who would try to kick a soccer ball and miss it entirely).

This is not so. I was not good at playing sports, true, but there are many sports I do like and I watch them whenever I can. I do like some of the sports played in the Summer Games, too, but this year I'm boycotting because they're being held in Communist China.

But this argument raises a question: how many here were bad at sports because you dind't like sports, or a particular sport?

As I said, I wasn't good. I was too slow, too weak and had a rather low tolerance for pain. But when I was allowed to make up plays in touch football we did better than usual. I also did well in soccer playing defense (though I loath soccer, playing it isn't so bad). What I couldn't do was anything useful or even remotely constructive when it came to baseball, basketball, volleyball or track and field. Largely because I dind't want to. I mean, those things were so boring that even playing them was worse than watching the grass grow.

Mind, I didn't play at any kind of league or organized sport, just at school during PE and some rather infomral intra- and inter-school competitions (not many). Hell, we only played touch football in the breaks between classes, sometimes without even a ball (you can improvise a functional football with two sweaters and some string, but it doesn't fly well and you can't kick it).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't myself. But that's only because I can be a pro software developer. :D

Exactamungo ... :wacko:

Well, he probably does eat a big bowl of spaghetti before those pancakes. :lol:

He eats a lot!

I'm pretty sure his competitors take some caffeine, so can he afford not to?

Okay, but what does it do for them competitively? Too much caffeine puts me on edge. Very uncomfortable!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tenure:

I know your into Kung Fu [i did it for many years] but all I can say is if you step on the mat and try to do it against a well rounded MMA fighter you will within 1 min learn the usefulness of wellroundedness. I wrestled in high school and coached imeadiatley after, the whole time training with a friend of mine who fought twice ion the UFC. I promise you that glare in your eyes for kung fu as a fighting style will disappear. Now I love kung fu as a artform dont get me wrong ,I appreaciate its movements.

You need to watch Goerges St.Pierre in action and see if you arent impressed.

By the way my old nemesis Danial Cormier is wrestling again in the Olympics this year at 96 kg. I have the proud boast of being the only guy who stood chest to chest pommeling and never being thrown by him here in louisiana. I however always ended up 2nd. Hes wrestling on the 21st.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But this argument raises a question: how many here were bad at sports because you dind't like sports, or a particular sport?

I'm not sure about this. Whether or not you like a given sport seems to have no consequence on how good you will be at that sport. I think that your enjoyment is more closely related to how far you will go with it. For example, I don't have any particular regard for Water Polo. If I do decide to take it up, however, it is sufficient to say that I will likely compete at a higher level than a diehard Water Polo fan who is just beginning. In other words, I will not be "bad" at that sport (for my experience level), even though I don't thoroughly enjoy it. Of course, if you wanted to compare to someone with 10 years of training in Water Polo, then I guess you would say I would be bad at it. But I think the most appropriate comparision when analyzing skill would be a horizontal comparision, as opposed to a vertical one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As someone previously mentioned, the New York Times has found much evidence that indicates that the Chinese women's gymnastics team has members that are too young to compete. The official age to compete is 16. At least one of these girls is 14.

The Chinese team won gold last night. The US team came in second.

It's one thing to fake a singer's identity during the opening ceremony. It's another to fake a competitor's age. This is downright cheating, and it is disgusting.

The IOC has finally announced a formal investigation of the age issue.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/b...?urn=oly,102564

Of course there will be tremendous pressure from the Chinese to whitewash this whole thing and make it fade away. I suppose that now we'll see whether the IOC really has any principles. Frankly, I doubt any medals will be taken away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I supported the Hungarian swimmers as usual, but having an American win 8 golds is even better news!

Ha, it turns out the water polo final will be between the U.S. and Hungary. So I'm quite excited about the match, although I know for sure that I'll be cheering the winner no matter who it is! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The IOC has finally announced a formal investigation of the age issue.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080822/ap_on_...rage_chinese_21

BEIJING - The parents of the Chinese gymnasts are indignant, the International Olympic Committee sounds satisfied and the Beijing Games are almost over. Yet questions persisted Friday about the ages of China's gold-medal women's gymnastics team.

As though the parents are gonna come clean, call the State a liar and give up their daughter's gold medals. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...