Summer Olympics Thread-Tokyo

[MarqHusker]

Assuming they are still 'on', but worth opening this up as Teams/athletes qualify.  Of note to some of us, given impressive B1G representation.  Women's volleyball has announced its Olympic roster today, some surprises here.  HC Karch Kiraly may take some heat if the U.S. doesn't reach Gold medal match.  Assume: Serbia, Italy, Brazil, China, U.S. are  the top teams.  US won silver in 2012, Bronze in 2016. 

1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State Univ.)
2 Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Univ. of Illinois)
4 Justine Wong Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska)
10 Jordan Larson (OH, 6-2, Hooper, Neb., Univ. of Nebraska)
11 Annie Drews (OPP, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ.)
12 Jordan Thompson (OPP, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Univ. of Cincinnati)
14 Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (OH, 6-3, Champaign, Ill., Univ. of Illinois)
15 Kim Hill (OH, 6-4, Portland, Ore., Pepperdine, Univ.)
16 Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson (M, 6-3, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Stanford Univ.)
22 Haleigh Washington (M, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State Univ.)
23 Kelsey Robinson (OH, 6-2, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska)
24 Chiaka Ogbogu (M, 6-2, Coppell, Texas, Univ. of Texas)


Alternates
3 Kathryn Plummer (OH, 6-6, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Stanford Univ.)
6 Tori Dixon (M, 6-3, Burnsville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
7 Lauren Carlini (S, 6-2, Aurora, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin)
8 Hannah Tapp (M, 6-3, Stewartville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
13 Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Eden Prairie, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
17 Megan Courtney (L, 6-1, Dayton, Ohio, Penn State Univ.)

[ELA]

I believe the US qualified in all of the "team" sports with the exception of men's soccer and 3x3 men's basketball.

Baseball qualified with their win over Venezuela on Saturday, and I believe that was the last pending result

[ELA]

Hey, who can't say things are getting better?

https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/more-sports/running-a-marathon-was-never-crazier-or-harder-than-during-the-1904-st-louis-olympics/ar-BB17bxx0

[Brutus Buckeye]

How do you rank the events from "most interested" in watching to "least interested"? 

[longhorn320]

How do you rank the events from "most interested" in watching to "least interested"?

Im in for womens volleyball

[MaximumSam]

Hey, who can't say things are getting better?

https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/more-sports/running-a-marathon-was-never-crazier-or-harder-than-during-the-1904-st-louis-olympics/ar-BB17bxx0

Suddenly interested in a brandy/rat poison cocktail

[FearlessF]

[ELA]

USA mens basketball...yikes.

Don't even qualify in 3x3.  Full squad looking awful

[Brutus Buckeye]

Im in for womens volleyball

[GopherRock]

Opening ceremonies, such as they are, are live nationwide on NBC.

[ELA]

Opening ceremonies, such as they are, are live nationwide on NBC.

I do enjoy the Olympics. I've already watched some rowing. But I fail to see why they still have an opening ceremonies

[MaximumSam]

I enjoy that at 6 in the morning I could watch the sunrise on the beach and then some judo

[CatsbyAZ]

For anyone watching the Olympics what is the draw anymore? The opening ceremonies? The novelty of specific competitions? At this point the Olympics is falling into the same irrelevancy as the Miss America Pageant or subscribing to Cable TV. Gone are the days of massive ratings or transcendent stories such as the 1996 Woman’s Gymnastics Gold Medal run. And it doesn’t help that hype for the Olympics has soured into nothing to do with particular athletes (in terms of their competitions) or the competitions themselves. Case in point, this past month’s most trafficked Olympic headlines are, depressingly, as follows:

Olympian Mothers Forced to Choose Between Competing and Breastfeeding (The Mary Sue)

A transgender woman weightlifter's Olympic dream has sparked an existential debate about what it means to be female (CNN)

Team USA Sprint Sensation Sha’Carri Richardson Fails Drug Test and May Miss Olympics (Wall Street Journal)

Soul Cap, designed for swimmers with natural Black hair, banned from Tokyo Olympics (NPR)

Norway’s Women's Beach Handball Team Is Fined For Not Wanting To Wear Sexist Bikini Bottoms (NPR)

U.S. Olympic Trials: Hammer thrower Gwen Berry turns away from flag during anthem (The Athletic)

2021 Olympics Are Turning Into a $20 Billion Bust for Japan (Wall Street Journal)

Japanese cower from Olympics they don’t want and should not be happening (Guardian)

And lest we leave Covid out…

Tokyo virus cases hit 6-month high 2 days before Games open (Associated Press)

[Honestbuckeye]

For anyone watching the Olympics what is the draw anymore? The opening ceremonies? The novelty of specific competitions? At this point the Olympics is falling into the same irrelevancy as the Miss America Pageant or subscribing to Cable TV. Gone are the days of massive ratings or transcendent stories such as the 1996 Woman’s Gymnastics Gold Medal run. And it doesn’t help that hype for the Olympics has soured into nothing to do with particular athletes (in terms of their competitions) or the competitions themselves. Case in point, this past month’s most trafficked Olympic headlines are, depressingly, as follows:

Olympian Mothers Forced to Choose Between Competing and Breastfeeding (The Mary Sue)

A transgender woman weightlifter's Olympic dream has sparked an existential debate about what it means to be female (CNN)

Team USA Sprint Sensation Sha’Carri Richardson Fails Drug Test and May Miss Olympics (Wall Street Journal)

Soul Cap, designed for swimmers with natural Black hair, banned from Tokyo Olympics (NPR)

Norway’s Women's Beach Handball Team Is Fined For Not Wanting To Wear Sexist Bikini Bottoms (NPR)

U.S. Olympic Trials: Hammer thrower Gwen Berry turns away from flag during anthem (The Athletic)

2021 Olympics Are Turning Into a $20 Billion Bust for Japan (Wall Street Journal)

Japanese cower from Olympics they don’t want and should not be happening (Guardian)

And lest we leave Covid out…

Tokyo virus cases hit 6-month high 2 days before Games open (Associated Press)

And you’re saying it mildly.

I used to be thrilled as a youngster when the Olympics rolled around and washed every second that I could get with my family.

between everything you’ve already mentioned in the fact that most of these athletes are highly compensated, my interest level could not be lower.  It’s not even a conscious decision, I’m just not inclined to tune in to any of it because it is completely meaningless to me.  It’s more about “platforms“ and messages, and social media drama and very little to do with real sports.