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London 2012 Summer Olympics |OT2|

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W

Wafflecakes

Member
Meier said:
Umm, that's not exposure. That's limited coverage that is only viewed by diehard fans of the sport. No one, and I mean NO ONE, knows any swimmers other than Olympians (whether it's just qualifying or not) unless they're heavily invested in swimming.
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Any coverage = Exposure. He said NO exposure. Which is not true.
 
B

Big-E

Member
Canada and US should be doing like some of the European countries are doing and putting the less marketable athletes in the army so they can focus on training and do some good.
 
C

ConfusingJazz

Member
Sealda said:
I know that too. I even spent a whole intercontinental flight talking to a Big Ten US swim team coach. He was on his way to scout talents in Europe.

However, in most of the world, we refer to just the country. For instance, in USA you say Team USA won gold about the USA in the olympics. Meanwhile in rest of the world, you probably just say USA won gold.

A big difference between USA and rest of the world, is that the athletes in USA, have basically been "rockstars" since they went to junior high.

In most other countries, a swimmer is only / possibly a rockstars once he wins olympic gold.
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Hrmm? Most of our gold medalists are never going to be heard from again. Phelps is only known because he is the most decorated Olympian of all time.
 
M

Meier

Member
Sealda said:
A big difference between USA and rest of the world, is that the athletes in USA, have basically been "rockstars" since they went to junior high.

In most other countries, a swimmer is only / possibly a rockstars once he wins olympic gold.
Click to expand...
Trust me, that is the case here too. If you're not a professional athlete, then you're a complete unknown to 99.99% of the population until you've qualified and/or succeed at the Olympics.

This is the case in every sport where athletes don't have a chance to make millions of dollars.
 
S

Subitai

Member
numble said:
It's very big in high school and college. Even in Division 2 and 3 schools.
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At on the level that there is a lot of participation maybe, but spectator wise no one cares except junkies like me. I tried making threads for olympic trials, Pan Pacs and World Championships and they totally died after the first day or so. It is like women's soccer/football. Lots of women do it, but no one wants to watch it unless it is an international competition.

What is really sad is that American swimmers get more sports press over seas than in America nationally, regionally, and locally.

As much as Phelps can be a jerk some of the time (he's mellowed and is much more approachable and nice now), I am so grateful to him for single handedly elevating interest in the sport. Now you can at least find Grand Prix's televised on cable and more companies want to endorse Olympic swimmers than just the ones that produce swimming equipment.
 
M

Meier

Member
Wafflecakes said:
Any coverage = Exposure. He said NO exposure. Which is not true.
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Dude, that's absurd. You can't take a statement like that at 100% face value. Don't be ridiculous. Purely olympic sports as a whole (track and field, swimming, diving, archery, whatever) receive no exposure outside of the Olympics themselves. That is a blanket statement which is true. There are tons and tons of track and swimming competitions every year but no one would even blink an eye.

If you win a medal at the Olympics, you can get some name recognition. If you win a bunch of them, you can become a household name for a few months and then get exposure again 3 years later.
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
So are people trying to suggest that the U.S.' medal count is somehow less legitimate than China's because so many of them are from swimming?

Because that's a hot load of bullshit, if so.
 
O

Officerrob

Banned
Sealda said:
I know that too. I even spent a whole intercontinental flight talking to a Big Ten US swim team coach. He was on his way to scout talents in Europe.

However, in most of the world, we refer to just the country. For instance, in USA you say Team USA won gold about the USA in the olympics. Meanwhile in rest of the world, you probably just say USA won gold.

A big difference between USA and rest of the world, is that the athletes in USA, have basically been "rockstars" since they went to junior high.

In most other countries, a swimmer is only / possibly a rockstars once he wins olympic gold.
Click to expand...

This isn't even close to the truth. Pretty much only the elite of the elite basketball players (like a Lebron) earn rockstar status that young. Nobody even knew who Missy Franklin was two weeks ago.
 
D

davidsaurus

Member
BertramCooper said:
So are people trying to suggest that the U.S.' medal count is somehow less legitimate than China's because so many of them are from swimming?

Because that's a hot load of bullshit, if so.
Click to expand...

I'm not completely with them because caring about the overall medal count is pretty dumb. It's undeniable that US has great swimmers, and it's undeniable that swimming garners more medals than any other sport.
 
W

Wes

venison crêpe
the-cycling-at-the-Velodr-001.jpg


I like that William and Kate had to have Passport Photos for their IDs.

I bet that was a fancy trip to Tescos.
 
C

Chumly

Member
BertramCooper said:
So are people trying to suggest that the U.S.' medal count is somehow less legitimate than China's because so many of them are from swimming?

Because that's a hot load of bullshit, if so.
Click to expand...
Seriously we don't invest in dumb stuff like weightlifting or table tennis.
 
S

Subitai

Member
ConfusingJazz said:
And they won't know who she is two weeks from now.
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I think Missy is a poor example cause endorsement dollars leaving Phelps are going to go to her at some level. She'll likely take his spot on Subway commercials.

People like Nathan Adrian, Matt Grevers, Rebecca Soni, and Dana Vollmer, who have won multiple gold medals, still are definitely are going back to being anonymous after the Olympics are over and will only get money from the likes of Speedo, TYR, and Arena.

Edit: They may get lucky and get a stint on Dancing With The Stars like Natalie Coughlin did. I recall Nathan Adrian was in an episode of Myth Busters cause they needed an Olympic swimmer to test something.
 
T

the_log_ride

Member
BertramCooper said:
So are people trying to suggest that the U.S.' medal count is somehow less legitimate than China's because so many of them are from swimming?

Because that's a hot load of bullshit, if so.
Click to expand...

I'm getting a year's worth of sodium just from poppin' in today.

Can we bring back pancrase/pankration, please??
 
J

JohnTinker

Limbaugh Parrot
Subitai said:
I think Missy is a poor example cause endorsement dollars leaving Phelps are going to go to her at some level. She'll likely take his spot on Subway commercials.

People like Nathan Adrian, Matt Grevers, Rebecca Soni, and Dana Vollmer, who have won multiple gold medals, still are definitely are going back to being anonymous after the Olympics are over and will only get money from the likes of Speedo, TYR, and Arena.
Click to expand...

Franklin is staying amateur to swim in college
 
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