What They Deserve

Unlike the idiot and his "believers" who think they can have whatever they want, when they want it and to hell with the rest of us or the country.

He knows nothing about Olympic success.

Even if we (people including the two of us) extend that to mean "people who happen to have US citizenship" (not coincidentally, foreign born at a 39% greater rate than the general US citizenry) then the answers are not too complimentary. The culture is far too bread-and-circuses obssessed, so we devote far more resources than is socially beneficial to developing athletic prowess in a tiny fraction of the population to entertain and attach vicarious glory to the rest. It's also interesting to see in which sports the US dominates. It is those in which there are organized professional or semi-professional leagues and/or heavily subsidized training facilities. There are vanishingly few US medals in other sports.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/08/sports/olympics/history-olympic-dominance-charts.html?_r=0

And if one wanted to choose a commercially rewarding athletic field he or she wouldn't choose gymnastics.



USA

It's easier to be good at something when you don't have to earn a living doing something else, no?

I am certain the Chinese and the Russians heavily subsidize their athletes. Nobody is forcing you to enjoy the success of our Olympic athletes.


USA

And while I'm not much into most of the Olympics, did it ever strike you that it's possible to enjoy them without pretending they bestow credit upon anyone but those involved? Why are they "our" athletes? I neither deserve nor want any credit from their efforts.

I am proud of them.

An Olympic medal is an achevement for the medalist(s) most of all, then their coaches, support staff and the like. It's nothing to do with my efforts or abilities. I think it's absurd to claim glory for the simple genetic accident of being born withing the same lines on a map as someone who happens to be an exceptional swimmer or whatever.

I hesitate to infer opinion but it seems you think my lack of pride in someone else's achievements is somehow intended to belittle or diminish them, no? It's certainly not meant that way. Phelps for example is quite simply an incredible swimmer who deserves all the credit in the world for being one. But he's, to me, in no way "my" swimmer or an example of how good "we" are, and no refutation at all of any of Trump's negativity (unless he's said all Americans are terrible swimmers. Wouldn't put it past him). To be sure he has the great advantage of needing to do no other work in order to achieve a lifetime of financial comfort, which is not available globally, but he had to do a very great deal of work in swimming, and that again is nothing that calls for a first person plural.

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"so we devote far more resources than is socially beneficial to developing athletic prowess in a tiny fraction..."

I suppose we all have irrelevant and inconsequential windmills at which to tilt, going so far as to allege "far more resources than is socially beneficial..." without providing peer-reviewed or objective sources to support a vague and diaphanous allegation.

No doubt, we all of us like to presume we have the wisdom to know entertainment venues are and are not worthy of our time, our viewership and our fandom. However, I'm quite certain your own choice of benign entertainments are righteous and valid... at the expense of all others. Seems to be the human condition.

I feel us winning is a repudiation of him.

Ah the silly standards of irrelevant formal criteria to support opinion

Or is he ignoring how well the US is doing all together? I've been enjoying these games very much. Except for that moron woman soccer player (don't care enough about her to look up her name), our athletes have represented us incredibly well.

He did wish them well at the beginning.

Like I said, I've been enjoying them very much. Not really a track and field fan but have loved the swimming, diving, gymnastics.

I usually just watch Team USA Basketball but I have taken heightened interest in all the events because of Trump