Determination and really gaming the system!
Now, as you are most certainly aware, the Winter Olympics in PyongYang are rounding the bend to their conclusion. The Games kicked off almost two weeks ago producing spills, chills and feel good moments.
They have also produced a touch of controversy and let’s us, for a moment, consider the saga of Liz Swaney.
The American skied in the freestyle halfpipe event for the central European nation of Hungary and left the crowd speechless by doing zero tricks, just back and forth and back and forth.
How did she end up at the Olympics and on national television?
CBS Sports reporter Pete Blackburn says, “It was a combination of determination and really gaming the system. The field is not very deep in the women’s halfpipe, so she was she was able to enter events in which there were 30 or less competitors, and if you earn a top-30 finish in a World Cup event you score points through the International Ski Federation.”
Simple but polarizing. A percentage of the viewing public felt cold rage at Swaney’s performance, thinking it mocked the hard work other athletes put in. A percentage of the viewing public felt warm happiness, thinking Eddie the Eagle type human stories are exactly what makes the Olympics special.
All fine and good but we don’t care about freestyle skiing, do we. No, we care about Olympic surfing and this is going to for sure happen in the event’s inaugural run at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Some Zoltan Torkos character is going to figure out that Greece, say, doesn’t have any good surfers, jump through Olympic Committee hoops and voila make it to the Olympics where the television studios will produce a feel-good segment on his fish-out-of-water story.
In three years, Zoltan the Great will hit theaters starring Dexter Holland (as Zoltan) and Brendan Fraser (as his coach) and the question I have for you is will you go see it or will you wait for it to be On Demand?
Also, it doesn’t have to be Zoltan Torkos who “determinedly games the system.” It could be you. To be later played by Rob Schneider in the yet-to-be-named film.
Do you have Olympic dreams? What is going to be the name of your film?
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As much as I adore surfing, it is right next to curling, badminton, and ping pong. Olympic sports are track, wrestling, and weight lifting.
Say what you want, she nailed that run though.
at least she got air and above the lip, which is way more then anybody did in the KS Future Classic, except Toledo of course… who is mediocre now
Doesn’t the Olympics just exacerbate the animosity of countries to each other by giving the loser yet another reason to hate their rival?
Instead of a strategy coach, hire a choreographer.
amazing. probably the greatest olympic moment
I absolutely love these cunts. Anyone remember Eric the Eel from the Sydney games? Fucking legend.
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
And who could forget Eddie the Eagle?!
As Chas referenced!
I should read before I leap!
Great recovery.
And what about that bastard ‘Hernando the Hydrochoerus hydrachaeris’
Jumped on the ski and re-set!
Don’t forget Tony the Pony!
Fuck Morrissey.
I’m with you! The Olympics exists for them and all the “actually good at stuff” athletes can go…. do something else.
Oh shit, I just remembered the performance by Ambercrombie ‘The Axoltl’.
What a beast.
Surf Ballet: From the Slopes to Chopes
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
looks like a typical 80’s nightclub dance floor.
Don’t surf too good? You do now.. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
The Jason Bourne Conundrum.
I’m 49% sure I could qualify for the Mongolian surf team
Where did you find Kanoa’s Backpack?Lovely to see the USA and Japan having a Pacific cuddle. Much better to catch bombs then drop them .
While the field in ski halfpipe is small, it should really be nonexistent. That’s the only way to prevent this from happening.
top 30 is too many, that’s how this happens. they need to install some sort of equalizer/LCQ where people from any country can get in (qualify) if their score would still beat what the lowest qualifying score was from the worst athlete from the worst country. otherwise, you’re exactly right, Jamaican bobsled heart tugger stories across the board.
Is Mongolia looking for athletes?
I think China will happily provide the beef.
holy fuck, its Happy Gilmore. who’s going to play Stubbs?
Marlon Lipke and I will make a formidable duo in Tokyo. “Deutschland, Deutschland über alles!”
… btw, I can’t wait for Pairs Surfing in Paris 2024!
yassss pairs surfing. i feel like this is totally the future. also, spangles. we must have spangles.
Hunger Games !
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
it almost looks like a baby chicken 😀
I wonder if he uses wax or Pears Soap ?
Only if you can Schlag den Raab.