There isn't much reporting on the Winter Olympics here in Taiwan. Well maybe I just didn't turn the TV on or there just simply not enough audience for winter sports. I still log on to Yahoo to check out what's happening. I read two interesting Yahoo News articles. They are really funny.
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Why figure skating is not a sport
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports February 20, 2006
TURIN, Italy – Figure skating is not a sport.
Now, before you whip off your Risport and spike the blade through my aorta, please note that I think figure skaters are not just athletes, but remarkable athletes.
Figure skating requires strength, speed, stamina, dexterity, balance, timing, guts and just about everything other imaginable athletic skill. Certainly, more athletic skill than I could muster.
But figure skating is a competition, not a sport, and it has nothing to do with how difficult or entertaining it is. It is simply a matter of how the winner is determined. It is the same for gymnastics, diving, beauty pageants or anything that chooses a champion solely by human judging.
A sport needs to have a quantifiable way to determine a winner and a loser. There can be no debate about the scoring system. A ball must go into a goal or through a hoop; a runner must reach home or finish before the others. The winners run faster, jump higher, score more.
In some sports a clock is used to determine a winner, but the clock is not subjective. Besides, you can't have 53 guys racing down a ski hill at the same time. The clock is a judge, but it is an objective one.
Figure skating has none of this. Everything is about interpretation of success. It is about what the judge thinks, believes, feels. There is nothing absolutely quantifiable. Yes, the number of revolutions in a jump counts, but in the end if two people do the same jump, a human has to decide which one he or she likes better.
That is not a sport.
Figure skaters wear elaborate costumes in an attempt to appear more appealing, more flowing, more beautiful. The women (and even some men) wear makeup, they get their hair done, they wear jewelry, they play stirring music.
An ugly person would stand at a considerable, if not insurmountable, disadvantage in skating. Sasha Cohen would whip them every time.
As absurd as the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan drama that propelled skating into stratosphere was, it was based partially on the fact that it is a competition, not a sport. Harding was a powerful skater, possibly better at all aspects of skating than Kerrigan. But she was shorter, stockier and less feminine. Although Harding had defeated Kerrigan on occasion, she knew she was at a disadvantage against the taller, prettier, more graceful Kerrigan.
So she conspired with her boyfriend to have Kerrigan whacked in one of her skinny little knees.
In a real sport, this wouldn't have been necessary. Ugly people can win in track, in skiing, in the NFL, in soccer.
Beauty doesn't matter. Style doesn't count. There are no judges.
Some will argue that referees are essentially judges, determining who scores and who doesn't. But a referee is merely there to assure order and make the competitors follow the rules.
Yes, in most sports, the referee has the freedom to determine right and wrong by what he sees – a false start, an illegal advantage – but he is not determining the final victor. His assignment is to simply ensure fair play. The refs can't just say that while one team scored more points, they thought the other one was better anyway.
This creates a bizarre paradox where something like curling is a sport and figure skating isn't, even though to compare the level of necessary athletic ability is comical. But it is what it is. You have to be a stunning athlete to compete in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest but that doesn't make it a sport.
There is one exception to this no-judges rule: boxing (or kickboxing, or other fighting sports). This is fine because a clear victor can be achieved with a knockout (no judge needed). The judges are only used when the fight has gone on so long that it has to be stopped for the safety of the competitors. If they keep beating on each other, someone could die.
Of course, the presence of judges is why boxing is considered the most corrupt sport.
Other than that, no judge should ever determine a winner in a true sport. When you have that, whether it is ice skating, gymnastics or diving, you have a competition.
It isn't any different than American Idol. It can be fun to watch, the athletes can be talented and tenacious, it can be a great competition, but it isn't a sport.
It just isn't.
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Olympic Cheerleaders: They Won't Rock You
By DEBORAH HASTINGS, AP National Writer Sun Feb 19, 3:38 PM ET
TURIN, Italy - The Dutch oom-pah band had just finished Queen's ubiquitous rock anthem "We Will Rock You" and the crowd was on its feet Sunday night, stamping and clapping. Then the Olympic cheerleaders ran onto the skating oval.
Dead silence. Followed by boos.
The official cheerleaders of the Winter Games just can't seem to help it. They're not exceptionally good. Ranging in age from 15 to 26, these Italians were hired to entertain audiences at each Olympic venue. They practiced for four-and-a-half months. It just doesn't look like it.
They have a lot of heart, but not much rhythm.
They also don't yell cheers. In fact, they don't say a word. In glaring orange skirts and shirts, waving one orange pompom and one of gold, they dance a few unsynchronized steps and jump up and down.
In the true Olympic spirit of competition, they rejoice when anyone scores, in the same contest. Sometimes they misinterpret the proceedings and cheer over a disputed medal, or a penalty in a hockey game.
On Saturday night, the Czech Republic's hockey star Jaromir Jagr was down on the ice, blood streaming from a cut to his forehead, while a fight broke out between his teammates and Finland's players.
The uniformed young women lined up in a nearby aisle apparently thought it was a showtime cue and began rattling their pompoms.
And during Canada's 16-0 victory over Italy, the biggest rout in Olympic women's hockey history, the Italian cheerleaders popped up from their seats on the stadium steps and rejoiced against their countrywomen in the opening competition of the Winter Games.
Divided into three groups of 20, they perform during breaks in competition. At enclosed venues, they line the stairs in the stands. Their routines, to disco music that includes the theme to "Flashdance," do include some classic high-school squad maneuvers such as cartwheels and round-offs — which they can pull off without a hitch. Not so with more sophisticated dance moves such as a scissors leap.
Which is not to say audiences are always unappreciative of their efforts. In some venues, they clap and gyrate along, and seem amused by the spectacle.
"I think the crowd is very excited about what we are doing because they cheer and dance with us," said Julia Bianco, an 18-year-old cheerleader from Turin. "The crowd has been very passionate about what we are doing, and we are so grateful for that."
She then trotted into a line of cheerleaders just before the puck dropped in Sunday's U.S.-Sweden hockey game.
Leon Kersten, a 33-year-old fan from Holland, shook his head as the cheerleaders paraded in front of him.
"It's silly," he said. "I am here to watch what is happening on the ice, not what they are doing."
Back at the women's speedskating showdown, the Dutch oom-pah band Kleintje Pils ("small beer"), was pumping out "Volare" as fans in the audience yelled the only words they knew: "Volare," "whoa-oh," and "oh, oh, oh, oh."
Plenty of lustily singing Dutch had come to see if the Netherlands' Marianne Timmer would claim Olympic gold again in the 1,000-meter after winning the same event eight years ago at the Nagano Games (she did). They were the ones who booed when the cheerleaders had the misfortune to follow the band's rousing version of Queen's anthem.
Several Canadians, who'd come to watch Cindy Klassen, were wild about the oom-pah band, which was wild about Timmer.
"They really are the best," shouted Mike Murray of Ottawa, trying to be heard above the tuba. "We saw them at the World Cup."
His wife, Beth Clark, felt compelled to put in a few good words for the rah-rah girls.
"Considering they don't have cheerleaders in Europe, you have to give them credit for getting out there," she said. "They're not like the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders — they're fully clothed."
___
Associated Press Sports Writers Larry Lage and Jaime Aron contributed to this report.
------------------------------------------
Why figure skating is not a sport
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports February 20, 2006
TURIN, Italy – Figure skating is not a sport.
Now, before you whip off your Risport and spike the blade through my aorta, please note that I think figure skaters are not just athletes, but remarkable athletes.
Figure skating requires strength, speed, stamina, dexterity, balance, timing, guts and just about everything other imaginable athletic skill. Certainly, more athletic skill than I could muster.
But figure skating is a competition, not a sport, and it has nothing to do with how difficult or entertaining it is. It is simply a matter of how the winner is determined. It is the same for gymnastics, diving, beauty pageants or anything that chooses a champion solely by human judging.
A sport needs to have a quantifiable way to determine a winner and a loser. There can be no debate about the scoring system. A ball must go into a goal or through a hoop; a runner must reach home or finish before the others. The winners run faster, jump higher, score more.
In some sports a clock is used to determine a winner, but the clock is not subjective. Besides, you can't have 53 guys racing down a ski hill at the same time. The clock is a judge, but it is an objective one.
Figure skating has none of this. Everything is about interpretation of success. It is about what the judge thinks, believes, feels. There is nothing absolutely quantifiable. Yes, the number of revolutions in a jump counts, but in the end if two people do the same jump, a human has to decide which one he or she likes better.
That is not a sport.
Figure skaters wear elaborate costumes in an attempt to appear more appealing, more flowing, more beautiful. The women (and even some men) wear makeup, they get their hair done, they wear jewelry, they play stirring music.
An ugly person would stand at a considerable, if not insurmountable, disadvantage in skating. Sasha Cohen would whip them every time.
As absurd as the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan drama that propelled skating into stratosphere was, it was based partially on the fact that it is a competition, not a sport. Harding was a powerful skater, possibly better at all aspects of skating than Kerrigan. But she was shorter, stockier and less feminine. Although Harding had defeated Kerrigan on occasion, she knew she was at a disadvantage against the taller, prettier, more graceful Kerrigan.
So she conspired with her boyfriend to have Kerrigan whacked in one of her skinny little knees.
In a real sport, this wouldn't have been necessary. Ugly people can win in track, in skiing, in the NFL, in soccer.
Beauty doesn't matter. Style doesn't count. There are no judges.
Some will argue that referees are essentially judges, determining who scores and who doesn't. But a referee is merely there to assure order and make the competitors follow the rules.
Yes, in most sports, the referee has the freedom to determine right and wrong by what he sees – a false start, an illegal advantage – but he is not determining the final victor. His assignment is to simply ensure fair play. The refs can't just say that while one team scored more points, they thought the other one was better anyway.
This creates a bizarre paradox where something like curling is a sport and figure skating isn't, even though to compare the level of necessary athletic ability is comical. But it is what it is. You have to be a stunning athlete to compete in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest but that doesn't make it a sport.
There is one exception to this no-judges rule: boxing (or kickboxing, or other fighting sports). This is fine because a clear victor can be achieved with a knockout (no judge needed). The judges are only used when the fight has gone on so long that it has to be stopped for the safety of the competitors. If they keep beating on each other, someone could die.
Of course, the presence of judges is why boxing is considered the most corrupt sport.
Other than that, no judge should ever determine a winner in a true sport. When you have that, whether it is ice skating, gymnastics or diving, you have a competition.
It isn't any different than American Idol. It can be fun to watch, the athletes can be talented and tenacious, it can be a great competition, but it isn't a sport.
It just isn't.
-------------------
Olympic Cheerleaders: They Won't Rock You
By DEBORAH HASTINGS, AP National Writer Sun Feb 19, 3:38 PM ET
TURIN, Italy - The Dutch oom-pah band had just finished Queen's ubiquitous rock anthem "We Will Rock You" and the crowd was on its feet Sunday night, stamping and clapping. Then the Olympic cheerleaders ran onto the skating oval.
Dead silence. Followed by boos.
The official cheerleaders of the Winter Games just can't seem to help it. They're not exceptionally good. Ranging in age from 15 to 26, these Italians were hired to entertain audiences at each Olympic venue. They practiced for four-and-a-half months. It just doesn't look like it.
They have a lot of heart, but not much rhythm.
They also don't yell cheers. In fact, they don't say a word. In glaring orange skirts and shirts, waving one orange pompom and one of gold, they dance a few unsynchronized steps and jump up and down.
In the true Olympic spirit of competition, they rejoice when anyone scores, in the same contest. Sometimes they misinterpret the proceedings and cheer over a disputed medal, or a penalty in a hockey game.
On Saturday night, the Czech Republic's hockey star Jaromir Jagr was down on the ice, blood streaming from a cut to his forehead, while a fight broke out between his teammates and Finland's players.
The uniformed young women lined up in a nearby aisle apparently thought it was a showtime cue and began rattling their pompoms.
And during Canada's 16-0 victory over Italy, the biggest rout in Olympic women's hockey history, the Italian cheerleaders popped up from their seats on the stadium steps and rejoiced against their countrywomen in the opening competition of the Winter Games.
Divided into three groups of 20, they perform during breaks in competition. At enclosed venues, they line the stairs in the stands. Their routines, to disco music that includes the theme to "Flashdance," do include some classic high-school squad maneuvers such as cartwheels and round-offs — which they can pull off without a hitch. Not so with more sophisticated dance moves such as a scissors leap.
Which is not to say audiences are always unappreciative of their efforts. In some venues, they clap and gyrate along, and seem amused by the spectacle.
"I think the crowd is very excited about what we are doing because they cheer and dance with us," said Julia Bianco, an 18-year-old cheerleader from Turin. "The crowd has been very passionate about what we are doing, and we are so grateful for that."
She then trotted into a line of cheerleaders just before the puck dropped in Sunday's U.S.-Sweden hockey game.
Leon Kersten, a 33-year-old fan from Holland, shook his head as the cheerleaders paraded in front of him.
"It's silly," he said. "I am here to watch what is happening on the ice, not what they are doing."
Back at the women's speedskating showdown, the Dutch oom-pah band Kleintje Pils ("small beer"), was pumping out "Volare" as fans in the audience yelled the only words they knew: "Volare," "whoa-oh," and "oh, oh, oh, oh."
Plenty of lustily singing Dutch had come to see if the Netherlands' Marianne Timmer would claim Olympic gold again in the 1,000-meter after winning the same event eight years ago at the Nagano Games (she did). They were the ones who booed when the cheerleaders had the misfortune to follow the band's rousing version of Queen's anthem.
Several Canadians, who'd come to watch Cindy Klassen, were wild about the oom-pah band, which was wild about Timmer.
"They really are the best," shouted Mike Murray of Ottawa, trying to be heard above the tuba. "We saw them at the World Cup."
His wife, Beth Clark, felt compelled to put in a few good words for the rah-rah girls.
"Considering they don't have cheerleaders in Europe, you have to give them credit for getting out there," she said. "They're not like the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders — they're fully clothed."
___
Associated Press Sports Writers Larry Lage and Jaime Aron contributed to this report.
