First, Sam Burgess. I don't give a flying frig if the jerk goes back to League or not.
Second, the IPC World Athletics in Doha. Nothing against the disabled and I'm not in too great a shape myself. But the categories are a joke and it is not world class athletics. But the BBC love it and every morning this week I have to hear about more "world class performances" from our athletes. Then to top it all off every day they wheel on Tanni Grey Thompson to tell us all how wonderful it all is. It's actually PC rubbish.
-- Edited by ridgeway kid on Friday 30th of October 2015 11:15:26 AM
First, Sam Burgess. I don't give a flying frig if the jerk goes back to League or not.
Second, the IPC World Athletics in Doha. Nothing against the disabled and I'm not in too great a shape myself. But the categories are a joke and it is not world class athletics. But the BBC love it and every morning this week I have to hear about more "world class performances" from our athletes. Then to top it all off every day they wheel on Tanni Grey Thompson to tell us all how wonderful it all is. It's actually PC rubbish.
-- Edited by ridgeway kid on Friday 30th of October 2015 11:15:26 AM
I am bothered about Burgess but then I quite like my rugby.
IPC World Athletics - with you 100% Kid (does that help me avoid a ban?). Absolutely all the best of luck and congratulations to people who have disabilities and overcome them to follow a passion and engage in sport. That is a very good, admirable thing. It isn't world class sport, though, and shouldn't be talked about as if it is. It is world class only in the sense that the people there are the best in the world from a relatively small pool of eligible participants. I don't want to see it any more than I want to see a game of football between the two best teams made up of people called Gerald who have red hair. By its very nature it is minority sport. No problem at all with it happening, but I don't need to see it or hear about it constantly and gushingly as if its a big, headline event.
That might be an unpopular view, and if you said it out loud in the wrong company you might risk being lynched just as you did if you said at the time that you thought that people reacted hysterically to the death of Lady Di, but so be it.
Sadly, minority sport is about all the BBC has left to show us. IPC World Athletics, the second best of two World Darts Championships, a Snooker tournament and World Indoor Bowls from Potters in Norwich (or wherever it is) are now the flagships of BBC live sports coverage. They have brought in that sporting big hitter Matt Baker from The One Show to host the live coverage of Gymnastics on primetime this week. Rubbish.
I agree but sort of disagree too. I know that's not a very inspiring position.
I take the view that as long as one finds the competition interesting it might not matter the level it's being played at.
I must also admit that as I've got older I care less about comparisons and records and elite sport , which can be boring .
A little knowledge about the competition and upclose about competitor s is how we get value out of things. I got into darts because of the way it was marketed. We are all socialised into what is exciting and valuable, so , I think it's good sometimes to look beyond our own limits.
Speaking for myself Ian I have no problem that these sports exist and that they get some coverage, but don't put them on at primetime and overhype them. And while I am at it, the same goes for women's football (although I suspect that might have been covered on here before). Any decent men's U-18 team would murder the top women's teams. Fine if they want to play, but it isn't very good, so don't put it on telly.
It's all quite cynical. Media interests and advertisers spot an opportunity to fleece the public. The BBC and other platforms love it as it suits their agendas. I mentioned before that the BBC were desperate to get more womens' snooker on but couldn't find enough players who could make a decent break. Ideas of making the tables smaller and pockets bigger were seriously considered. Watch this space.
