Friday 8 August 2008

Olympics

I loathe the olympics and I'm very tired of hearing about them, most especially of hearing whiny threats from various sport administrators to the effect that if Australia doesn't win everything going it will be the Government's fault for not spending enough money on sport. Apart from the fact that all the money the government puts into training Olympics players is effectively a massive gift paid to channel 7, there's nothing laudable about being the best trained and practised if that differential is enforced by a grotesquely uneven economic playing field. Nation vs. nation sport enshrines global inequality and exploitation. Also, all that smog in China didn't just grow there by itself - somebody paid them to make it.

10 comments:

M-H said...

Letter-writer in the smh this morning suggested that they remove HECS from art students and impose them instead on students at the AIS. I liked that idea.

TimT said...

I really don't have anything to say, apart from the fact that this is clearly the most awesome post in the world - based solely on the fact that it just gave me Bazlotto!

Anonymous said...

HERE HERE (or is it HEAR HEAR?) Either way I am 100% agreement. And I'm here. And I'm not dear, so I hear.

I hate 'em. Don't give two hoots. News article on the Age online today - Oh noes! Grant Hackett's credit card expired while he was in Beijing! An ATM ate it! Stop the presses!

Anonymous said...

DAMMIT deaf, not dear. I was so cranky I did a typo.

lucy tartan said...

TimT - congratulations for winning Bazlotto, (national anthem plays etc.) I hope you enjoy the glory and congratuations and so forth because that's the only prize there is.

No sponsorships
No prizemoney
I guess you could put it on your cv if you wanted though.

Kirsty said...

And no doubt all those Olympians will come back to Australia and be awarded honorary Doctorates. I'm organising a committee for the awarding of honorary Olympic gold medals for people with PhDs. I figure many who've earned a Doctorate have contributed about as much to the sporting life of this country as Keiren Perkins ever has to the intellectual life. Who's with me?

Ampersand Duck said...

I am in Olympics white-out, avoiding all tv and both the start and finish of the news reports, both televised and radio (but I did managed to hear about Isaac Hayes, RIP on whichever Scientology planet he's ended up on), but I thought the whole idea of an Olympic challenge was to be the best athlete in teh wurld, under any conditions? The smog is just another challenge, and may yet prove to be the economic (etc) leveller.

lucy tartan said...

Exactly.

Anonymous said...

Keep up the loathing, you are definitely not alone. Why I was actually banging on about that on my blog this morning as well, albeit probably not as eloquently. Anyhow, it's great to know I'm not the only one.

Anonymous said...

PS I second what m-h said. While I am not against HECS per se I think it's crazy just how much is spent on sport. I would really like to see some sort of HECS system for elite athletes, or God forbid a percentage based cut from their post medal earnings. Now we couldn't have that could we? That wouldn't be fair now would it?!