FNG wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2024 10:08 am
I was just thinking about this topic this morning, Q…why does the US do so well in the Olympics when we are only the 3rd most populous country. I think the answer is you need three things to be successful: population, physical attributes like size, strength and athleticism, and wealth and a lifestyle that supports athletics. Only the US has all three. China has the population and some wealth, but the Han Chinese who make up 98% of the country have some physical limitations. African nations have incredible physical advantages, but they lack the wealth and life to support athletics. India only has population, so they will never win medals. And European nations are smaller than the US, so they will also lag.
Don't forget the origins of the black athlete in the US. Slavery was a terrible part of our history, but only the strongest survived the treacherous journey here. And then once here, owners sought the strongest for their plantations. It created a great gene pool for athletes. And those genetics have carried through the generations.
As far as favorite olympic moments go, I have a few. I could watch Sydney McLaughlin run all day - so dominant and a beautiful athlete. Same with Gabby Thomas. They both ran in the 4 x 400 relay which was a complete rout for the US. But my favorite moment was probably the men's 1500 where Hocker snuck through and surprised everyone by winning gold. It was a tremendous moment and his life changed forever in those closing seconds.
FNG wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2024 10:08 am
I was just thinking about this topic this morning, Q…why does the US do so well in the Olympics when we are only the 3rd most populous country. I think the answer is you need three things to be successful: population, physical attributes like size, strength and athleticism, and wealth and a lifestyle that supports athletics. Only the US has all three. China has the population and some wealth, but the Han Chinese who make up 98% of the country have some physical limitations. African nations have incredible physical advantages, but they lack the wealth and life to support athletics. India only has population, so they will never win medals. And European nations are smaller than the US, so they will also lag.
Don't forget the origins of the black athlete in the US. Slavery was a terrible part of our history, but only the strongest survived the treacherous journey here. And then once here, owners sought the strongest for their plantations. It created a great gene pool for athletes. And those genetics have carried through the generations.
As far as favorite olympic moments go, I have a few. I could watch Sydney McLaughlin run all day - so dominant and a beautiful athlete. Same with Gabby Thomas. They both ran in the 4 x 400 relay which was a complete rout for the US. But my favorite moment was probably the men's 1500 where Hocker snuck through and surprised everyone by winning gold. It was a tremendous moment and his life changed forever in those closing seconds.
Two magnificent athletes, cool, as well as fine human beings. And you’re correct about the impact of slavery on our country’s athleticism. And I would add other immigration also. We don’t compete in ping pong without Chinese immigrants, or badminton without other Asian immigrants.
kekgeek wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2024 1:09 pm
Ant said “Hell Nah” when asked if he will play in the next World Cup
Implying he's too good/established at this point for that particular tournament (as opposed to the Olympics)?
I believe so. I think he wants to continue with the Olympics but I think he views the World Cup as the “JV” tournament
That makes sense. He's paid his dues even though he's still so young. And if he was on the World Cup team, he'd probably be the lead dog, thus crowding out some of the less established guys that Grant Hill and the coaching staff need to evaluate ahead of the next Olympics.
What's funny is that men's soccer is the exact opposite. They treat the Olympics as the JV tournament and the World Cup as the absolute pinnacle of the sport.
Q-is-here wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2024 8:27 am
Good point about home court advantage in '28. That will certainly help.
I really got into the Olympics this year - more so other events than basketball. It's pretty incredible the breadth of sports and events that the U.S. competes in. It seems like China is competitive in fewer events, but the ones they do compete in they tend to do really well at (diving for example, where they are ridiculously dominant), thus they tied the U.S. for gold medals even though the U.S. had a lot more medals overall.
Table tennis is another which China dominates. While the US is really weak. I actually quite enjoyed much of the Table Tennis and Badminton. Volleyball is pretty big relatively in some European countries (decent pro scene I think in Italy and Poland) and I like watching that too. I think the US only has pro beach volleyball. Not really sure though. The beach volleyball is OK, I prefer the indoor.
Really though, the basketball was the prime ticket.
