Olympics Fever - WHY?

I've personally never understood the fervor generated by the Olympics. Unless a relative or someone you know is competing, who cares?

I saw a commercial the other day where it showed a mom that was dragging her little daughter out of bed to go to her gymnastics practice. The little girl appeared to be 7-8 years old. At the end of the commercial the little girl is shown competing in gymnastics and the narrator is droning on about what an unsung hero the mom was. Instead of praising moms like this as unsung heroes, I think they should be charged with child abuse since it's very doubtful that a child that age would have the maturity to decide that they want to dedicate their life to this sport or that. (I feel the same about parents that drag their young daughters to those beauty pageants).

Good point. I can only agree.

However, some of the contests are pleasant to watch. I like the boating and the biking.

strollin said:

I've personally never understood the fervor generated by the Olympics. Unless a relative or someone you know is competing, who cares?

Guess you could say the same about any sports event really. However, many get excited, even for baseball where they play something like 180+ games every single year.

I get excited for the Tour de France, and I think it mostly revolves around the fact that it happens only once per year. The Olympics are only once every 4 years, so I can understand their being more hoopla for this than other sports events that are far more regular.

strollin said:

I saw a commercial the other day where it showed a mom that was dragging her little daughter out of bed to go to her gymnastics practice. The little girl appeared to be 7-8 years old.

My daughter is 7 and has been involved with dance classes now for over 3 years. We aren't abusive about this in any way, we don't have dreams or her becoming a fabulous dancer. But we find it important to get the kids involved in group learning activities and building core strength and increasing flexibility and balance is a skill that might benefit her greatly down the road. This year, she asked to play Little League Baseball and we signed her up for this and she enjoyed it. Unsure if she wants to do it again next year. She already asked to do Polynesian dance in the fall.

strollin said:

(I feel the same about parents that drag their young daughters to those beauty pageants).

This whole concept is altogether different I think. I struggle more with the tangible benefits of this. I like a sexy women who is dressed well and is wearing makeup nicely....but not a child. I'm utterly shocked when I catch these competitions on TV.