Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: Ease up on the IOC.

Author:William Crim
Posted:9/6/2000; 1:22:14 PM
Topic:Olympians banned from keeping web diaries
Msg #:20922 (In response to 20917)
Prev/Next:20921 / 20923

The Olympics are a competition. They don't give "A"s for effort. In a competition, winning IS everything, thats why its a competition. If you want effort rewarded, go to kindergarten.

They get money when people are entertained and products are advertised. Noone wakes up one morning and says, "Golly, I want to be the stooge of corporate interests and be at the mercy of the traditional media." It happens because its the only way they could get enough money and media exposure to ensure the Olympics go on.

Before you start pouting about corporatism, sponsorship, and media bias, you should realise that without them, and the exposure they give, most people would forget the Olympics are on. And without the high profile events with all the stars, people are generally inclined not to watch at all. Billions want to see the soccar competitions, but very few want to see the archery competition. Thats just the way things work. You can't change it at the level of the IOC, you have to change the collective apathy of over 6 billion people.




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