sport > everything
25 August, 2008 – 9:55 pmhmm, the olympics…
i kinda have a problem with the money it all seems to cost, all these countries spending hundreds of millions if not billions on training athletes… for what? then NBC reportedly spends 1 billion dollars obtaining sole broadcast rights in the USA… and then the incessant sponsorship and advertising, can someone tell me whether or not the IOC are a “not for profit” organisation, and if not, why not?
it was explained to me today that from an economics point of view, the olympics are necessary for moral. as if the country needs distraction from all the war, famine, devastation etc… oh wait… can you imagine if that money was put towards something with more of a longview?
i can see the appeal for an international sporting meet, but why not show some of the olympic spirit i keep hearing about… oh btw, is it similar to christmas spirit?
how about;
- absolutely no exclusivity with tv broadcasting and online streaming, or
- one manufacturer of sporting equipment per sport, decided two years in advance so everyone has time to “get used to” the feel… including shoes, unitards, bicycles, kayaks… even those weird fencing thingys…
this would completely level the playing field for both competitors and spectators…
i dunno, maybe the communism is rubbing off on me?
…and yes, you could probably point at the football world cup or motogp world championship and say “why bother?” or “what a waste!” like i am here, but neither parade around like the olympics insisting that they unite the world and transcend all barriers.
2 Responses to “sport > everything”
Don’t forget the reported $52bil(NZD) that China spent on preparing for the games, a huge amount of capital that could have been put to better use rebuilding a lot of the impoverished areas of the country.
Oh and then there is the bonus money atheletes get paid for winning gold, such as Phelps who reportedly received $1 mil (USD) per gold medal on top of the additional bonus money he received when he took out 5 golds along with sponsership deals etc and so on.
The down side to it is, I doubt we will never see smaller nations host the games due them being upable to come up with the vast sums of money, so they shall never benefit from the generated income of the games. Shame really.
By Nick on Aug 26, 2008
If your plan puts an end to those cringey Australian olympics ads I am all for it. They were embarassing.
By Joel on Aug 28, 2008