OT: Olympics - Biles

[Fk_Pitt]

Well I guess this is kind of awkward and guilty of poor timing.

 

[noelr]

Probably inadvertent. Boy did USMNT catch a break with that awful PK by Qatar.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Probably inadvertent. Boy did USMNT catch a break with that awful PK by Qatar.

They did. But even with that, the MNT had a successful tourney, as their #1 goal was to learn some things about certain players and give them experience on a big stage. I’m happy with how things played out although my new favorite MNT player (Dike) isn’t looking ready for the prime time yet.

 

[noelr]

They did. But even with that, the MNT had a successful tourney, as their #1 goal was to learn some things about certain players and give them experience on a big stage. I’m happy with how things played out although my new favorite MNT player (Dike) isn’t looking ready for the prime time yet.

No he isn't and I didn't see anything that makes me feel we have depth. Nothing. Hoppe maybe

lookjng forward to the Mexican fans disgracing themseleves Sunday night and getting harshly penalized.

 

[bobfree]

You're wrong. My take, and that of some others in the thread:

• She's the most talented and accomplished female gymnast in history, both before she pulled herself from these games and after she did so;
• she came into the games embracing the title of GOAT;
• she admittedly caved mentally under the pressure of the world's expectations for her at these games, and it caused her to lose her focus;
• artistic gymnastics is a sport that requires incredible mental focus;
• artistic gymnastics is a sport where a competitor can become severely injured if they lose focus during their routines, particularly with an aerial event like the vault;
• due to her inability to focus, she struggled the entire games in all the warm-ups and qualifying events, making mistake after mistake. It was not only uncharacteristic of her, nothing remotely like it had ever happened before in her career;
• she pulled herself after a major mistake on the vault that could have resulted in severe injury and that scared the hell out of her, which was smart;
• she did unquestionably "choke" in the traditional sports definition of the term, not by pulling herself, but by losing her mental focus and composure at the moment of truth on the biggest stage in her sport;
• she did let her team down by doing so, even though they support her and understand what caused her to back out;
• "losing it" as she did at these games puts significant tarnish on her GOAT status, but does not diminish her greatness of talent. But in sports, it takes a combo of both the physical talent and the mental/competitive toughness to be considered truly great;
• she does not deserve to be labeled a loser or failure by the couch potatoes in this thread and across the world who don't understand her sport, what it takes to be an elite level athlete in an individual sport, and who never competed in any meaningful sporting event in their lives, she did more for her country the first time she ever stepped onto a mat representing the USA than any of her critics will have done in their entire lives ;
• losing her mental focus at the moment of truth--otherwise known as performance anxiety-- is not a mental health issue in the generally accepted sense of the term;
• while Biles apparently battled anxiety and depression for years before these games, that did not stop her from becoming the very best in her sport and dominating world competition before and should not be used as an excuse for what happened with her now;
• she does not deserve praise for being "brave enough" to admit that she lost her mental toughness at the moment of truth, especially after she very publicly embraced the GOAT title going into these games. However, she does deserve credit for being candid about the fact that the enormous pressure she was under got to her and caused her to lose her focus. She made no excuses and did not apologize for this, which is the right way to handle it. She could have feigned a physical injury that nobody but her own coaches and teammates would be any the wiser for, but she did not do that. She was honest.
• history will judge her, but it will not forget that she melted down under the pressure that makes or breaks an athlete's greatness.

agreed.

I’ll add
she could have easily said she pulled a hamstring and not had to endure this. She has also stuck around to support her teammates.
A week ago none of these “Patriots” didn’t give a shit about Biles, now it’s talking point A behind “antifa”.

 

[WeaverIsComing]

 

[noelr]

View embedded media

And could you imagine not having mata. I guess courage is ending up in a wheel chair the rest of your life because weekend warriors want you to.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

No he isn't and I didn't see anything that makes me feel we have depth. Nothing. Hoppe maybe

lookjng forward to the Mexican fans disgracing themseleves Sunday night and getting harshly penalized.

Hey go check out the soccer threads in the Olympic sports forum. There’s a US soccer thread. Would love to have more folks like you over there.

 

[noelr]

Hey go check out the soccer threads in the Olympic sports forum. There’s a US soccer thread. Would love to have more folks like you over there.

Thanks. Tomorrow should be fun even with our B- team. Can't wait for qualifiers

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

lookjng forward to the Mexican fans disgracing themseleves Sunday night and getting harshly penalized.

Yeah, harshly penalized.

"Hey, cut it out!"

"No, we really mean it, cut it out!"

"Didn't you hear me, I said cut it out!"

"Alright, I really mean it this time, CUT IT OUT!"

"OK, let's all take a little timeout. That'll teach you."

 

[noelr]

Yeah, harshly penalized.

"Hey, cut it out!"

"No, we really mean it, cut it out!"

"Didn't you hear me, I said cut it out!"

"Alright, I really mean it this time, CUT IT OUT!"

"OK, let's all take a little timeout. That'll teach you."

Ok. We're fining your team a crisp dead Benjamin

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Ok. We're fining your team a crisp dead Benjamin

The funny thing is that when they finally got the balls to tell them that they were giving them a penalty of two home games without fans being allowed that they agreed that one of the games could be a women's game. Like as if that's where the problem is.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

The funny thing is that when they finally got the balls to tell them that they were giving them a penalty of two home games without fans being allowed that they agreed that one of the games could be a women's game. Like as if that's where the problem is.

Honest to God, I spit coffee on my dashboard when I first heard that. Absolutely ridiculous.

 

[cease10]

 

[NCPitt]

Are you aware that lots of great players in their sports have been labeled as chokers after an individual performance? Greats like Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson, Dan Marino, Brett Favre, etc. have all failed in big moments. Some hold the "choke" label forever. Others do not. Biles is not unique, as much as you would like to think so.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Absolutely ridiculous.

FIFA in a nutshell.