If people like it, they can talk about the Olympics over here: We just won a bronze medal in Judo: http://nos.nl/rio2016/artikel/2124260-van-emden-verslaat-braziliaanse-in-strijd-om-brons.html Lets go
US women's keeper just let the ball go right through her legs on a free kick. School yard keeping and the US is now down 1-0 to Columbia as they play in that wonderful arena in Manaus. I think this is the fifth match to be played in that arena in the last four years. What a waste of Brazilian money.
They have only conceded the one goal in three matches so far and that was a keeper blunder. I'm not sure any of the teams in this tournament will score on them.
There is only one person for whom I'd switch the TV channel to the Olympics, Usain Bolt! A machine in flesh and blood, practising the most universal sport there is. What an athlete! I wished we had someone like him in football. I don't care about the rest, congratulations for being the best at something 99.99% of the human race doesn't give a shit about I guess.
Although in soccer we have trouble to produce great players , as in other sports we have beautiful headliners these days : Max Verstappen, Dafne Schippers , Ranomi Kromowidjojo , Tom Dumoulin, etc . Spain has experienced a similar period with the emergence of Nadal, Fernando Alonso, Pau Gasol , Contador etc , at the same time . But in football too , they had extraordinary guys Xavi , Iniesta , Torres, Villa. So I think that we will soon have new Cruyff, Van Basten and Bergkamp .
Phelps has more gold medals than Argentina and Jamaica combined in their entire history. Unbelievable statistic.
I prefer the decathlon as the measure of the best athlete. Bolt can run fast but can he hurdle, jump, throw and vault well enough to contend?
For Women soccer, here are QF matches: Brazil-Autralia, USA-Sweden, Canada-France, Germany-China. IMHO the gold is USA to lose. Final 4 predictions: Brazil, USA, Canada, Germany. For men, Brazil is on the verge of failing to advance, which made the headline in Brazil as they hope to win gold badly. Argentina is also out after tie with Honduras which advances together with Portugal. When is the last time Netherlands qualify for Olympic soccer? Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian athlete IMO. 25 medals with 21 golds and counting. Unbelievable! Besides soccer, swimming, volleyball, basketball is also exciting to watch.
If Phelps was a nation then he would be 39th of in the all-time medal table. I'd wish Dutch swimming was as well funded as USA swimming...
US mens volleyball team may also crash out as they have lost both their matches in the pool competition. They have been a top four team for the past eight years.
Simply put: medals can be bought. The Australian government alone has invested 26 million euros in top level swimming the past 4 years. The full Dutch NOC 4 to 4.5 million at best over 4 years... and that number also includes contributions by businesses etcetera so difficult to say how much the government has contributed. http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...s/news-story/a32d1aa0e9b5dcbec90642f423658c23 http://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/zeilen-krijgt-meeste-geld-van-noc-nsf~a3358193/ Australia is also one of the top dogs at WADA their black list, which signals they are on the edge of what is allowed. 2013 2014
What I wonder though is what is in it for a country to spend that much to win a medal (or two). The Old days Commu countries spent alot to prove the "superiority" of their political system, but that is hardly imaginable for a country like Australia. I guess ( donot know it) that the US gouvernment doesnot spend money on it.
How long until they, following the EPL examples, bribe parents of high potential soccer kids to become Quatarians. If you spend a few billions on an EPL club, that kind of money is enough to lure parents to join them. Just imagine spending it on about 20-30 high profile kids of around 12-16 years old. You can then end up with a damn good team in 2022! 2-3 billions means per kid 100 million. That's peanuts for them. For that kind of money I guess even Moroccon and Turkish parents forget about their roots. And if they in some way secure the transfer rights, it will be even a fraction of the initial investment. Come to think about it...why arenot we going to do it?
Correct, the US government does not spend any money supporting athletics. The various sports federations do reveive money both from the parent Olympic company and corporate sponsors. This money is used to set up training facilities and some of the sports have more money than others. Most of this goes to team sports (the US women's field hockey team which is undefeated in the Olympics right now has a nice training facility up in Pennsylvania). Individual sports (swimming, track, gymnastics, etc.) rely on the athlete to get sponsorship money. Elite athletes can get money through endorsements but they lose their amateur status which means they cannot compete for their university team. Michael Phelps dropped out of University of Michigan after one year so he could train and receive sponsorship money. Most of the swimmers are not professional. Some track athletes get a lot so support from their shoe company sponsor but those in lesser events do not. One of the American javelin throwers on the Olympic team pays his own way and he said the most he has received in the last 10 years was $3K.
I have not a complete overview but the US government does it mostly indirectly. Think about the infamous stadium subsidies (5 billion), the subsidies and tax exemptions for universities, federal grants to students andsoforth. Also, the USOC and the sports bodies are exempt from paying taxes; this are corporate entities. You can argue that this are subsidies by the backdoor, while other nations (e.g. Australia) do it by the front door. They also receive a good share of the domestic television rights and 10% from the IOC broadcasting revenues. That is where the US government is again a major help, because most NOCs receive nothing. That being said, the market is naturally so rich and huge (with a huge overseas market) that this naturally attracts private/corporate funds and expertise. edit: 20% of the IOC sponsorship revenues flows to USOC as well (called 'global marketing revenues'). This is more than all other 204 NOCs combined ( !!! ).
@PuckVanHeel - yes you are correct about the indirect subsidies because of the tax code. Also, some universities receive a lot of money from donors that go into building athletic facilities. The founder of Nike has given a lot of money to the University of Oregon. There are other examples as well. University athletes can receive scholarships to attend the school but cannot be directly paid since the universities want their athletes to remain "amateurs." That may change as the NCAA has been sued by several athletes for using images in advertising. Ed O'Bannon, a former UCLA basketball player, has won a preliminary law suit but I believe it is being appealed by the NCAA. Even so, only high profile athletes receive direct support. Of course there are a number of sports where athletes (both men and women) all compete in professional leagues (football/soccer, basketball, volleyball, water polo) and do not need government support to continue their sporting career.
Stadium subsidies for NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL between 1990 and 2010 have been researched. It accrues to a total of 20 billion at a minimum, paid by the government. Universities with big athletic programmes tend to have more students receiving federal grants (for ex. Pell grants) than the students not enrolled in college athletics. This feels very logical but in many countries quasi full-time athletes are not regarded as 'real' students. I don't have a full overview (as said above) but this are a few of the things taking place. Yes, there is more of a charity culture in USA than in many European states. However it is also simply smart business by Nike... As I say the prosperous and huge market of USA (an overseas market as well) naturally attracts private funds and expertise. Provided they're equal talents it is more enticing to invest in an American/British prospect than a Polish prospect. With everything else being equal that is what happens. Like I said, USOC has also a very favorable deal with the IOC.