Some putz named Josh Belzman, whoever he may be,* is makin' the statement that all the controversy over the gymnastics judgin' stuff means that there is really no fair way to judge the sport and as such, it should just be dumped.
This is not sport. It’s a circus act.Whereas, I can admit a bit of logical basis for the argument made, by the same token, subjective judgin' is also used in divin', synchronized swimmin', rhythmic gymnastics, figure skatin', as well as scored events such as boxin' and wrestlin'. Jes' 'cause there is room for some controversy about the way some of these events are scored ain't a great basis for scrapin' them.Sports have rules that govern play. Competitors know the rules. Officials know the rules. In the case that a judgment call is required, legitimate sports offer ways to challenge, review and resolve a decision.
But more than that, the contests of raw athletic skill that comprised the first Olympics offer objective criteria for determining a winner. Victory in these sports is decided by who runs the fastest, jumps the highest, hoists the most weight. Whatever the measuring stick, in genuine Olympic sport there is a winner and a loser and little room for argument.
First of all, gymnastics is a very popular sport and I surmise that the DVD of the gymnastics competition will sell well despite the controversies mentioned. Secondly, the 'Lympics is not the sole showcase for gymnastic events, as there is International Competition in the sport on a regular basis, as is true in almost every other sport in this day and age. Thirdly, it is nothin' short of draconian to suggest that the only way to cure a problem in scorin' a sportin' event is to dispense with any further efforts in such sport.
*In the spirit of the Internet, I Googled his name. Nothin' of a nature with regard to anythin' of major renown surfaced. I 'spect that, even on this subject, our Bill** is a more significant source of opinion.
**O' course, it still amazes me that, despite the fact that I relocated my blog over six months ago, the link on his blog still points to my former location.
Posted by Tiger at August 25, 2004 04:32 PM