2028 Olympics in OKC

[Just the facts]

I guess the question is, what is a sport, what is a game and what is a skill?

They all fall under the umbrella of competition, but there has to be some way to establish who is better. I don't know how one could possibly score 'breaking' since I would consider it performance art and not a competition.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^
No differently than figure skating, ice dancing, gymnastics, diving, snowboarding and multiple other judged competitive disciplines.

[Just the facts]

Yeah, I'm not a real big fan of competitions that require a non-participant to decide the winner. I don't even watch the singing or dancing reality TV shows.

[Urbanized]

I agree with you that one. Not a fan of judged completions in general. Much prefer sports where the method of winning is to run faster than the other competitors, to jump higher, throw something further, score the ball (or puck, or whatever) more, to wrestle (or punch) the opponent into submission, etc.. Objective results rather than subjective.

All of that said, breakdancing is no different than the others I mentioned previously.

[Pete]

Except every single sport has judgment. Football, basketball, baseball and virtually everything else have results that can be completely determined by calls made by human officials. Replay reviews have helped but not eliminated this.

Even something seemingly straightforward as a foot race or swimming has humans deciding if there is a false start, and sometimes athletes get disqualified before they even get their chance. There is actually a lot of judgment in swimming regarding illegal strokes, turns, time spent underwater, etc.


Human judgment is part and parcel of any competition.

[Rover]

Yeah, I'm not a real big fan of competitions that require a non-participant to decide the winner. I don't even watch the singing or dancing reality TV shows.

Sounds conspiratorial. Judging doesn’t equal deciding the winner. It means making sure rules are followed and the system of scoring is adhered to as much as possible. Every sport has ways of cheating or accidentally being outside the rules to gain an advantage. If cheating is okay or gaining an advantage unfairly is your idea of fair competition, then that is telling. That’s where many in our society have gotten….no rules, no judgement, just anything goes to win.

Many or most of the people who think judges are arbitrarily changing outcomes generally have no clue or ability to judge but rather look at the event with biased or untrained perception of what is actually happening. And when mistakes are made are quick to see it as a conspiracy because they’d rather believe that. Fans are emotion driven.

[Urbanized]

Except every single sport has judgment. Football, basketball, baseball and virtually everything else have results that can be completely determined by calls made by human officials. Replay reviews have helped but not eliminated this.

Even something seemingly straightforward as a foot race or swimming has humans deciding if there is a false start, and sometimes athletes get disqualified before they even get their chance. There is actually a lot of judgment in swimming regarding strokes, turns, time spent underwater, etc.


Human judgment is part and parcel of any competition.

I get it, and I agree. There are degrees of it, of course. And what I’m saying is that the more an official’s judgment is required the less enjoyable I find a sport. In most sports the bulk of the scoring or rule administration is pretty straightforward and obvious even to the untrained eye. Did the ball cross the line, or did it not cross the line? Did it go through the hoop, or did it not? Did this person outrun that person? Did they jump higher?

When officiating becomes a major deciding factor in those sports the outcomes are often considered controversial and potentially corrupt. Men’s Olympic basketball in 1972. Oklahoma-Oregon. You can go on and on, but the reality is that sports are better when the officiant’s subjective opinion is not the headline.

Contrast that with sports where nearly 100% of the scoring is based upon the subjective opinion of an “expert.” They might be fun to watch, graceful and athletic displays, but when it requires a trained eye to say this individual is better than that individual it loses some of the purity of sport, in my opinion.

[Just the facts]

Imagine if a field goal in football was worth 1, 2 , or 3 points based on how well the kicker pointed his toe on the follow thru.

[Pete]

Imagine if a field goal in football was worth 1, 2 , or 3 points based on how well the kicker pointed his toe on the follow thru.

Or if human officials made a questionable call as to if the field goal was good or not good.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^
But that’s just the thing. It is incredibly rare for such a thing to happen. Questionable or even tainted judging in ranked performance-based competitions is part and parcel with the Olympics. A time-honored tradition.

[kevin lee]

I know coutries held competitions off-site in other cities in the past. Did each city have it's own athlete's village or is there only one?

[chssooner]

Imagine if a field goal in football was worth 1, 2 , or 3 points based on how well the kicker pointed his toe on the follow thru.

I feel like you are just a contrarian, for no reason.

Your argument here lacks any logic, whatsoever. The judges are experts in that field (ice skating, gymnastics, etc). It isn't like they get some inbred hayseed to judge. There are also set criteria they look for when scoring and judging. Sure, there is some human element, but winners are VERY RARELY, if ever determined because one judge disagrees with the others.

But a charge versus a block in basketball can be very judgemental, as well. Or pass interference.

[Pete]

^^^^^^^
But that’s just the thing. It is incredibly rare for such a thing to happen. Questionable or even tainted judging in ranked performance-based competitions is part and parcel with the Olympics. A time-honored tradition.

There are literally dozens of questionable judgment calls in every single football, basketball and baseball game ever played.


This is such a silly argument. It's fine to like certain sports more than others but the judgment of officials influences every single sport.

[soonerguru]

Yeah, I'm not a real big fan of competitions that require a non-participant to decide the winner. I don't even watch the singing or dancing reality TV shows.

Didn't you say just the other day that you're not a fan of sports, period, or did I misunderstand? You likened sports fans to cult members, if memory serves.

[Pete]

We all probably need to stop responding to JTF and enabling him to take every subject and turn it into some nonsensical tangent.

[Urbanized]

A quick Google search for tainted officiating at the Olympics returns scores of results, and nearly all of them revolve around sports like figure skating, gymnastics, snowboarding, diving, boxing. Sports where scoring is often - or even always - completely subjective. You generally do NOT see such massive controversies in sports like track and field, or - topically - whitewater canoe/kayak, or other less-subjective sports.

I’m not arguing against such sports being valid; just saying that I find them to be less credible and therefore less enjoyable, for me at least.

[Urbanized]

There are literally dozens of questionable judgment calls in every single football, basketball and baseball game ever played.


This is such a silly argument. It's fine to like certain sports more than others but the judgment of officials influences every single sport.

Hardly silly. It’s an objectively more credible outcome when an athlete competes and wins vs a clock, a physical limitation, a weight, a goal, as opposed to competing for the favor of a judge. Some sports (for instance figure skating or gymnastics) even have outcomes that hinge on personal demeanor. THAT’S what silly looks like.

[Pete]

Let's please get back to discussing the 2028 Olympics in OKC.

[Laramie]

Hope there are some funds that will add to the Oklahoma River amenities.

[Jake]

What is the percentage chance of this happening?

For both the whitewater events and then the river events?

[Pete]

What is the percentage chance of this happening?

For both the whitewater events and then the river events?

Whitewater 90%. I think it's a done deal, just not announced.

Rowing, no idea but OKC has to be pitching hard.

[Pete]

Still hearing the whitewater events in OKC are signed, but the IOC and LA28 will formally announce all the sports and venues before the end of the year and probably in the fall.

Don't know about rowing or river-based events but I believe they are still a slim possibility.


This is going to be such a huge deal for OKC. Will be the first time to be on a truly international stage; exposure very few cities have experienced.

[soonerguru]

Still hearing the whitewater events in OKC are signed, but the IOC and LA28 will formally announce all the sports and venues before the end of the year and probably in the fall.

Don't know about rowing or river-based events but I believe they are still a slim possibility.


This is going to be such a huge deal for OKC. Will be the first time to be on a truly international stage; exposure very few cities have experienced.

Unreal! And, well deserved. OKC belongs on that stage.

Now, we should hope that we land all of the sports we are vying for -- and that we have a freakishly cool late July in 2028.

[ShadowStrings]

I noticed that the LA2028 website lists Lake Perris as the site for the rowing and canoe sprint competitions rather than Long Beach Marine Stadium as was previously planned.

[Mountaingoat]

I read a little about Lake Perris. I'm sure the crystal-clear Oklahoma River isn't much better but this is posted about Lake Perris: The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued a safe eating advisory for any fish caught in the Lake Perris due to elevated levels of mercury and PCBs.