Given the ITU’s recent action I have to ask if this will really have any impact. Frankly, I think a tremendous amount of our (triathletes) fees and resources go to the Olympics… and I really don’t care about them. Triathlon is a really boring spectator sport… unless you are a competitor. For most of the people I know it is really about participating and the accompanying lifestyle. Watching a race on TV does not do much form me… but I would certainly rather watch any Ironman than say… the Olympic distance race in Minneapolis, or the awfull coverage we get in the Olympics. Anyone else thinking along these lines?
Just think what we have had to endure over the past few weeks with the Ashes here in the UK! Thank God Cricket isn’t in the Olympics.
Wow…last time i checked, the Olympics was for the competitors, not for your convenience. Talk to you board members if you don’t like what’s going on. And, yes…I do care about the olympics…ever since I got the chance to see them on tv. Winter and Summer. You seem to be the target audience…Ironman races on tv…not draft legal races. That’s already how it is right now. (unless you have OLN)
well starting sept. 18th you can watch IM races on OLN
Right on! The Olympics really has lost it’s luster in a number of sports, and doesn’t carry the same stigma it once did, save for some foreign countries. Europe is still in love with them, but here it’s just another filler. I think the stodgy USOC and it’s blundering moves have accelerated the decline here. And yes, I’ve posted a number of times that we DO, not watch, except for the long computrainer workout, with an Ironman Video playing…
Oh, forgot to actually comment on Triathlon. Doh!
Shouldn’t you be pleased that your/our sport is in the Olympics? I have friends, non tri friends that is, who have come out to watch my buddies and I race tri, and they love it. They love the atmosphere, and they love watching the pain (sickos!!)
care about what?
“Wow…last time i checked, the Olympics was for the competitors, not for your convenience.”
You are absolutely right!
I payed Ultimate Frisbee in college… raced moutnain bikes after that… and for the last 7 years have been doing tri’s. Each of these sports seem to spend huge resources chasing the Olympics as if that was the ultimate validation. Its nice… just not a high priority. That money could be better spent at the local level IMHO.
Triathletes as a whole amaze me. They seem to be able to watch just about all kinds of other sports, but there own. Talk to any group of swimmers and they are glued to the TV watching the swimming during the Olympic games. Talk to any group of nordic skiers and again they are glued to the TV during the Olympic Games watching the nordic skiing. Talk to any group of cyclists and they are watching the Road race at the Olympic games when the road race is on. Talk to any triathletes though and they have no interest in watching the Olympic Triathlon. Strange!
I sensed from your post that you live in the United States. This might be part of the problem. The American TV networks generally speaking do an abysmal job of covering any Olympic sports other than Gymnastics and Figure skating or any other event that lasts longer than about two minutes. The producers have decided that American TV viewers can’t watch an event that last longer then two minutes. I use the 2 minute limit because, they will NEVER show any running race on the track over 800m. Even in the 1500m they need to cut to a commercial! Anyway, to my point - It’s unfortuante because American viewers have really not got to see what the Olympic Triathlon is all about. In Canada we have seen every Olympic Triathlon covered from start to finish on the CBC. It’s been great stuff to watch.
I am sorry for you.
Fleck
You are right… I do live in the states. You are also right that our coverage is horrible.
I watch swimming, track, marathons, bike racing, skiing and tons of other stuff. I am lucky and grateful to have access to OLN and other channels. Unfortunately when it comes to the Olympics… I have to wade through hours of figure skating and gymnastics to see little bits of the sports I care about (not that there is anything wrong with figure skating or gymnastics… just not my thing).
“The Olympics really has lost it’s luster in a number of sports, and doesn’t carry the same stigma it once did, save for some foreign countries”
Until an American starts winning and then these sports become “great” again.
I do not see Lance’s winning the Tdf making bike racing more popular in
the US.
Dave
ha ha!
Are you kidding, Dave?! Half the people I know who have taken up bike racing in the last few years will attribute their interest to Lance and the TdF, including myself.
I have never heard anyone talking about it. I judge the US seeing it has a big deal when there is lots of MAIN STREAM media coverage. I sure do not see main stream coverage, do you?
I know Julie Moss started me thinking of doing an IM.
Dave
I do not see Lance’s winning the Tdf making bike racing more popular in
the US.
Dave
For the masses, Lance is the only reason they even KNOW there is a TdF.
Sales of road bikes have really shot up since he started winning (this is also the time that Triathlon has boomed in popularity, so some of those sales have to be attributed to that instead).
Participation in bike racing has increased dramatically during the Lance era as well.
Guys aren’t gonna flip to bike racing on the TV instead of football or NASCAR, but it has grown in popularity.
Don’t worry, I’m with you.
“The Olympics really has lost it’s luster in a number of sports, and doesn’t carry the same stigma it once did, save for some foreign countries”
Until an American starts winning and then these sports become “great” again.
Don’t think so. Tom Dolan won a lot of medals in Atlanta, but participation in swimming is way down.
You’re kidding right? You really think that the networks go into a gigantic bidding war and pay astronomical amounts of money (keep in mind the hundreds of millions they pay is for the right to televise them, they still have to pay gihughic production costs) for something that is passe? I can understand that some don’t like the OG and ITU style races, but overall it huge.
Styrrell
You’re kidding right? You really think that the networks go into a gigantic bidding war and pay astronomical amounts of money (keep in mind the hundreds of millions they pay is for the right to televise them, they still have to pay gihughic production costs) for something that is passe? I can understand that some don’t like the OG and ITU style races, but overall it huge.
Styrrell
The bidding war’s for hockey, skating, basketball, and the anticipated viewership for the advertiser’s; not a draft legal race. Wake up.
My post also said that there was no rebound effect from a gold medal that can be seen as long-term. The media effects are short lived. We remember a gold medalist until the next pro baseball game or Super bowl.