Paralympics - would you watch it?

[Deportivo Seagull]

It's more because sport, for me, is all about appreciating people doing things I can't do.

.

... the guy who won the para Olympic title in '88, would on his time have reached the semi-finals of the 100m proper, from memory he would have been ninth fastest. Certainly not something that I or most of us could dream of achieving.

Let's face it, you can argue about the SA guy's artificial legs and whether they are an unfair advantage but, he like many of the other athelete's at the next games would run the rest of us into the ground. The days of the para Olympics being an '.... arrrr , aren't they brave ..' event are long gone. These people are serioulsy good !!!!

 

[British Bulldog]

I think as long as you accept it for what it is and cut off the comparison in your mind with able bodied athletics then there's no reason why it cant be enjoyable viewing.

 

[London Calling]

I doubt in 2012 that we will get tickets for the main Olympic games, but we are looking forward to popping along to Para's which should be a geat sporting spectacle.

LC

 

[Man of Harveys]

Highly regrettably, a friend of an old mate of mine apparently used to get very stoned, then spend hours laughing at the many episodes of disabled We Are The Champions that he'd videoed.

Anyway, as long as there's not much of that - and I doubt that there would be - then I think it's great.

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

Could people not quote posts like the one Bars Mar wrote please? He's on my Ignore list and posts like that, however deliberately they're intended to elicit a response from people, are an example of why.

If you quote that sort of deliberately provocative shit, everybody else has no chance of avoiding it. Ta.

 

[magoo]

I really like the Paralympics - its far more humbling, and there are a distinct lack of egos compared to the "able-bodied" athletes.

You couldn't be more wrong I'm afraid. I can only speak from a wheelchair basketball perspective but elite, disabled athletes are equally as egotistical, if not more so to make up for their short comings, as able bodied athletes. On the whole it is cliquey and unfriendly.

In most disability sports, getting to the top is about who you know not how good you are. There is also a massive north/south divide. That being the northern athletes are vastly better funded and backed by businesses and sponsorship than the southern.

The trouble is disability sport is run and organised by disabled people. You might think this is fair but the majority of disabled people are clueless and don't have the experience when it comes to promoting their sport on a large scale. Case in point; a number of years ago the Great British Wheelchair Basketball Association was offered a T.V. deal by Sky Sports to air games. They turned it down. That would have resulted in terrific funding finding it's way down to lower league and developing teams and players.

And another thing! It is almost impossible to get disabled athletes to compete totally fairly because the range of disabilities is so vast.

 

[magoo]

what is the point; they are all winners

HAHA that's even worse than Bars Mars post! LOL!

 

[house your seagull]

And another thing! It is almost impossible to get disabled athletes to compete totally fairly because the range of disabilities is so vast.

hmmm, i saw a tv piece on wheelchair basketball and it seemed that the points system was a pretty sensible solution in dealing with the problem you mention above.

 

[CHAPPERS]

The South Park episode where Cartman pretends to be retarded so he can compete in the Special Olympics is WELL funny.

Up the Down Steroid - Episode Guide - South Park Studios

 

[magoo]

hmmm, i saw a tv piece on wheelchair basketball and it seemed that the points system was a pretty sensible solution in dealing with the problem you mention above.

Yes it's a good way that particular sport is made fairer but in other events such as running and swimming no 2 people have exactly the same disability. For example, 2 amputees won't often have exactly the same level of amputation, so is it fair that they compete against each other?

 

[Gully]

I saw a feature on TV about wheelchair basketball, have to say it looks bloody difficult, who can deny the athletic prowess of those who play it.

 

[magoo]

I saw a feature on TV about wheelchair basketball, have to say it looks bloody difficult, who can deny the athletic prowess of those who play it.

It is damn difficult when you think you have to control a ball and a wheelchair with your hands. It's a much more entertaining spectacle than the able bodied game.

This picture is slightly faked though!

 

[Gully]

Slam dunking...yeah, a bit faked.

I had enough problems trying to play basketball, as a fairly able bodied individual, how much more training and ability would you need to do to carry that off in a wheelchair?

 

[Nibble]

I like watching the faces of the relatives in the crowd. How proud would you be of your son / daughter etc if you had been so worried for them and they come through and acheive something like that. Bloody brilliant. I'd watch it.

 

[algie]

No thankyou.The last time i watch something like that,it put me of my dinner.

 

[Bars Mar]

Can Someone Please Explain What Is Brave Or Special Or So Noble About Taking Part In Wheelchair Basketball Or Running If You've Lost An Arm Or Leg? What Do You Think People In Wheelchairs Do All Day? They Have Active Lives, They Have Jobs, Families, Hobbies And Interests Like All THe Rest Of Us.

It's Unfortunate For Sure And I'm Glad I'm Not Disabled But There Really Has Been Some Bollocks Posted On Here About How Humbling It Is To See These Plucky People. Am I The Only One Who Finds That Kind Of Thing Really Patronising?

Sure - Cheer On The Athletes And I'm Damn Sure They Deserve All The Plaudits But They Are Just Athletes Who Have Lost Limbs Competing Against Other Athletes With A Similar Disability.

The Kind Of Mindset Of Folks Who Look At People In Wheelchairs With Condescension Belongs In The 19th Century.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Word, Bars. Word.

 

[magoo]

Can Someone Please Explain What Is Brave Or Special Or So Noble About Taking Part In Wheelchair Basketball Or Running If You've Lost An Arm Or Leg? What Do You Think People In Wheelchairs Do All Day? They Have Active Lives, They Have Jobs, Families, Hobbies And Interests Like All THe Rest Of Us.

It's Unfortunate For Sure And I'm Glad I'm Not Disabled But There Really Has Been Some Bollocks Posted On Here About How Humbling It Is To See These Plucky People. Am I The Only One Who Finds That Kind Of Thing Really Patronising?

Sure - Cheer On The Athletes And I'm Damn Sure They Deserve All The Plaudits But They Are Just Athletes Who Have Lost Limbs Competing Against Other Athletes With A Similar Disability.

The Kind Of Mindset Of Folks Who Look At People In Wheelchairs With Condescension Belongs In The 19th Century.

I think somebody's hacked into his account!

By they way, don't you find it annoying pressing 'shift' for the start of every word?

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

Ditto. Although I am not quite sure whether it is legal to watch bowels (unless you get permission from the owner) and it certainly isn't a sport.

It's called nursing!

 

[Gilliver's Travels]

By they way, don't you find it annoying pressing 'shift' for the start of every word?

In MS Word, Select All, then Shift +F3 does it for me. Every Time.