Why Freeskiing doesn't belong in the Olympics

El.

El.

Member
So while I was lapping the park today, I was on the lift with a middle-aged dude who was taking his wife/girlfriend skiing for the first time. Judging by the dude's equipment (nice) I assumed that he was a fairly advanced/knowledgeable skier. As we go over the park, the lady asks what it is and the man replies:

"Oh thats a terrain park. It's for snowboarders, and they do bumps and jumps in it."

and then a minute later he says:

"Actually, apparently theres a few people called freestyle skiers who go in the snowboard park too."

Lady: "Oh really?"

I wasn't mad at the guy, because some time ago, thats how it was. But it opened my eyes to the fact skiers who see parks every day they ski don't know what freeskiing is, much less the GENERAL PUBLIC.

And now freeskiing is in the Olympics? Because to the public we look like Johnny Knoxville on two sticks, and I don't blame them. They'll laugh at us just like many laugh at curling.
 
This is ridiculous. So you're saying that freeskiing shouldn't be in the olympics because the general population doesn't know anything about it? But if it freeskiing stays "underground" or whatever dumb term we use, the general population won't know anything about it. Maybe consider that when that jahbroni take a break from bangaranging his girlfriend and watches olympic freeskiing on TV, it will alter his opinion on freeskiing, as it will with many others.
 
80% of sports in Olympics are not followed by a large population, how often do you watch sports like badminton. The olympics was made in mind for non professionals to showcase talents. Freeskiing fits perfectly into the norm of all other olympic sports where there is almost no money in the sport and rely on funding to support themselves.
 
The way I see it is that the less they know about the sport the more crazy, impacting, and jaw dropping the event will be the moment it hits live TV, they wouldn't know what hit them.

Tell me, the last time you did a trick in front of person who knew nothing about free skiing were they stoked or did they think it was stupid? They'll be stoked, even if they think you were on some Johnny Knoxville mental plane because it's a goodman exciting sport and it takes balls. People respect these types of athletes. You think we'll be laughed at skiing like curling? My dad fucking loves watching curling so does a lot of his friends, problem with it is that it's boring to watch to even the trained eye sometimes, but skiing, fuck when was the last time you were bored watching skiing? The public will be thinking the exact same ways. Humans love watching other humans throw down, that's how it's been forever and forever will be, long live freeskiing as an Olympic Sport.
 
Sure, but who cares about that one guy. There will always be those people. There are plenty of idiots who are surprised that bicyclists can go off jumps or that competitive sailing exists too.

The thing that I never realized until a few weeks ago is that the Olympics isn't the biggest and most important event for ANY SPORT. Some of the best skiers in the world will be at the Olympics, but a good majority of the top tier slope and pipe skiers will be replaced by people we've never heard of. The same goes for bobsledding, speed skating, luge, figure skating, snowboarding, and all the rest of the non-team sports. The Olympics is not representative of the best of the best. It's a much stranger event than I'd ever imagined before freeskiing slope and pipe got in.
 
Care to elaborate? Why will the top athletes not be there. I know here in the uk we are sending our very best and in the USA they have even had events just to select the top skiers. So how do you think the top athletes won't be represented?
 
ill use my self as an example. Not too long ago I was a gaper. One of the first x game I watched was like 2007 and I watched simon and tanner throw down in the pipe. It was one of the first things that lit my desire to ski. After that I saved up my money and bought my first set up and start skiing. Many kids like me will be transformed from occasional skiers to avid participants in the sport.
 
I am always surprised by how often, I will sketchily hit a rail, just grind right over, and I get a big reaction out of the lift. More often than not, theres are alot more snowboarders than skiers in the park, if there are any skiers at all. Because I am at my mountain so much, there are some days when I am the best skier in the park. To be clear, I SUCK IN THE PARK. But Ill have some random dad and his kid ride up to me and be like, "I've never seen a skiier hit a the rails! That was cool!" even though I almost dismounted with a scorpion and just barely pulled it out. People simply don't know that its an option. I hope that the 'lympics expose the sport to new kids, I am just worried its going to be lost in the non-stop 24 hours sports cycle that is the olympics.
 
The Olympics have always been a place for lesser known disciplines to get their 15 minutes of fame. When was the last time you cared about figure skating? Probably never, but I can guarantee at least one of you little snow gangsters is going to stay home sick from school and watch the whole event, the same way senior citizens are going to see henrik harlaut for the first time and wonder how Jamaica is so good at bobsledding AND freeskiing.

The only thing that makes slopestyle and halfpipe for skiing and boarding different than the sports they will be joining in the games is that they have previously only been showcased to the world via the XGames and Dew Tour, which are very different types of competitions then again, anything figure skating has ever seen. But when you compare the two, its just spinning and flipping on different cold surfaces. One wears tight clothing to help exemplify their difficult body movements, and the other wears baggy clothes to hide them. Then of course there is Jossi Wells who will be competing in both events this year.

Anybody who thinks the addition of these sports are going to hurt the Olympics in any way doesn't understand the Olympics.
 
Look at the start list for Olympics vs xgames and you'll understand. Same goes for most all international competition sadly, but that's what some sports focus on.
 
This^Getting people stoked about skiing is great. It brings exposure towards freesking, and thats exactly what we need for people to know what our sport is.
 
I'm really not sure that this is true *anymore* - does anyone else think that there are usually a lot more snowboarders in the park than skiiers? Obviously this is different in different parts pf the world. But I would be careful to make an assumption like this now.
 
What sport isn't pointless? Skiing actually takes grace and technique, unlike of other sports out there. But all in all your just spinning down a mtn or trying to get a ball in a hoop all pointless.
 
It's amazing now oppressed skiers are still. I wonder if the general population seeing it in the Olympics will result in a more in tune and knowledgable audience...hmmmm
 
That very well could be the stupidest argument ever created on this site. Congrats man.

Question: what kind of grades do you get in school?
 
If you look at a lot of the sports in the olympics they are obscure sports that people don't know much about.. give it a chance, it will be exciting to see how people perceive it after sochi
 
The most annoying thing about the Olympics is going to be all the threads complaining about how shitty every aspect of it is. From the judges, to the set-up, to the terrorist. Skiing is about to hit the mainstream. This rant got nowhere.
 
The only real difference will be some American riders missing, but I highly doubt there will be many of the very top riders missing. The top 4 from the states are going so there is still plenty of competition. Overall of the guys who are likely to podium they will all be there, so it will still be super competative.
 
OP your reasoning is flawed, most sports have a small niche of supporters who follow it religiously, it doesn't devalue it's worth as a discipline, think about table tennis - most people just think it's a basement amusement game but it's in the olympics.
 
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