The following article is from the New York Times.
Sailing Is a Sport Apart
Bomani Jones is a contributor at SBNation.com, where he writes and stars in a YouTube show called “Bomani & Jones.” He’s also a regular contributor to ESPN’s “Around The Horn.” He is on Twitter.
UPDATED AUGUST 10, 2012, 7:05 AM
After seeing the majestic diversity of the Olympics’ Parade of Nations, a visual representation of the best of the Olympic ideal, the last thing I want to watch is a sport where the biggest determinant of success is being rich. I could ask for many sports to be removed on this basis, but I’ll go with sailing because … well, who wants to watch boats that don’t make lots of noise?
O.K., I can do better — what does sailing embody that anyone loves, specifically, about the Olympics? Where is the simplicity of the event that gives the impression that anyone could participate?
You need to be of a certain class with special access to sail. In an event that celebrates inclusion, it is the most exclusive.
Even with sports like swimming and rowing, which cost too much for many, anyone could, theoretically, participate. There’s nothing stopping someone from doing backflips and the other staples of gymnastics.
Sailing? The name of the game is access. The touching human interest stories that buoy NBC’s ratings for the Olympics are somewhere between rare and nonexistent. It’s clearly an activity for a particular class stratus and, given how overwhelmingly white the Olympic participants are, it’s clearly not the world’s game.
If the Olympics is going to wrap itself in touchy-feely stories, it’s hard to get behind sports that are so obviously exclusive. If the Games are supposed to bring the world together, we can do without sports that do the opposite.
We revisit this subject frequently, but after the performance of the American sailors, who are very good, by the way, but were clearly out classed.Not even close to medal contention. Anyone who followed the team leading up to the Olympics would have seen that the team never won any major events. They were never really in contention in the previous three years.
Fingers must be pointed; but in which direction? Was their preparation so far askew? Is US Sailing the governing body in the United States missing the mark? Are the coaches so bad? What to do?
What an a-hole. Talk about someone who’s too shallow to see anything besides a stereotype. That would be like me saying they should eliminate track from teh Olympics because who wants to watch a bunch of dopers and where could the average Joe get the money for all the ‘roids and HGH that they take. Someone should put this bobo on a Laser on a windy day and ask him about the simplicity, the speed…oh and by the way…the noise. As to expense, how cheap does he think those carbon bikes are anyway? What a smacktard.
Man there is so much uninformed blather in this essay, it is hard to know where to start. Talk about an over inflated sense of self importance.
The premise of the Mr. Jones essay seems to be “eliminate a sport (sailing) because it is too expensive or only for “rich folks”
Well at the Olympic level that would mean, well no Olympics as a whole.
Is “sailing” expensive” maybe. It can be pretty cheap too as other commentators have pointed out.
Is it more or less expensive than any other sport?
Sure running is cheap.
Training at the Olympic level? Mebe not so much.
Just what would Michael Phelps train in with out a swimming pool? Built by who? Looked after by?
Who pays him? What does he do for a living but swim and be a Wheaties box kinda guy? I guess someone is paying him or meybe he is merely wealthy enough to just swim? I dunno.
Sailing is certainly athletic- Go and find out what Ben Ainslie’s daily work out is in the Gym and see if you think that is athletic or not? I can tell you from personal experience in that class the Finn is not for the non-athletic. OR after 2 years of sailing a Finn, you will be an athlete.
There is a marked difference between Yachting and Sailing, as evidenced by the name change a few years ago.
I am pretty sure you are thinking of Yachting- Rich guys in their yacht. Sail boat racing is a different activity sharing only the wind and water with yachting. I wonder how many on the US professional Basket Ball Olympic Team have a private Jet?
And why do sports need to make a noise?
Is one of your concearns there are no black guys in the sailing Olympics? Yup there are not- because of all sorts of reasons,.For one reason read the Op Ed letter in today’s NYT on blacks and swimming. Ya gotta be able to swim to take sailing lessons.
But I can tell you that is changing.
Used to be no girls either and that is not very different.
Sailing encompasses a span of age too.
Most of the laser sailors are in their 20’s I suppose. The older sailors are in their 40’s or older maybe? I knew a guy who won a medal in his late 60’s a few years ago. Ainslie is 35 I read.
Question:
Mr. Jones: Ever been sailing? On a boat, down to a Community sailing center?
Did you actually do any real research for this essay?
Evaluate the cost of say being a Decathlete, Part of a rowing team, Horse rider, swimmer-real cost-food travel pool hours, a marathon runner, etc? Who is paying for time training coaches? Carbon Bikes? I am not sure today but used to be the Finns were provided by the host country.
I invite you to come to Newport and sail my Laser-For Free-my treat: We can sail from Sail Newport, one of , if not the premier community sailing center in the country. (and there are others all over even in the Mid-west on Lakes too. Even in NYC for that matter. Not on every street corner but they are there. At SN we teach at least a couple of thousand kids-7-12 to sail every year and the place is absolutely awash with kids sailing in the summer. Last week we held a major regatta for the learner boats, “Optimist Dinghies” for 350 kids or so. An Opti can be built in Plywood for a grand or so and used one are about the same. Community sailing centers also teach adults and you can rent boats there too…..
You need to engage research and fact finding before putting mouth into gear mate.
Your essay is NOT one of the NYT’s best researched and well reasoned essays by a long shot.
Joe Cooper
Newport RI
Does he maybe have a tiny chip on his shoulder? Well, maybe sailing should be removed from the Olympics because it would be better for quiet enjoyment of the sport, and it is wasted on people who don’t get it. On the other hand, the acrobatic level Olympic athletes manage to achieve in sailing along with technology, tactics, strategy, weather, and all the other aspects of the game is so incredible, that it has to be good for science if nothing else.
I’m with Joe, sailing is relatively cheep compared to rowing, a new laser or finn is cheaper than a single scull for rowing. It’s embarrassing to see ESPN publish something so biased without considering the thee side of the argument.