Originally posted by Ushgarak
Your're missing my efficiency angle- it's not that the people aren't there, it's just large nations are not as good at small nations at finding them.Plus, as I mention, Europeans enter into more events.
Despite not having a full-blooded cultural interest in athletics, the US still dominates that sport by a wide margin. Try adding up the athletics medals in the 2012 Olympics and see how Europe does then- you'll see the US wins that pretty well.
But take Equestrianism. GB won 5 medals in that in 2012. The US won 0. Is this because of some innate inferiority of the US? No, it's because [b]the US doesn't give a damn about equestrian sports
. There's no culture there about being good at it. There are several sports like that in the Olympics which various European cultures go for and the US likely never will. [/B]
Unless we make rodeo an Olympic sport. We have some good cowboy Bronco and bull riders.
Originally posted by Ol' Shellhead
Come on Digi, you don't think that if you had the champion the rise of MMA would never have happened. It's why Fedor was never given the contract he deserved by the UFC when he was at his peak. It would have killed the growth of MMA in the U.S.
Foreign fighters get popular here just like any others. GSP was huge, even after all the criticism he got for his shift to the "boring" fighting style.
Originally posted by StyleTime
The UFC tried to give Fedor a contract, but Fedor is managed by idiots who let his best years slip by him. It had nothing to do with xenophobia.Foreign fighters get popular here just like any others. GSP was huge, even after all the criticism he got for his shift to the "boring" fighting style.
They wouldn't pay Fedor what he was worth and most of the huge foreign fighters are from the American Continent. GSP is Canadian, Silva is South American....
Fedor, well Fedor was God.
Like with heavyweight boxing, Americans will lose interest in MMA when foreigners start to dominate. At the moment the rules in the UFC are Wrestler friendly and skewed towards Americans. That will change as better boxers enter it.
Originally posted by Digi
The Olympics are only one measure of athletic success. There are others, if we were truly going for thorough analysis.I'd hesitate to make any sweeping generalizations. Sociological, cultural, genetic, and demographic variables play into any question like this, as other have mentioned. To come to any conclusion that resembles an authoritative opinion, we'd need a novel's worth of statistics and research, not an internet thread and one link.
Also, as an American, I can tell you the country only pretends to care when the Olympics come around. And we're usually happy to pick 1-2 athletes or stories as representative and ignore the rest. Obviously there's a ton of interest and passion about sports. Just not most Olympic sports. Our sporting interests lie decidedly elsewhere.
👆
Most Americans only care about football, baseball, and/or basketball though a lot like ice hockey too. Me? I couldn't care less about sports at all. I used to love football when I was younger especially SEC football but I lost interest.
Should be an Olympic sport
Originally posted by Tattoos N Scars
https://youtu.be/o6YVEkl5pbsShould be an Olympic sport
LOL.
Originally posted by Star428
👆Most Americans only care about football, baseball, and/or basketball though a lot like ice hockey too. Me? I couldn't care less about sports at all. I used to love football when I was younger especially SEC football but I lost interest.
So, in conclusion, Europeans' "athletic ability" is only superior to Americans' in sports that Americans don't really give a shit about. 👆