Cyprus-Forum.com

[devil]

You talk utter rubbish. Puritan approach? You make me laugh! I don't think anyone could accuse me of being a puritan. I'm more often berated for expressing myself too liberally! If 22 grown men want to punt a football about a field, that's their affair, they can do what they like, if they call that having fun. That they do it for money is another affair, but I'm not against that if they still find the game the main thing. If they do it as big business with 50,000 fools paying through the nose to watch them do it, then that is a horse of another colour. That is not fun, nor is it sport, nor even a game and the spectators are conned into parting with their money. So be it with the Olympics. It was not that long ago that any form of professionalism or sponsorship was totally excluded from the Olympics and that is how it should be. In other words, the athletes did it for fun - and it cost them individually a packet to participate - not because they were paid to do it, as is the case today. Baron de Coubertin must be turning over in his grave.

[Southerner]

It was not that long ago that any form of professionalism or sponsorship was totally excluded from the Olympics and that is how it should be. In other words, the athletes did it for fun - and it cost them individually a packet to participate - not because they were paid to do it, as is the case today. Baron de Coubertin must be turning over in his grave.

The difference between the ideals you state and reality are obvious, whereas only a privileged few could partake at a higher level in many countries; the whole of the Iron curtain (Former Soviet bloc) countries; the USA and others had 100% professionalism, univserity sports scholarships in the USA, military sevice in the Iron Curtain countries, at least when it became open it also became a level playing field.
To expect a family man/woman to hold down a full time job, look after a family, partake in sport at the highest level against professionals and at 30 be over the hill with nothing to show for neglecting his family is a asking too much. Baron de Coubertin may well be turning in his grave but he didn't work 60 hours a week down a coal mine!

[devil]

May I remind you that the Olympic Games predated the Soviet era?

[Southerner]

May I remind you that the Olympic Games predated the Soviet era?

I can't see the relevance of your reply.