What can Football learn from the Olympics

[QPR Richard]

One thing I think the Olympics showed is that the competitors have a similar kind of mindset to cricketers, they seem good sportsmen.

Footballers on the other hand, can be cynical cheats, always trying to gain unfair advantages, petty acts of violence, and get paid £100k a week for their troubles!

Supporters of different sports have different mindsets too. It's not only the competitors that have responsibilities, so do the fans.

[QPR_NW10]

Whilst the Olympics was amazing, we shouldn't get too carried away, and jump on the Olympians good, footballers bad. It was bad enough when people started comparing the soldiers (sport are troops!!) to footballers.

Several Olympic athletes were sent home for flat out cheating (drugs) and if you watched the 50km walk, not one of them was abiding by the basic rules of the sport.

Football is what it is a massively popular sport watched by millions the world over, and the Olympics is the greatest show on earth but only once every 4 years.

I was pointed in the direction of an absolute cluster**** of a conversation on the subject on Talksport where a Sun journalist called Beasley had written an argument about the boorish behaviour of the fans at the Community shield and compared that to the Olympics, but when Andy Goldstein questioned him on it, ended up threatening him over the phone. Irony overload.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=subXwpPqgug

As for the video replays, some sports have replays, most rely on the adjudicators eye, and where there were video replays on appeal (like the taekwondo for example) it took forever. The sports that could arguably be much better judged with replays (like the diving, dressage, gymnastics etc) don't have them.

I'm all for goal line technology but video appeals during the match would be a nightmare IMO

agree with this is the most part - but as you point out - olympians were thrown out for cheating, or even for abusive tweets....football? nothing at all fo poor behaviour, and if something it tends to be a fine...where does the money go?!

video replays for every instant is agreed...would be rubbish...but def it needs to be brought in.

not trying to say that the olympics is the only way to live sport, and there were errors...but i was simply trying to focus on the positives that we can take rather than try to find the wholes in the past two weeks.

[DeepcutHoop]

agree with this is the most part - but as you point out - olympians were thrown out for cheating, or even for abusive tweets....football? nothing at all fo poor behaviour, and if something it tends to be a fine...where does the money go?!

video replays for every instant is agreed...would be rubbish...but def it needs to be brought in.

not trying to say that the olympics is the only way to live sport, and there were errors...but i was simply trying to focus on the positives that we can take rather than try to find the wholes in the past two weeks.

Absolutely, but I have been annoyed (not by your post obviously) by the constant comparisons of the best of other sports and careers, with the worst of football, backed up by fatuous cretins on Facebook, with their 'Give soldiers footballers wages' emotive tosh.

We should take the best of the Olympic spirit, and embrace it, but it should be done without the need to denigrate the national sport.

Which is not bloody fishing.......

[QPR_NW10]

yep - spot on. with regards to "soldiers = footballers wage" tosh...i even think they were embarrassed by that!

[TRING-RANGER]

Absolutely, but I have been annoyed (not by your post obviously) by the constant comparisons of the best of other sports and careers, with the worst of football, backed up by fatuous cretins on Facebook, with their 'Give soldiers footballers wages' emotive tosh.

We should take the best of the Olympic spirit, and embrace it, but it should be done without the need to denigrate the national sport.

Which is not bloody fishing.......

hey leave the fishies outa this ,,,,,,,, the issac walton angling association

[LA Ranger]

I hope I never se another team GB we are English, Scots , Welsh or N.Irish, plus all the crowds were quieter than a Man U game, totally soulles.

[Kimimar0]

So we should be comparing a passion filled once a week sport, to the once every 4 year feel good Olympics?

[DeepcutHoop]

I hope I never se another team GB we are English, Scots , Welsh or N.Irish, plus all the crowds were quieter than a Man U game, totally soulles.

Until we host it again, you won't. We can't qualify by the current rules.

[LA Ranger]

So we should be comparing a passion filled once a week sport, to the once every 4 year feel good Olympics?

Correct !!!!!. No comparison

[LA Ranger]

Until we host it again, you won't. We can't qualify by the current rules.

Thank god

[QPR Richard]

I think if each team is limited to one video appeal per half, it shouldn't slow the game up too much. Of course, if you win your appeal you get to have another one, like in a number of sports.

[MattyRangers]

So we should be comparing a passion filled once a week sport, to the once every 4 year feel good Olympics?

My thoughts exactly.

[QPR_NW10]

So we should be comparing a passion filled once a week sport, to the once every 4 year feel good Olympics?

Sorry but i completely disagree with this statement.

the exposure the olympic sport gets is by far and away a lot smaller than football - but under no circumstance is it a "once every 4 year feel good". Those sportsmen/women train day in day out - like footballers, compete week in week out in regattas, tournaments, events - like footballers...it's just that every 4 years is the climax, pinnacle of their careers - just like footballers with the world cup.

[MattyRangers]

Sorry but i completely disagree with this statement.

the exposure the olympic sport gets is by far and away a lot smaller than football - but under no circumstance is it a "once every 4 year feel good". Those sportsmen/women train day in day out - like footballers, compete week in week out in regattas, tournaments, events - like footballers...it's just that every 4 years is the climax, pinnacle of their careers - just like footballers with the world cup.

But theyre not in the public eye and in the papers every single week are they? I dont think Kiminar is saying they do nothing for 4 years, just saying theyre not in the public eye often, whereas footballers are constantly in the spotlight, even when its close season. Im sure if the press followed athletes around 24/7 like they do footballers, a hell of a lot of scandals and bad behaviour would be unearthed. Its just because we only have them highlight once every 4 years, we only see the glamour of their events and not all that comes with it.

[QPR_NW10]

fair point matty - i didn't read the previous comment in that light.

but i still stand by that on the pitch, footballers can learn respect from the athletes. that was the best thing to see - a respect among all the people out there. footballers (not all, but a lot) only care about themselves, and not football as a community.

then again, perhaps it's a question of numbers - there are more professional footballers in the world and therefore there is a bigger proportion to have a ****** on the pitch...