Beach More Popular The Indoor

[thedaddy]

The undisputed fact is that before and during the olympics the beach game has recieved much more media coverage then the indoor game

Seems like every time i turned on nbc they were showing a womens beach game

[Deleted]

thedaddy said:

The undisputed fact is that before and during the olympics the beach game has recieved much more media coverage then the indoor game

Seems like every time i turned on nbc they were showing a womens beach game

I don't think anyone is disputing that Beach VB gets more media coverage. The questions are: is it harming the indoor game? is it the VOLLEYBALL that makes it popular?

I still say the answer is YES to the former and NO to the latter.

[uhvb]

I was pretty disappointed to see half-clad cheerleaders dancing around between games of the gold medal match on the beach. To me, that proves that it's not about selling the sport, it's about selling the skin. Maybe the pedestal I have the Olympics on is too high. And the blasts of sound bytes prior to every serve or after points, annoying. I've been going to AVP tournaments for years and I expect it there but not the Olympics. I guess I'm just getting old. Gotta go play with my grandkids now.

[sistahsledge]

After watching several exciting men's beach matches, I don't think it's fair to the athletes to say that the only reason for beach VB's popularity is sex appeal. First of all, the guys aren't showing any more skin than basketball players. There's plenty of big-time hitting and blocking, especially with the Brazilians. I think the smaller court has helped the sport a bit in eliminating the old "dink-fests". Players are having to spike the ball a lot more to terminate points. And the crowd reacts to the spikes, blocks, and digs with as much enthusiasm as the athletic feats in other sports.

Sex appeal and the women's game is a different story. It's pretty obvious that the FIVB promotes it with their mandatory bikini rule and ever present "butt-cam". As much as I admire what Walsh and May have done, the women's game is definitely a watered down version of volleyball. There are very few women who can really tag the ball and those who can rarely uncork a big hit. It's just too easy to dink the ball most of the time because women don't cover the court as well.

In any case, the organizers of beach volleyball have figured out a product with world-wide appeal, which is difficult to do. The idea of the Olympics as an uptight, noble event was started by that silly French guy a hundred years ago and perpetuated by those solemn Bud Greenspan documentaries. The Athens games have reminded everyone that the Greeks' original intention for the Olympics was an all-out party. And what party is complete without a bikini dance team?

On the Today Show, Katie Couric asked the four USA medalists what they thought about the bikini cheerleaders. Holly didn't say anything against them but she reminded everyone that the focus should be on the athletes on the court. Interestingly, Misty supported the dancers saying they provided a nice diversion during the down time between games and kept the crowd revved up. She also appreciated the fact that they're out there all day doin' they thang.

[sonofbarcelonabob]

sistahsledge said:

On the Today Show, Katie Couric asked the four USA medalists what they thought about the bikini cheerleaders. Holly didn't say anything against them but she reminded everyone that the focus should be on the athletes on the court. Interestingly, Misty supported the dancers saying they provided a nice diversion during the down time between games and kept the crowd revved up. She also appreciated the fact that they're out there all day doin' they thang.

Dang. If I were one of them (Youngs, McPeak, Walsh, May) I'd have said something to the effect of:

"Dang, Couric, what we's really wants ta see is some of dat equal opportunity entertainment, ya feel me? We need some Full Monty action going on out there too along with dem Hooters hoochies. Slap me some skin, girlfriend!"

But...that's just me.