Post by jcvball22 on Jul 30, 2021 7:29:42 GMT -5
It's possible that it is simply because this board is concentrated on just the Olympics or maybe because a lot of the posters commenting here are ones I avoid on the general board, but I am genuinely curious as to what people's expectations are for Olympic athletes and matches?
Every thread, especially surrounding USA teams and matches, seems to be a collection of people just bashing the heck out of world class athletes and coaches. It's gotten to the point of not being able to even enjoy the match threads. Was the expectation that the US would win every match 3-0, hit 1.000, and win 25-0? The US women are, and certainly have been, in the medal conversation from the beginning, but are starting five athletes in their first Olympics. Trial by fire on a big stage. And this is the Olympics; it's a grueling run to win it all (which our women have never done before, so there's that added pressure). The US men have been on the bubble, with maybe a chance at medaling, but have been hampered with injuries, are missing a projected starter/top OH, and as proven by the results from the two pools so far, there is a significant amount parity on the men's side. Half the board anointed them gold medalists after the match with France (why, I have no idea), but so far they have performed well and and pretty much exactly where they were expected to be. However, the expectations of the "fans" on this board seem wildly out of touch with reality and it's hard to even fathom it.
To be fair, the complaining started long before the Olympics, it was just easier to avoid in the general forum. If we won gold on both sides, would people be happy? I honestly doubt it, as there is a not insignificant amount of people who think we should fire all the coaches and that we magically have an entire cache of athletes that are better than the current teams just sitting around somewhere (for those in this camp: we really do not).
Maybe I am making a call for civility or maybe I am just tired of the same obnoxious people overrunning all the threads with their petty crap and non-insightful bitching, but once every four, or in this case five, years I just want to nerd out on high level volleyball, cheer on the USA and friends that are playing for various teams, and share the experience with other people who love the sport. Is that too much to ask?
Every thread, especially surrounding USA teams and matches, seems to be a collection of people just bashing the heck out of world class athletes and coaches. It's gotten to the point of not being able to even enjoy the match threads. Was the expectation that the US would win every match 3-0, hit 1.000, and win 25-0? The US women are, and certainly have been, in the medal conversation from the beginning, but are starting five athletes in their first Olympics. Trial by fire on a big stage. And this is the Olympics; it's a grueling run to win it all (which our women have never done before, so there's that added pressure). The US men have been on the bubble, with maybe a chance at medaling, but have been hampered with injuries, are missing a projected starter/top OH, and as proven by the results from the two pools so far, there is a significant amount parity on the men's side. Half the board anointed them gold medalists after the match with France (why, I have no idea), but so far they have performed well and and pretty much exactly where they were expected to be. However, the expectations of the "fans" on this board seem wildly out of touch with reality and it's hard to even fathom it.
To be fair, the complaining started long before the Olympics, it was just easier to avoid in the general forum. If we won gold on both sides, would people be happy? I honestly doubt it, as there is a not insignificant amount of people who think we should fire all the coaches and that we magically have an entire cache of athletes that are better than the current teams just sitting around somewhere (for those in this camp: we really do not).
Maybe I am making a call for civility or maybe I am just tired of the same obnoxious people overrunning all the threads with their petty crap and non-insightful bitching, but once every four, or in this case five, years I just want to nerd out on high level volleyball, cheer on the USA and friends that are playing for various teams, and share the experience with other people who love the sport. Is that too much to ask?
