I always cringe at the commonwealth games. It's like the Olympics' asthmatic cousin-in-law. None of the strongest sporting nations are there. It's like letting the weaker kids have a race between themselves to see who's the best of the rest. It's just sad and I can't imagine why anyone cares about it.
"It's like the Olympics' asthmatic cousin-in-law."
Lol
Netball update: Australia 73 vs Northern Ireland 20
It's a nail biter.
Final score update: Northern Ireland finished with the wind to snatch a respectable 94-26 cliffhanging loss.
Don't take it too seriously. Even Jack Horton said after winning gold at the swimming tonight the Comm. Games are a lot of fun. They aren't pretending they are competing at the Olympics.
FWIW a world record was broken at Anna Meares Velodrome tonight.
It's actually turned a lot of the GC into a ghost town. I think half the GC has packed their bags and buggered off on holidays for the duration of the CGs. Coles/Woolies from Labrador to Tweed open 24 hours through to 9pm April 16 (surrounding stores open 6am - midnight), I'll bet the checkout chicks are twiddling their thumbs most of the night.
It was just yesterday that I realised it had actually started.
Well at least some other countries are competing against us at Comm Games unlike Aussie Rules where we compete against nobody.
I got bored 10 minutes into the opening ceremony. What a load of old cobblers.
We need some sandpaper to liven things up. Let the games commence.
Camilla, is that you?
Vegetable games
You can tell it's a joke sporting event when the retarded cousins of actual sports like Netball are being advertised as a "feature event".
I only remembered the existence of the commonwealth games when I watched the opening ceremony.
A cringe opening foe a cringe event.
Stop whinging!!!!!
whinging cringing.
FTFY
cringes harder in response to request
With a simple yes/no question like this; You are shining a light on your disinterest in sports inconsiderate of scope. (Btw; not being a sports fan is just fine if that's your thing). Why not focus on flaky commercial pop music or that desperately unfunny comedian you saw once instead? To say "Who cares who is the best from this select pool" is similar to saying "Who cares about honey from WA?", "Who cares about anyone involved in MAFS" or "Who cares that eneloops can't power the sun?". My point is; all you are doing here is stating an opinion you want reinforced by the hive mind. We all love and hate things.
Polls like this are mostly deconstructive, their major purpose is employ confimation bias to segregate and band. That being said, some of the comments have been really constructive (if not somewhat tangential eg The Billy's interesting link to USA war years). Perhaps to gauge better opinion you could add extra fields to distribute respondents more fairly? eg: in addition to "Me" and "Not me" perhaps "I am totally ambivalent", "How dare you!?", "What are the Commonwealth Games?" and "Sure let them have their time in the sun - I'm not going to be glued to the tv though"
I chuckled at "Who cares that eneloops can't power the sun?", well done. Good point.
I agree with you about everything except for the part about the desire for hive-mind reinforcement. I put this poll up on a whim and I'm surprised by the landslide we're seeing here.
I don't think this site is representative of the general population.
This is a place where people get excited about a discounted Xiaomi toilet seat yet can't understand why a racing bike doesn't have pedals.
Despite that, I do think they are waning and people are becoming less and less interested, especially in the younger generation.
30 years ago I thought it was exciting and there was a build up…..I didn't even now it had started this time.
Does the lack of pedals lead to disqualification at the Olympics/comm games?
I'd compete just for the shenanigans at the athletes village.
What games?
Bring on the World Cup!!!
Is that the soccer?
Yep, the one that's being hosted in Russia beginning June 14 :)
That's always fun!
I’m sorry but yesterday we broke a cycling world record that was previously set in the rio Olympics , and we also broke the 4*100 freestyle relay world record. Not so strong my ***
A few strong individual performances does not make a strong games. Is it right that there weren't even enough teams to fill all the lanes for that swimming relay?
Australia, and the media in particular, are pretty much the only ones that care about the comm games. This is probably added to by recent olympic performances being dismal and the current shame surrounding the cricket team!
It's our second chance to feel like a winner!!
Heck, why not hold another 'games' next time we lose but only have our athletes compete with some tiny pacific country so we have another chance at winning?
/s
Australia, and the media in particular, are pretty much the only ones that care about the comm games.
If other nations didn't care, 65+ countries wouldn't have sent their best squad to participate in the games here. Let's not be so pessimist and force upon our views to the whole world.
Other countries, if they do care about sport, care passionately about one or two in the main. Australia is the only one I know to get worked up about stuff like swimming, netball, hockey etc. More so the media than everyday people.
Many haven't sent their best as they have other priorities. There was a post earlier about Kenya having to send their 23rd best marathon runner or something. Some aren't even nations, like Jersey and Gurnsey. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are normally part of team GB at the olympics.
I'm sure the individual competitors are excited to be there, but the general interest and media coverage in most of those countries will be minimal. If they win a gold medal that might change but with the heavily funded British and Australian teams dominating those opportunities are few. Time zone doesn't help either.
Do relay champions get on the front of the cereal boxes?
Except in the Commonwealth Games, they're not competing against all the stronger nations so it's not really a "world" record broken.
Well, yeah it is a world record. Fastest time. Ever. In the world. Not just in the commonwealth games.
Your competing? Well done on breaking that record. I mean your a world record holding cyclist and a swimming world record holder and you comment here? Way to go.
Or did you mean some other athletes actually won those events and set records?
Bring "esports" in and I'll watch it maybe
Olympics/this/and anything like it is a complete waste of money.
We complain about not having enough money for more important things in society, and yet, the funding that goes into the Olympics/AIS/etc is crazy.
And of course all the abandoned stadiums is another factor - total waste of cash.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/athletics/olympi…
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/5558407/winter-olympics-aband…
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/nancy-armour…
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-08-07/ten-years-later-gr…
There are plenty more examples of that as well.
Kill it all off, and put the money to good use.
Rio struggled to hard to make an Olympics happen, only to find themselves deeper in the hole once the games were over. I agree with you.
Come on, what's not to love about Australia beating Northern Ireland at netball? From what I observe nobody outside the media gives a shit.
I'd watch the NPET Games.
(No-Performance-Enhancement-Testing Games)
It would be like the Olympics but the world records would be in their own category.
but no to the ComGames…. boring…
Yeah its a bit of a joke. Kenya, who dominate the marathon event, after asking all their professional runners had to settle with sending their 23rd best Marathoner to compete. Most of their best athletes are running the London marathon later this month where there is actual prize money on offer - not just a worthless medal.
With so many of the worlds athletes ignoring the Commonwealth games to compete else where, if you do get a gold does it really mean anything? Its obviously different for those sports that are only in the Commonwealth games e.g. Squash. Maybe the Commonwealth games should focus more on these e.g. have a Half Marathon event or even something more exciting like an obstacle course (steeplechase doesn't count!).
That's what I mean. Even on the podium it's like "Who?"
…and winner of the gold medal…
"Who?"
Well two world records were set on the opening day of competition. Not a bad effort from the sad "weaker kids".
I'm not gonna say that they should've broke those records during the Olympic games (which there is more consensus that that's the one that actually matters), but I am going to say that them breaking world records during these washed-up wannabe Olympic games doesn't necessitate the tax payers paying to hold these games just so they can have a 'second chance' at it. Why not hold another type of 'games' every year to ensure maximum opportunity to break records?
PS: congrats to those two - they've worked hard for it and I respect that.
Great performances no doubt but they are the exceptions in what is undoubtedly a weak comp.
Good example of knowing when to peak is Britain breaking that cycling pursuit world record and winning gold at the last olympics (and the one before). In the "between olympic" tournaments they were beaten by Australia a few times. Unsurprisingly the Aussies carried on like pork chops declaring they would win at the olympics, GB simply said their program was geared towards peaking at the olympics. Sure enough they won that when it came around. GB is broken up into the separate nations for the comm games so their team is probably different from the olympic one.
'Pork chops' LOLed hard at that!
Steroids
I couldn't care less about Commonwealth Games, it's just a nuisance for interrupting My Kitchen Rule schedule. Bring back Manu and Pete on my telly!!!
I thank the Commonwealth games for bringing a competitor whose first name is "God's gift" to Australia.
I didn't know there was horse racing in the commonwealth games. No wonder all the lefties are protesting.
Not a damn given. Can't wait for World Cup 2018.
what? A bunch of fairies who fall over crying in pain if the wind changes direction?
I think there is less acting and better sportsmanship going on in wrestlemania
Most of the globe disagrees with you. Its fine, you can continue to enjoy your minority sports that nobody cares about and all the real tough blokes who play them. You won't be missed.
ha ha settle down I was having a bit of fun.
I was in Berlin when they hosted it and Oz was doing really well. I was disgusted how we lost against Italy due to poor sportsmanship….that really put me off the game.
Later on I was living in Germany during last world cup and ended up supporting them, was an absolute blast and did learn more about the game.
Either way watching sports generally bores me. I'm heavily in to mountain biking and kitesurfing, never been good at team sports and never been patient enough to watch it. Probably a lot more interesting watching soccer, especially in the world cup situation than a lot of other sports though
@slipperypete: Nobody takes a dive in AFL? Or milks penalties in rugby league/union? Or shouts for out when they know it isn't in cricket? Or tampers with the ball??? Sore point I know.
Yes football players bend the rules, but no more than every other sport. Its more popular for a reason, the atmosphere at games being a big one and the passion for club teams around the world. I've attended AFL and rugby league, good sports, but atmosphere is lacking most of the time. NRL grand final was an exception, a great occasion (helped by my team winning). Football is different, although having former rugby league people running the a league is not helping. They don't get it.
Growing up in Europe I miss the atmosphere of proper football grounds. Sydney derbies in the a league have come close, but this has deteriorated in the last couple of years. Possibly because Western Sydney don't currently have a home ground but a lot is the pathetic overreaction in the media to things like flares. We won't worry about the rampant drunkenness and racism at cricket one dayers, but my god if someone lights a flare at football…
The comm games/olympics/world championships/national,state,region,school championships are all different levels of sports for anyone from kids to adults. Most Olympic/Commonwealth/National games start at very young children becoming active and fit and developing their particular skills that some don’t have for whatever reason. After many years of sacrifice and hard work it’s nice to recognise their efforts and pit themselves against their peers from around the world. For many this is the springboard for further and higher ranked competition, culminating in the Olympics, the OPs opinion is thankfully his right to express because he lives in a civilised democracy. Perhaps if he stopped and considered that sport in general does in fact instill many valuable characteristics and disciplines into the youth of the world he might not be so dismissive. As a parent of a former commonwealth and Olympic athlete can I suggest he be a little more tolerant of others interests. There’s many other options to occupy his quite intolerant outlook on the world. For my part congratulations to the athletes/parents/support staff and volunteers, not everybody is so dismissive of your efforts.
This is the romantic grass roots view, the reality in top level sport is the countries that spend the most money on sports science etc win everything, crushing those whose governments can't afford or don't prioritise it. Australia were pioneers of this and it showed in Olympic results 15-20 years ago. The media played it as plucky little Australia takes on the world and wins because our our superior grit and mental strength. That was always nonsense, the Australian government was sinking billions into ensuring success at a time when few others were doing so.
Since then the likes of Britain and others have started doing the same with Britain in particular getting spectacular Olympic success, finishing second only to the USA in 2016. Money buys medals.
At a lower level sport of course has a lot of benefits and everyone should be encouraged, not just those who have natural speed or ability.
That's a fair point too. I was a bit cynical in making this post, but I did expect to see a few more people taking the side that you're taking. I'm surprised at how one-sided the survey results are so far, especially given the amount of money Australians spend on sport and the worship that sporting ability receives here.
By the way, what did your kid compete in? How'd they do?
Swimming,, medals at world,,Olympic,, and yes even COMMONWEALTH level.. by the way asthma was the reason for involvement in the sport,, helps the asthmatic enormously.
Good on your kid. I suppose if you've got someone to cheer for it would make it much more interesting.
cmon, drop the name :)
What ever happened to the triple jump.
Was the only thing I beat everyone at school at ! ,
only to be scrapped as I began to imagine a glorious career of hop skip jump.
Watching sporting events is a utter waste of time. CWG no way. Olympics maybe.
Competition has become a dirty word in our keyboard warrior led, litigious, nanny state society.
Those of you that decry sports, don't worry; you are safe on your sofas; at least until middle age, if you are lucky.
It's not about competition, or bubble wrapping people to protect them from it. It's about staging an expensive but redundant celebration of mediocrity. Even if you win, it's like being in the best primary school cricket team. Have a ribbon and give a wave.
No it's about one's attitude.
You are pathetic. Do you even know how international sports is structured? Not every international competition needs to involve all the nations in the world. Commonwealth is a welcome and well established international competition that many world class athletes compete for.
If anything, through this worthless post you made, it shows you are the one that is redundant, mediocre and a little man wrapped in bubble wrap.
I hope you had the integrity to read this post. You can argue whether the competition was well run, financially viable etc but do not belittle athletes who work very hard to win and represent their country in an international competition.
What makes you such an avid proponent of the best, the winners the 1st in line? Doubt you are such a prolific winner yourself.
I get your point, but you lose a lot of your meaning by getting angry and name calling. Sure, it's fine to have a games that's not the biggest deal. Fine. But I'm not pathetic for having my own opinion, and nor are the others who don't care.
That said, you're right that I'm no winner. I am a very normal guy, about whom there is nothing outstanding or impressive. I don't compare favourably to any actual athelte, for sure. I still think the commonwealth games is a total waste, and a cringe fest. I still think it's weird for highly funded first world nations to self-congratulate when they win at shot put against a country that just finished a fifty year long civil war.
John Farnham.
"We robbed someone's daughter. We robbed someone's son."
I heard he was going to sue but settled out of court. Highlight of the settlement is he gets to do a retirement "one last gig" show in the stadium at the end of the games.
I like watching athletic competition….even though there are numerous world and olympic champions in the comm games, it doesn't have to be the best of the best for me to enjoy. I enjoy seeing a close match between under 11 soccer teams, high school 100m sprint etc.
The enjoyment that comes from watching sporting competitions is because it's not scripted, there's an opportunity to be shocked, wowed, feel suspense, see sportsmanship or bad sportsmanship, see people reach goals that have culminated from years of training and effort, break records etc.
I think for a lot of things in life, once you actually try it yourself, you gain an appreciation for it and especially for how good some people are at it.
…ill tell ya what i dont like….cooking competitions! XD
This makes sense. I've never thought of it that way personally, as I can't stay awake for any game of anything. I legit fell asleep in the MCG one time I tried to go to the footy.
Yeah, no big deal, it's not for everyone. When i was younger it was all i cared about, now im lucky i can enjoy more things and a wider variety… I fell asleep during the first x men movie on two separate times trying to watch it though.
And i guess the usefulness of it is to develop our athletes by giving them exposure to higher standard of competition that is available locally, helping them become accustomed to handling the pressure of high-level sports, providing a regular competition (instead of every 4 years), inspiring kids and enticing them to participate in sport #healthylifestyle #grassrootslevelturnsintoelite
but the batton relay is a joke, thats really cheesy trying to be olympic
I dont really mind. Sport is sport to me. It also gives some of the lesser known nations and sportsa bit of publicity.
I too have little to no interest in the comm games and assumed most of Australia shared my views.
The oppening ceremony delivered an average metro audience of 2m people.
For comparison the austrakiam open men's final in 2017 had an average metro audience of 1.7m
So you could argue that more people care about the comm games than the tennis which to me is rather shocking
The tennis has real AAA competition.
Who cares about free to air antennas TV ?
I've lived in current house for about a year and half now, and haven't even bothered plugging antenna in . With netflix and torrents and stan and YouTube etc, no need for connection to free to air tv (unless we really really want to watch comm games, or something else not online) .
The Rugby 7's is worth watching, the rest is boring. If they ever get around to adding cricket (T20 is a good fit) then I'd probably watch that too.
Aboriginal people called it Stolenwealth Games.
Lol cause of all the money they had before.
They had the country…..
? what are you on about. Have you read a book in your adult life?
Should setup a dedicated channel so that it don't effect normal viewing….if we going to can the games in any form what about other those sports we don't enjoy that TV time…and yes i did volunteer at the melbourne games..which i enjoyed doing as i didn't see the TV coverage..just meet the people at games village
MKR fan are you?
Zero interest in it. Had no interest in the winter Olympics either. Prefer NRL, NBA and MLB at present.
to be honest CWG are a waste of money in my opinion.
Pretty much like this
Olympic Games = Your high school versus every other school in competitive games that have stakes and pride. The school covers it and people in your school cheer for you etc.
Commonwealth Games = Your HPE class plays with HPE classes from two other high schools in the local area. No one else should really give a shit and it shouldn't really get any significant coverage but for some reason the school covers it as much as major competitive games and urges people at the school to cheer for you despite most people not giving a single f. And in this case, the two schools that you play with are low-end high schools with a low academics/lack of sporting heritage which makes it even more insignificant and mundane
Pretty much wasting our tax payers money in exchange for congesting the Gold Coast, the highways and building unnecessary expensive infrastructures. Not to mention more revenue raising for the cops on the highways with the special lanes and draconian speed limits.
I don't care much about the Games yet Aboriginal cultural performances. Apparently this is an opportunity to showcase Australian culture and there's nothing more unique and special than Aboriginal stuff. Unfortunately, there are still so many retards like senator Hanson who objected it.
The only thing as unique as Aboriginal stuff is every other ethnicity's stuff.
Come on, all peoples are equal and as interesting as one another and entirely unique as individuals.
Why do people keep classifying people as races when everyone is an individual PERSON.
Also, every country has Aboriginals. They were the first generation of people to settle in whatever country/region they settled in. Their children and subsequent generations become indigenous, the same thing for new migrants children born locally are indigenous.
The Commonwealth is a vulgar legacy of imperialistic England. It is basically the opposite of civilization. Time for these dehumanizing institutions and ideologies to be left in the history books. We all share Earth and existence.
Come on. "There's nothing more special and unique"? You're not sitting in front of the government sensitivity panel here.
Ok guys. I'm a migrant myself and I've organised couple of decent ethnic festivals down under. Reality is I gotta scratch my head real bad just to fugure out what an Australian festival will have if there isn't Aboriginal performance. I did not mention any gov. or political issues here, all I'm on about is the cultural aspect in each sporting event.
Commonwealth games are embarassing because it's a bunch of rich countries with big budget sporting programs and institutes vs a bunch of poor old colonies who's arse we kick every time. We're just pressing a bunch of medals to give to ourselves and then run around patting ourselves on the back.
This. This is what I was trying to articulate, but you have the ability that I lack. This is why I hate the commonwealth games the most. Mega-funded, sport mad nations sharing the field with goat herders and cartwheel repairmen. Not to disparage goat herders or cartwheel repairmen, but they're not going to beat Britain and Australia at the bloody pole vault and weight lifting. Not today and not next year either. And then the wealthy colonies pat each others backs in congratulation for having won, when the field was sloped straight towards their goals.
To enhance your argument you could just direct people to the medal count
If team GB could compete together (in the Cwth they are separate) they'd be top of the medal tally lol. Aus vs GB vs Canada vs RSA in every event zzz
Not even Joe Schooling from SG bothered!!
It's Prada or Nada bebe >.<
It's like the Olympics' asthmatic cousin-in-law
It's like letting the weaker kids have a race between themselves
I mean are you trying to talk about Para Sport's?
Seems like you kinda making fun of Para Athletes
The commonwealth games shows how much invasions the Brits have done all over the world.
That just shows how few grammar you knows.
It's embarrassing watching them hopelessly flail and fling bolo punches, while tripping over their own feet.