Foppe: not much to fall back on…

Football should be banned form the Olympics… i can honestly say i really dont care about it at all!!

Posted from  Netherlands

@Jan; i know; and now theyre trying to get golf (!!) in aswell…pathetic!!

the Olympics are great for sports that dont get many exposure outside the Games but them trying to get all the big stars (Nadal, Federer, NBA Basketbal maybe Woods) is just about MONEY!!

and the fun thing when it suits them they invite swimmers from Kenia or ski-jumpers form Britain (Eddy the Eagle) and say that competing is more importent than winning

the only international football of any importence is a EC or a WC

Posted from  Netherlands

Goose – another excellent point. I agree with you that the Olympics should be about sports that don’t get enough exposure outside of the Olympics. Olympic football is just a youth tournament anyways, how does that make any sense?? The rest of the olympics isn’t a youth tournament, why should it be for football? (I know it’s because the senior teams already play in other football-specific competitions, but that should be a reason for excluding it from the olympics, not making it for youth +3 exerienced players).
I also agree it would be completely pathetic to have golf in the olympics. Golf’s barely even a sport, it’s a hobby! Can you imagine the ancient Greeks including golf in their athletic competitions??

I’m still cheering for the Dutch team though

Posted from  Canada

^ the Dutch football team at the Olympics, I mean ^

Posted from  Canada

@Caleb; good point on the Youth tournament issue…youre right; it doenst make any sense

Posted from  Netherlands

Its not very credible, while all the world’s best swimmers, athletes etc. gather to compete, some sports are hanging somewhere on the side, with U-23 teams in football? it’s not a real representation for the real national teams, the hockey teams are the real deal, so are baseball,volleyball(beachvolleyball), Softbal and handbal. The best tennisplayers seem to be there as well, but í’m not so sure about Basketball as well. The football schedule doesn’t seem to fit any national leagues. It really is a youth tournament. Golf and Skating aren’t olympic sports, just as jeu-de-boule isn’t. Heard next time some sport were to be dropped, Baseball and Softball are sure to be cut out, fact is, those are primarily popular in America but as far as i know not worldwide. On the other hand Rugby, Cricket and Kitesurfing want in, now those sports are duscussable and realistic ones for the olympics. I you want to make Football on the Olympics credible you need to get the real national teams to go, but that would require the schedule for WC,EC, and other future continental tournaments to shift and be revised, to make room for the Olympics and i don’t know if FIFA and others are willing to do that.

Posted from  Netherlands

The Olympics have become something of a joke. It’s a Made For TV event now, driven by ratings and money–which is why the IOC wants pro players and stars and sex appeal. It doesn’t think it can stay full relevant without glitz. On the FIRST night of American TV coverage, NBC showed a //full hour// of an almost meaningless beach volley match between America and Japan, I supposed to get some girls in bathing suits in front of viewers. Soccer, tennis, softball–they should get rid of some of the team sports; there is too much.

Bert squad for the friendly against Russia

Timmer
Stekelenburg

van Bronckhorst
Ooijer
Heitinga
Mathijsen
Boulahrouz
de Cler

de Jong
de Zeeuw
van der Vaart
Afellay
Engelaar
van Bommel
Robben

Kuijt
Vennegoor of Hesselink
van Persie
Huntelaar

Posted from  United States

I will offer an alternate opinion regarding football in the Olympics. I believe it should be an Olympic sport, providing an opportunity for younger players to have a lifetime experience of playing for their country in a truly international tournament. What a terrific opportunity for the younger athletes to have this memory, meeting many others from throughout in the world in a foreign venue. I affirm it in every respect.

Here is where I do agree with many of the comments:

1. The Olympics, like so much else in this world today, has lost the spirit of its original purpose. It is for the “youth of the world.” It is intended for “amateurs”, a word meaning to love something for the sake of the event and without expectation of reward(money!).

2. Due to the number of participants, it is impossible to cover well on television. In America, at least, one can not watch the football event as a complete tournament, such as we could with the recent Euro ‘08. We see limited matches, which generally must involve the US or favorites such as Argentina or Brazil.

3. No full-time professional should be allowed to participate. Basketball has become a joke, with US pros playing against other country pros. Let the amateurs play! When I was younger, the US team had to be composed of college players, no pros allowed. This should apply to all sports, including football.

4. I believe sports such as basketball, baseball, golf and tennis should not be Olympic sports, UNLESS they restrict the participants to being amateurs. As it appears they will not so restrict, then these sports should be eliminated.

5. Many of you mention golf–why an Olympic sport? No way, I agree.

6. One final thought, somewhat unrelated but which has become popular here in the US. ESPN, one of our major sports networks, has decided to make POKER a sport. It is shown on ESPN many, many hours every weak. THAT IS REDICULOS! Will that now become the next Olympic sport.

I recognize that these items are not logically consistent and need some work, but wanted to share them anyway. I look forward to tomorrow’s match, even though I will probably not be able to see it here in the US. My best guess–the Dutch tie with Japan, and go home. Unless they play much, much better than they have to date, which of course I hope they do. I am also not confident of the talent on this team, nor am encouraged that if they do “go through”, that they will progress any further.

Posted from  United States

@Alex; are you dutch? i know many people in Holland that are heartbroken over the loss of baseball…i for one

@Bob; do you think than that the football should be all amateurs?? agree on the poker comment (its all hot in Holland btw), what about darts/snooker??

i really lost faith in the Olympic dream once the swimming finals had to be swum at 7.00 am chinese time for the americans to watch Phelps prime-time

btw; tomorrow Fc Twente will play Arsenal a the Champ.L. qualifier

Posted from  Netherlands

In all honesty, the reason why the Olympic ideal of true “amateurs” are no longer existing is quite simply because it became to difficult to police. It became far worse than dealing with the college sports in the US. At least here you only have one jurisdiction to worry about.

I think the Olympics are wonderful and must be a faboulous thing for a young athlete to attend and nobody should be prevented from attending if they are good enough, pro or non-pro.

However, there are clearly some dodgy sports such as golf (yawn), 10m air-rifle (yawn some more), equestrian (hop on the wife/girlfriend much more exiting and challenging) etc.

This year I am actually for the first time enjoying watching US basketball team because they for once play decent and as a team (shocking, I know). The football/soccer has been a huge disappointment from an Oranje perspective and I have no hope of going deep into the tournament.

Actually, I wouldn’t mind poker being in the Olympics. For one, it provides good entertainment, requires a good degree of smartness and strategy and it is a global phenom. Poker is everywhere. I rather watch that than some 67 year old Japanese guy faffing about on a horse pretending to be an athlete.

Posted from  United States

@Goose, yes, i’m dutch, and sure there will be a group of people not happy with baseball to be cut out, but you can’t do anything against it, i for one still have a bit of a awkword feeling on some teamsports at the olympics, but i feel f you have teamsports at the olympics, why not include a selection of those world’s most popular sports, and have the squads really be at their strongest unlike with football, i don’t have a problem with Baseball, basketball, rugby at the olympics, but rugby isn’t really popular worldwide, i’s just a fairly small number of country’s, but the deciding board now more about the number, therefore they know better what sports fit the games.
About the dutch selection by V.Marwijk, i was really surprised to still se Andre Ooijer in it, to me, he’s becoming slow, an’d can’t really keep up any more, would rather see Edson Braafheid(25) from FC Twente or Ron Vlaar(23) from Feyenoord in the squad, they still have potential. I would at least expect(i hoped) him to select a real rightback and
try Heitinga-Boulahrouz as central defensive pair, i think they complement eachothers playing style. Boulahrouz, fast, and a hard, sturdy defender who does exactly what’s needed, and Heitinga has a beauty of a pass and shot, and is better at building, guiding the play forward to attack.
Also think we should keep an eye out to Theo Janssen, who went to FC Twente, he might surprise this season and finally live up to his full potential.

Posted from  Netherlands

@all of you posted from america, are you authentic Americans , or do you have any dutch ancestry, depending on he answer, how does it feel seeing dutch athletes etc., lose to American’s, or the other way around?? i couldn’t help but wonder. But since the dutch don’t have a proper basketball team, i enjoy watching the “redeemteam”. But although my eyes dropped when seeing Phelps swim, i can’t help but have a feeling of unfairness, with so much American, Chinese athletes competing, it’s almost impossible to do good as the Netherlands, Belgium is even worse, i thought about it, and came to the conclusion, why not form a Benelux Delegation(and sneak a bit of Belgian-African, Suriname, and Antillian athletes in it), think about what the Olympic football squad then could have been like, thinking about it makes me a bit depressed it won’t happen, at least not anytime soon.

Posted from  Netherlands

@Alex; Interesting question. I can onlu answer for myself and I guess I am not “authentic” American as I have only lived here in New York since 1990 but I do have a 12 year old daughter who sure is as American as it gets.

I think that most Americans will put the US first but have a soft spot for their country of ancestry and will root for them too.

It is hard not to be impressed by Phelps. Not only does he win, but he seems to be shattereing all the world records in the process. He is truly amazing.

In terms of fairness, I think it is more a case of US having 300 million people to choose from and great facilities and coaches. China has a billion and are at home. Holland has what, about 16 million and change? Statistically Holland should always struggle in that kind of comparison. Not sure if a BeNeLux combo would help much, but maybe we could borrow a Belgian defender because there sure does not seem to exist a person with a Dutch passport able to mark anyone.

Posted from  United States

Olympic football is bloody stupid – 100% agree. Olympic gold medals shouldn’t be so worthless, but they’re handing them out for some under 23 tournament – minus all the best European under-23s – where a couple of older has-beens are invited back for no apparent reason. Simply the lamest competition ever.

Posted from  Japan