Why Olympic Lifting is so unpopular?

[fraverdenstreet]

I'm here for the gangbang

hahaha
who wouldnt want to get raped by chigiskov
and why wouldnt chigiskov want to rape any of us either
jus' sayin

[Rusty56]

hahaha
who wouldnt want to get raped by chigiskov
and why wouldnt chigiskov want to rape any of us either
jus' sayin

if you want to get raped then is it technically rape? or just rough fawking?

[fraverdenstreet]

good point

[Rusty56]

[ptarleton]

Wow. too much pride in that guy's rant. Everyone's gotta believe they're playing the hardest sport. Lolz for vanity.

Reason #1 - Weightlifting isn't a good spectator sport. So it'll never be as popular as American Football, Soccer, Basketball, Golf, Tennis, or even Hockey. It's automatically delegated down to the popularity level of other Olympic Sports: Track & Field, Swimming, etc. That's the popularity ceiling for weightlifting.

Reason #2 - Weightlifting will never be as popular as other sports in the Olympics because it's not a popular sport among American children. Look around. After School Clubs for swimming, track, cross-country, gymnastics, ballet. All of these are far more popular than weightlifting. Why is this the case? I think a big reason is the belief that lifting weights at a young age will stunt a kid's growth. It doesn't matter whether there's any science to this belief. That's just what people think. It's hard to change peoples minds about anything. It's not a matter of logic. There needs to be a cultural change: Look at what the Mighty Ducks did for Hockey, what 300 did for Crossfit, etc. Just make a blockbuster film where Chris Hemsworth plays Chigichev going up against Rezazadeh in 2005 and Weightlifting would explode as a sport.

Reason #3 - Weightlifting isn't popular among adults because it's a hard sport to fake. You can fake being a golfer by buying some clubs, some sporty looking casual wear, and BAM you look like a golfer. You can look like a biker if you just go out and buy a $1,000 road bike, some lycra clothes, and BAM you look the part. If you want to look like a weightlifter you have to train for years and years, get jacked, and put big weights over your head. You can't buy being a weightlifter. If you walk around in $200 weightlifting shoes snatching 50 kilos, blabbering on about double knee bend and how you've "Gone Full Bulgarian" then everyone just thinks you're a delusional *******.

[fraverdenstreet]

i love the last reason you stated. so true too

[chigiskov]

Wow. too much pride in that guy's rant. Everyone's gotta believe they're playing the hardest sport. Lolz for vanity.

Reason #1 - Weightlifting isn't a good spectator sport. So it'll never be as popular as American Football, Soccer, Basketball, Golf, Tennis, or even Hockey. It's automatically delegated down to the popularity level of other Olympic Sports: Track & Field, Swimming, etc. That's the popularity ceiling for weightlifting.

Reason #2 - Weightlifting will never be as popular as other sports in the Olympics because it's not a popular sport among American children. Look around. After School Clubs for swimming, track, cross-country, gymnastics, ballet. All of these are far more popular than weightlifting. Why is this the case? I think a big reason is the belief that lifting weights at a young age will stunt a kid's growth. It doesn't matter whether there's any science to this belief. That's just what people think. It's hard to change peoples minds about anything. It's not a matter of logic. There needs to be a cultural change: Look at what the Mighty Ducks did for Hockey, what 300 did for Crossfit, etc. Just make a blockbuster film where Chris Hemsworth plays Chigichev going up against Rezazadeh in 2005 and Weightlifting would explode as a sport.

Reason #3 - Weightlifting isn't popular among adults because it's a hard sport to fake. You can fake being a golfer by buying some clubs, some sporty looking casual wear, and BAM you look like a golfer. You can look like a biker if you just go out and buy a $1,000 road bike, some lycra clothes, and BAM you look the part. If you want to look like a weightlifter you have to train for years and years, get jacked, and put big weights over your head. You can't buy being a weightlifter. If you walk around in $200 weightlifting shoes snatching 50 kilos, blabbering on about double knee bend and how you've "Gone Full Bulgarian" then everyone just thinks you're a delusional *******.

Interesting reasons for sure, but I'm not buying #1. Heavy weights, strength, super human feats - all things that have amazed humans since forever. If marketed right, and I'm not saying make it WWE, but it can be a spectacle. It does take some investment from the audience to understand but still, Alexeev was on the cover of SI back in the day for gods sake. Its just lost its way since weight class restructuring IMO.

[ptarleton]

Interesting reasons for sure, but I'm not buying #1. Heavy weights, strength, super human feats - all things that have amazed humans since forever. If marketed right, and I'm not saying make it WWE, but it can be a spectacle. It does take some investment from the audience to understand but still, Alexeev was on the cover of SI back in the day for gods sake. Its just lost its way since weight class restructuring IMO.

Accomplishment Does Not Equal Public Appeal. Kakhi Kakhiashvili's 235 Clean and Jerk at 90kg might be one of the most amazing physical feats ever executed by any human being but it was done in a stadium with mostly empty seats. Why? Well, when you watch a big weightlifting meet streaming online you're basically just waiting for your favorite lifter to go head to head with his one or two rivals. Time it right and that amounts to maybe 20 minutes of viewing. What about a sports fan who wants to watch is favorite team? Well, he gets to indulge in a football game that's gonna be on for 2 hours. Spectator sports are a longer entertainment experience.

[feces99]

I'm guessing it was also more popular back in the day because of the Cold War. Whats a better symbol for a country's superiority than having the world's strongest man?

[codordoa]

yeah well I wouldn't go on to say that things are necessarily better in all of Europe though wrt to OL.. the traditional countries are definitely still going strong what with a lot of young kids going into the sport and getting coaching and all (and as a result, producing good lifters), but up here in the northern countries, unfortunately, OL is dying a drawn-out death with practically zero interest from youngsters coming into this.

which flat out just ****ing sucks

[sonti]

It isn't a very accessible sport for women, that's for sure. Even if you live in an area where a coach and/or Oly gym exists in a reasonable distance, they never offer childcare. We can't do it when we're pregnant (only a f modified). When the vast majority of women think of Oly lifters, they think of a fat chick pulling 300kg and don't think of girls like Melanie Roach. Since most women only care about esthetics, they don't think Oly lifting could possibly provide that (it can, but they don't get it). So, local cardio gym or running with a stroller it is.

With a 2 year old, it's impossible for me to go 1 hour each way to the nearest Oly gym, fortunately my husband and I have all the equipment at home at a very pricy cost but that's also unreasonable for most.

[forcefedfreak]

Because it is hard.

/thread