OKC has a whitewater kayaking facility, so they are going to hold that event there and softball. I'd definitely go see the whitewater event if I lived within 100 miles.
That is a bizarre bit of trivia. My training partner (who is in his early 30s and doesn't grok the underlying changes of age) want to do a tournament and insists that I should as well. I keep telling him that anyone my age who wants to do that probably trained his whole life and would cripple me.
I'm actually impressed by how much stuff you do outside the house. You sort of present like a guy who rarely leaves the house (and even the closet) ( mean the closet in which you write [that note is for the newcomers lest they misinterpret]) yet you actually have done more events and continue to do more outside events than anyone I know.
You may have inspired me. I will look into getting judo tix at least...and then when the time comes likely decide the traffic isn't worth it. Though my cousins tell me last Olympics all the natives fled town and traffic was actually great.
I watched Judo for the first time during the Paris Olympics (Since Peacock's all access setup was excellent) and I found it to be so interesting and exciting
I assume that is all in? That is to say, flights, hotels, meals, ground transportation, and tickets? Doesn’t sound too horrible. That is to say I’m not shocked at that being the total cost.
Can you say who it was? I know some of the people who were on that team.
Oof. That’s what I’m afraid of for LA. If you win the lottery for the right to buy tickets, the face value will probably be something at least close to reasonable. But the aftermarket is going to drive them through the sky.
Guiliano is awesome. I saw him swim at the NCAAs and at Trials. Notre Dame had some gambling scandal the details of which didn’t quite make it out, but they suspended the team for a whole year and he transferred to Austin.
And by the way, Guiliano actually won two medals. Gold in the 4x100 free and silver in the 4x200.
I don't watch judo much but I found the rules last time made it frustrating. I understand they plan to remedy that. You can even touch your opponent's legs a little.
Yeah, it was and has been an absolute mess. The combination of high pressure and countries with less than respectful judo programs has led to an absurd amount of gamesmanship, or some would say, cheating. A lot of the judokas who played fair got beat by guys just manipulating the rules in Paris.
Just for those not following closely, I’ll give an example. The rules state you must always be attacking. A feint once or twice (at most) could be considered tactical, at least that’s how it’s reffed, but some guys were just feinting repeatedly, tiring out their attacking opponent who followed the rules, and then nuking them as time ran out. Or foul baiting, which is a great strategy considering your third foul is a disqualification.
Despite all this, I still think it’s one of the most enjoyable sports at the Olympics, and would be awesome in person. It’s very old school, lots of tradition and understated pageantry.
I definitely want to go to swimming, but I fear it's going to be insanely expensive. I went to trials in 2024 it was $$$. I know people who paid to see swimming Paris and it was $$$$$$. So LA is going to be $$$$$$$$$. Maybe I will be rich by then ...
In some cases, there were relatively few of those cheap seats available. I think every single time I looked for swimming tickets, they were hundreds of euros if they were even available (swimming was even more popular than it might've been since Leon Marchand was swimming so well, winning four individual golds for the host nation).
Huh, people were quoting me much higher prices than that, and some of them were family members of athletes. Trials got into the hundreds per session, at least for finals (evenings).
The way swim meets work is there are two sessions a day, several prelims, early heats, and occasional semi-finals during the late morning/early afternoon, and then most semis and all the finals at night. Evening sessions at trials 2024 (Indy, in an NFL stadium that held for that meet, I believe, 27K) were over $200. I wasn't in the very best seats but mine were pretty good and I think the most expensive session was $220. That was not the final weekend either, which I assume was the most expensive. It was a nine-day meet, and I went to six (or really 5.5, as I departed before the evening events on the sixth day).
They are back in that same venue for 2028 (Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Colts), and USA Swimming considers 2024 to have been such a huge success that no doubt they will jack the price significantly. However, to the best of my knowledge, it never did sell out.
I fully expect that LA 2028, seats at night will cost four figures minimum.
You might be able to boo a future Patton preparing to invade the world.
They're replacing the equestrian event with an obstacle course. Too many women couldn't handle jumping strange horses, apparently. The horses never called the next day.
My first ever Olympics trip was in 2024. It was a great experience, although I fear that Los Angeles will be much more challenging from a logistics and transportation standpoint.
I liked most of what I saw. Archery ended up being much more fun than I expected. Beach volleyball and track were great (my enjoyment of track was very much aided by the US men's outstanding performance in the distance events).
I didn't see swimming, but I went to water polo and in a big arena you can end up very far away from the pool. It's fine to watch the NFL or rugby sevens or soccer in a huge stadium, but basketball or swimming? Probably not so much.
Golf was fun, but it probably wouldn't be any better than a typical PGA event at Riviera. I went to the first day of the men's event and it was probably almost as good a field as a major and seemed much less crowded than the majors I've watched on TV.
Rowing wasn't as good as I expected. You don't usually have a great view of what's going on except when the action is right in front of you for thirty seconds or so. Then you just have to watch a TV screen.
In short, things I'd most want to see again: beach volleyball, track & field, golf, archery.
Things I'd most want to see that I didn't see: swimming & gymnastics (although those will probably be extremely expensive), flag football, tennis, indoor volleyball.
I'm not sure how many of the events in the northwestern area I'd want to see. 3x3 basketball could be interesting if the USA men actually use some good NBA players.
As for the swimming dates, they were switched with track to accommodate having the Opening Ceremonies at SoFi, then reconfiguring the stadium with the pool.
"Rowing wasn't as good as I expected. You don't usually have a great view of what's going on except when the action is right in front of you for thirty seconds or so. Then you just have to watch a TV screen."
I went to the Henley Regatta in 1987. It was great to see the English upper class in full regalia, but, yeah, as a spectator sport it was: Here they come! [Cheer for 30 seconds.] Oh, well, there they go.
That was how I experienced my one Indy 500. There are some cars and--they're gone. Three minutes later, repeat. Pace car comes out, wait. Then whip your neck around after they restart and pass you again. That and all the debauchery on the infield. And the noise, which sounded like 10 billion angry bees.
The best track races are the 800, 1500, and steeplechase. Short enough to keep your attention but long enough so that the runners can leave their assigned lanes and start positioning like madmen.
"My first ever Olympics trip was in 2024. It was a great experience, although I fear that Los Angeles will be much more challenging from a logistics and transportation standpoint."
Also, Los Angeles will be at a considerable disadvantage compared to Paris from the insanely great architecture of the last 1000 years standpoint: "Okay, the race starts in front of Notre Dame, loops around Sainte-Chapelle, then across the Bridge of Locks to the Eiffel Tower, then down to the Arc de Triomphe, then up and down Baron Haussmann's streets past the favorite cafes of Voltaire, Monet, and Proust, etc etc"
I'm a big fan of L.A., but Paris has got us beat bad in the category of greatest architecture of the second millennium AD: "And then we're headed for "The Brady Bunch" A-Frame house."
Swimming in a football stadium turned out to work rather well. They reconfigured the stadium to make it more accessible. Added seats that would otherwise be "on the field" for instance. It's better to be a little higher up anyway so you can see the whole length of the 50m length. Basically they used half of Lucas Oil, had a huge curtain dividing it, and behind that were the warmup/warm-down pools which you could not see. I had a press pass which allowed me back there.
I'm not a huge fan of golf at the Olympics. What's the median expected outcome: that the 19th best golfer in the world wins the gold medal? Would that cause an epochal re-evaluation?
Nah. It would just mean that the winner might be boosted in the world rankings from 19th to, say, 15th.
Golf doesn't need the Olympics the way that track, swimming, and gymnastics do. The Olympics don't need golf the way they need tennis, soccer, and basketball. So, what to do golf and the Olympics have to do with each other?
Yeah, and there aren't enough golfers competing to thin out the crowds of spectators so everyone has to follow along with the top groups in overcrowded galleries.
i was an undergrad in SoCal around the 84 games. i knew two competitors. one competed in pistol. not a hugely interesting guy. the other, though, was very interesting - a mid-distance runner from Kenya who had come stateside to acclimate in the 83-84 academic year. In the finals of the 800m he beat the previous world record, but came in fourth. he subsequently won two non-Olympic world championships though. Billy Konchellah. He then finished his degree at U of NM of all places.
At London 2012 we went to the 100m final, which lasted just under 10 seconds. But we did get to see the bladerunner guy compete in the 400m. We also went to the fencing, which was like your experience of the wrestling, we never knew what we were seeing until the officials awarded the point. And finally the sailing, where nothing happened because there was no wind on our day. If I were you I'd try to go to some of the indoor cycling, to an event where the US is in the running for gold.
I went to the 1984 opening ceremonies with President Regan and they were absolutely fantastic! I imagine President Trump plans to be there this time and if you’re in town, I think you might wanna see it… The price is not more than a rock concert or an opera for that matter.
Come to Oklahoma!
https://okcfox.com/news/local/2028-okc-olympic-games-ticket-registration-opens-heres-what-you-need-to-know-softball-canoe-slalom-lottery-oklahoma-cleveland-canadian-county
OKC has a whitewater kayaking facility, so they are going to hold that event there and softball. I'd definitely go see the whitewater event if I lived within 100 miles.
I plan on going to see Judo for sure, indoor volleyball, and badminton. Swimming is my favorite, but I think it'll be too pricey for the good events
Swimming will be in the giant Sofi football stadium. What's swimming going to be like if you are sitting in a nosebleed seat?
Wow, two people posting for judo. I started taking classes a few years ago and I figured no one else in America was interested.
Taki T. won a judo world age group championship over Buford Pusser, the star of the Walking Tall movies a decade or so ago.
That is a bizarre bit of trivia. My training partner (who is in his early 30s and doesn't grok the underlying changes of age) want to do a tournament and insists that I should as well. I keep telling him that anyone my age who wants to do that probably trained his whole life and would cripple me.
I'm actually impressed by how much stuff you do outside the house. You sort of present like a guy who rarely leaves the house (and even the closet) ( mean the closet in which you write [that note is for the newcomers lest they misinterpret]) yet you actually have done more events and continue to do more outside events than anyone I know.
You may have inspired me. I will look into getting judo tix at least...and then when the time comes likely decide the traffic isn't worth it. Though my cousins tell me last Olympics all the natives fled town and traffic was actually great.
It would be an odd thing if the Russians are banned again for the LA Olympics.
I watched Judo for the first time during the Paris Olympics (Since Peacock's all access setup was excellent) and I found it to be so interesting and exciting
A friend’s son won a swimming medal in Paris and hopes to be in the LA Olympics. My friend figures tickets to watch his son in ‘24 cost him 10k.
Uh-oh ...
I guess on his son's off days I'll see him in the stands at Modern Pentathlon in the Valley!
I assume that is all in? That is to say, flights, hotels, meals, ground transportation, and tickets? Doesn’t sound too horrible. That is to say I’m not shocked at that being the total cost.
Can you say who it was? I know some of the people who were on that team.
No, that was just tickets. I think they were given two per swimmer, but he had siblings and such to pay for.
Chris Giuliano is the young man in question.
Oof. That’s what I’m afraid of for LA. If you win the lottery for the right to buy tickets, the face value will probably be something at least close to reasonable. But the aftermarket is going to drive them through the sky.
Guiliano is awesome. I saw him swim at the NCAAs and at Trials. Notre Dame had some gambling scandal the details of which didn’t quite make it out, but they suspended the team for a whole year and he transferred to Austin.
And by the way, Guiliano actually won two medals. Gold in the 4x100 free and silver in the 4x200.
Yeah, swimming is a good one.
Judo and wrestling. Especially Judo.
I don't watch judo much but I found the rules last time made it frustrating. I understand they plan to remedy that. You can even touch your opponent's legs a little.
Yeah, it was and has been an absolute mess. The combination of high pressure and countries with less than respectful judo programs has led to an absurd amount of gamesmanship, or some would say, cheating. A lot of the judokas who played fair got beat by guys just manipulating the rules in Paris.
Just for those not following closely, I’ll give an example. The rules state you must always be attacking. A feint once or twice (at most) could be considered tactical, at least that’s how it’s reffed, but some guys were just feinting repeatedly, tiring out their attacking opponent who followed the rules, and then nuking them as time ran out. Or foul baiting, which is a great strategy considering your third foul is a disqualification.
Despite all this, I still think it’s one of the most enjoyable sports at the Olympics, and would be awesome in person. It’s very old school, lots of tradition and understated pageantry.
Gymnastics, basketball, tennis, beach volleyball, skateboarding
I definitely want to go to swimming, but I fear it's going to be insanely expensive. I went to trials in 2024 it was $$$. I know people who paid to see swimming Paris and it was $$$$$$. So LA is going to be $$$$$$$$$. Maybe I will be rich by then ...
Paris started at $26 for heats and $92 for swimming heats.
Sofi stadium will hold 38,000 for swimming.
In some cases, there were relatively few of those cheap seats available. I think every single time I looked for swimming tickets, they were hundreds of euros if they were even available (swimming was even more popular than it might've been since Leon Marchand was swimming so well, winning four individual golds for the host nation).
Huh, people were quoting me much higher prices than that, and some of them were family members of athletes. Trials got into the hundreds per session, at least for finals (evenings).
The way swim meets work is there are two sessions a day, several prelims, early heats, and occasional semi-finals during the late morning/early afternoon, and then most semis and all the finals at night. Evening sessions at trials 2024 (Indy, in an NFL stadium that held for that meet, I believe, 27K) were over $200. I wasn't in the very best seats but mine were pretty good and I think the most expensive session was $220. That was not the final weekend either, which I assume was the most expensive. It was a nine-day meet, and I went to six (or really 5.5, as I departed before the evening events on the sixth day).
They are back in that same venue for 2028 (Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Colts), and USA Swimming considers 2024 to have been such a huge success that no doubt they will jack the price significantly. However, to the best of my knowledge, it never did sell out.
I fully expect that LA 2028, seats at night will cost four figures minimum.
Oh, well, looks like I'll be going to Modern Pentathlon.
Modern Pentathlon ... the Affordable Spectator Sport!
You might be able to boo a future Patton preparing to invade the world.
They're replacing the equestrian event with an obstacle course. Too many women couldn't handle jumping strange horses, apparently. The horses never called the next day.
Come to think of it, it's possible that my memory is bad and that the $220 got me a full day (prelims + finals).
Unlike the NCAA meet, for which you can get an all-session pass ($130 last year, $180 this year).
My first ever Olympics trip was in 2024. It was a great experience, although I fear that Los Angeles will be much more challenging from a logistics and transportation standpoint.
I liked most of what I saw. Archery ended up being much more fun than I expected. Beach volleyball and track were great (my enjoyment of track was very much aided by the US men's outstanding performance in the distance events).
I didn't see swimming, but I went to water polo and in a big arena you can end up very far away from the pool. It's fine to watch the NFL or rugby sevens or soccer in a huge stadium, but basketball or swimming? Probably not so much.
Golf was fun, but it probably wouldn't be any better than a typical PGA event at Riviera. I went to the first day of the men's event and it was probably almost as good a field as a major and seemed much less crowded than the majors I've watched on TV.
Rowing wasn't as good as I expected. You don't usually have a great view of what's going on except when the action is right in front of you for thirty seconds or so. Then you just have to watch a TV screen.
In short, things I'd most want to see again: beach volleyball, track & field, golf, archery.
Things I'd most want to see that I didn't see: swimming & gymnastics (although those will probably be extremely expensive), flag football, tennis, indoor volleyball.
I'm not sure how many of the events in the northwestern area I'd want to see. 3x3 basketball could be interesting if the USA men actually use some good NBA players.
As for the swimming dates, they were switched with track to accommodate having the Opening Ceremonies at SoFi, then reconfiguring the stadium with the pool.
Did you see the men's 1500m running race?
"Rowing wasn't as good as I expected. You don't usually have a great view of what's going on except when the action is right in front of you for thirty seconds or so. Then you just have to watch a TV screen."
I went to the Henley Regatta in 1987. It was great to see the English upper class in full regalia, but, yeah, as a spectator sport it was: Here they come! [Cheer for 30 seconds.] Oh, well, there they go.
That was how I experienced my one Indy 500. There are some cars and--they're gone. Three minutes later, repeat. Pace car comes out, wait. Then whip your neck around after they restart and pass you again. That and all the debauchery on the infield. And the noise, which sounded like 10 billion angry bees.
The best track races are the 800, 1500, and steeplechase. Short enough to keep your attention but long enough so that the runners can leave their assigned lanes and start positioning like madmen.
Yes, I saw the men's 1500, 5000, and 10000, all of which had American medalists.
"My first ever Olympics trip was in 2024. It was a great experience, although I fear that Los Angeles will be much more challenging from a logistics and transportation standpoint."
Also, Los Angeles will be at a considerable disadvantage compared to Paris from the insanely great architecture of the last 1000 years standpoint: "Okay, the race starts in front of Notre Dame, loops around Sainte-Chapelle, then across the Bridge of Locks to the Eiffel Tower, then down to the Arc de Triomphe, then up and down Baron Haussmann's streets past the favorite cafes of Voltaire, Monet, and Proust, etc etc"
I'm a big fan of L.A., but Paris has got us beat bad in the category of greatest architecture of the second millennium AD: "And then we're headed for "The Brady Bunch" A-Frame house."
Swimming in a football stadium turned out to work rather well. They reconfigured the stadium to make it more accessible. Added seats that would otherwise be "on the field" for instance. It's better to be a little higher up anyway so you can see the whole length of the 50m length. Basically they used half of Lucas Oil, had a huge curtain dividing it, and behind that were the warmup/warm-down pools which you could not see. I had a press pass which allowed me back there.
I have to say the obvious answer is the Plunge for Distance https://www.unz.com/isteve/everything-youve-ever-wanted-to-know/
Women's Beach Volleyball, Steve!
And Golf at the Riviera, obviously.
I'm not a huge fan of golf at the Olympics. What's the median expected outcome: that the 19th best golfer in the world wins the gold medal? Would that cause an epochal re-evaluation?
Nah. It would just mean that the winner might be boosted in the world rankings from 19th to, say, 15th.
Golf doesn't need the Olympics the way that track, swimming, and gymnastics do. The Olympics don't need golf the way they need tennis, soccer, and basketball. So, what to do golf and the Olympics have to do with each other?
Yeah, and there aren't enough golfers competing to thin out the crowds of spectators so everyone has to follow along with the top groups in overcrowded galleries.
None. California is permitting men to compete with women as women.
You don'tsupport that, right?
This should be an easy and transparent no.
Get a grip on your morals, man.
Also, it's not about you.
i was an undergrad in SoCal around the 84 games. i knew two competitors. one competed in pistol. not a hugely interesting guy. the other, though, was very interesting - a mid-distance runner from Kenya who had come stateside to acclimate in the 83-84 academic year. In the finals of the 800m he beat the previous world record, but came in fourth. he subsequently won two non-Olympic world championships though. Billy Konchellah. He then finished his degree at U of NM of all places.
Expect more Modern Pentathlon posting over the next few years. Maybe Squash, too.
At London 2012 we went to the 100m final, which lasted just under 10 seconds. But we did get to see the bladerunner guy compete in the 400m. We also went to the fencing, which was like your experience of the wrestling, we never knew what we were seeing until the officials awarded the point. And finally the sailing, where nothing happened because there was no wind on our day. If I were you I'd try to go to some of the indoor cycling, to an event where the US is in the running for gold.
Thanks.
The Velodrome seems pretty awesome to see in person.
I loved watching fencing on TV in 1984 with refs in tuxedos against a black velvet background, but the action is awfully fast.
I went to the 1984 opening ceremonies with President Regan and they were absolutely fantastic! I imagine President Trump plans to be there this time and if you’re in town, I think you might wanna see it… The price is not more than a rock concert or an opera for that matter.