August 19, 2019

"When it was announced this year that break dancing would be added to the program for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris... Bumblebee suddenly had a new life goal."

"In many ways, the story of the Chernyshevs, father and son from Voronezh, a former manufacturing hub of around a million people about 300 miles south of Moscow, is the story of break dancing over the past three decades, with its unlikely journey from the streets of New York to every corner of the globe and to its surprising inclusion, pending a final vote in December, in the Olympics. Bumblebee himself embodies a new kind of aspiring Olympian, excelling in the sort of niche, nontraditional sport that the International Olympic Committee has recently promoted: surfing, skateboarding, rock climbing, kiteboarding. Many of those events will soon be featured at the Games, too, reflecting the interests and ambitions of a younger generation, and an Olympic movement eager to attract its attention. Bumblebee has spent half his life breaking, with a style and skill set nurtured by streaming video and social media, feeling every bit a part of, and protective of, hip-hop culture — a culture that has room, in his mind, for the Olympic Games."

From "A Russian B-Boy Dreams of Gold/The inclusion of unconventional sports in future Olympics is creating a new breed of aspiring medalist. Sergey Chernyshev, a break dancer known as Bumblebee, is one of them" (NYT).

92 comments:

BUMBLE BEE said...

OH! HELL NO.

gahrie said...

OK..time to cancel the Olympics and start over again...just wrestling, discus, javelin and the marathon.

john said...

For every new sport in the summer olympics, they need to remove one swimming medal.

rhhardin said...

Good in the paralympics. Jerry's kids.

Fernandinande said...

The Olympics should not have any activities in which people called "B-boys" participate.

John Borell said...

Two words:

Competitive Eating

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

They're late to the party but I see nothing wrong with this as an athletic endeavor. Watching high-level break dancing would be more entertaining than 9/10ths of the crap they air.

Qwinn said...

The first time I saw "speed walking" as an Olympic event, I foresaw the end of Western Civilization. I still feel that way.

Seriously, it's like a competition to see who can whisper the loudest.

Fernandinande said...

"Americans' Interest in Watching Olympics Tumbles to New Low"

48% of Americans say they plan to watch a "great deal" or "fair amount" of the 2016 Summer Olympics. This is a sharp drop from 59% in 2012 and easily the lowest percentage planning to watch compared with the past four Summer Games.

30% say they plan to watch "not much" of the Olympics, and 21% say "none at all" -- the highest percentage saying so since Gallup began asking this question in 2000.

Ken B said...

Another example of why the olympics should be nude.

Jim at said...

Between grandstanding US athletes throwing temper tantrums on the medal stand to break dancing, rhythmic gymnastics and other obscure 'sports', the Olympics have become unwatchable.

It used to be one of my favorite events growing up. Now? Pffft.

Ken B said...

Gahrie
100 meter.

Laslo Spatula said...

Breakdancing had me Wiki 'Electric Boogaloo.' And -- if I have to explain that -- then you don't understand the cultural importance that was Electric Boogaloo.

Anyway, Wiki brought me to a term I was not familiar with, but was obvious when read about: 'snowclone':

"A snowclone is a cliché and phrasal template that can be used and recognized in multiple variants. The term was coined as a neologism in 2004, derived from journalistic clichés that referred to the number of Eskimo words for snow.[1]"

Examples there:
In space, no one can X
X is the new Y
The mother of all X
X while Y
To X or not to X
Have X, will travel

However, regarding "X-gate and similar suffixes": "...Geoffrey Pullum, the linguistics professor who originally defined the term snowclone, states that "X-gate" is only a "lexical word-formation analog of it, an extension of the concept from syntax into derivational morphology".

Which is pretty obvious in its derivational morphology, in retrospect.

So:

Breakdancing is the new Pole-vaulting.

And the mother of all Boogaloo.

I am Laslo.

Fernandinande said...

Men can now compete as women in the Olympics.
++

"Only in boxing and martial arts have critics braved the tide of political correctness and threat of legal action to oppose transgender competitors.

For good reason: Ben Cohen explained in The Daily Banter:

"In virtually any other sport, the ramifications of these potential advantages would not be particularly serious. Losing a race to someone who was once a male would be disheartening and professionally damaging, but you would leave with your health intact. In professional fighting however, the consequences could potentially be fatal."
++

PM said...

Xlnt..and raises hopes for
Esperanto Scrabble
Duckwalking
Vacuum Relays
Food Fighting

rehajm said...

Meh. Whatever they want to do. It’s a reason to bring athletes, ‘athletes’ and corruptocrats together for a big party paid for mostly by the host country and municipal. Corruptocrats love that kind of stuff...

Americans have lost interest in no small part because for two generations if viewers NBC locked up viewing rights and prohibited live coverage. Instead they expected to funnel everyone into a prime time Olympics recap show where events were often a day old. The internet helped to liberate things a bit but the damage has been done.

Yancey Ward said...

Tweeting and Internet Blog Commenting are next.

Yancey Ward said...

On a serious note, though- the next wave of new Olympic sports to be added are going to be video games- I am not joking.

rcocean said...

Next Olympic Sport: Hide-and-seek

rcocean said...

What about singing as an Olympic Sport? Dylan could win an Olympic Medal to go with his Nobel Prize.

Beasts of England said...

Finally - my chance to be an Olympian!!

Dave Begley said...

What about Frisbee? Carleton College has a great Frisbee team.

rcocean said...

New Olympic Sport: Jack Off Contest. Current front runners: Mark Halprin and Harvey Weinstein.

rcocean said...

Four square? Damn, I was good at that. i would stop the ball with my left, just short of being illegal, and then slam it with my right. Nobody could stop me!

Tank said...

What is the scoring system for break dancing?

Are there compulsories?

Bob said...

I saw this and immediately thought "The dying bumblebee that was roaming around on Meade last week? He's feeling better?"

rcocean said...

They do have four-square world championships, but only an Olympic medal would lure me out of retirement.

rcocean said...

"30% say they plan to watch "not much" of the Olympics, and 21% say "none at all"

Put me in that group. Between the commercials, the chick-bait sob stories, and the horrible announcers, I had zero interest in watching. i think i could rummaged around and watched the games on the BBC-internet but couldn't rouse the interest.

Unknown said...

Is Russia good and interesting now the narrative has switched?

Somehow this has got to be tied to racism in 1619. If its American. OK for the Russians to be good now.

Achilles said...

Yancey Ward said...
On a serious note, though- the next wave of new Olympic sports to be added are going to be video games- I am not joking.

Some competitive e-sports are more fun to watch than you think. And people like to watch things that they do.

The competitors are amazing.

Another growing professional trade is casting. WinterGaming I am pretty sure makes 6 figures on his twitch channel and youtube videos.

This is a year old video example where he shows a game through the eyes of a Pro Gamer.

Starcraft 2 is a 10 year old game and still a popular game for esports. The gamer, Serral, makes around a million a year.

Twitch.tv has made a new economy. This is far more entertaining than baseball or the olympics.

chuck said...

Who watches the Olympics anymore? Seems like you need geopolitical competition to make it go, from Greek city states to European nations to the Cold War, to blah.

PB said...

Breakdancing? This is the shark jumping moment for the Olympics. Probably have to have a special multi-million dollar venue for it, too.

PB said...

Only if they do it in an alley on flattened cardboard boxes

Fen said...

They need a Virtue Signaling event for Climate Change.

Whoever clutches their pearls so tightly they suffocate to death wins the Gold.

Bronze and Silver for those with the longest resuscitations.

Note, for this event more than one Gold per run may be awarded.

Start training now Lefties! The planet is depending on your sacrifice!

tcrosse said...

New Olympic Sport: Jack Off Contest. Current front runners: Mark Halprin and Harvey Weinstein.

Weinstein wins gold and bronze.

Fen said...

How is breakdancing not cultural appropriation?

Fen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fen said...

No comments about javelin tossing, you racists!

Fen said...

Beavis: He said spear-chucking. Hehe. Hehe. Hehehehe.

J. Farmer said...

Prediction: the South Korean team will win the gold.

rcocean said...

In Russia, The Olympics watch you!

Two-eyed Jack said...

As I understand it, the Olympics were invented by the ancient Greeks, but died out when the Romans invented feeding Christians to lions. Presumably something similar is in the offing.

gspencer said...

George Washington: general, president, visionary, break dancer,

https://i.pinimg.com/474x/c2/9a/5e/c29a5ec1a14fba0090c70741d117c930--gary-larson-cartoons-funny-cartoons.jpg

Achilles said...

J. Farmer said...
Prediction: the South Korean team will win the gold.

If you are talking about esports, this is a good bet.

They will at least win the most medals of any country. Quite possibly more than all other countries combined.

It will be interesting to see how proprietary games are worked into a public sporting event paradigm.

The biggest sponsors are usually the game producers themselves for obvious reasons.

stevew said...

You know, the more often they hold the Olympics the less I am compelled to watch them. This phenomena increases the more esoteric the list of events.

Good for this guy. If they offer it as an event, who am I to try to persuade him not to fulfill his dream. I just won't be watching. Sorry, not sorry.

J. Farmer said...

As I understand it, the Olympics were invented by the ancient Greeks, but died out when the Romans invented feeding Christians to lions.

They were actually ended as part of the establishment of Christianity as Rome’s state religion.

J. Farmer said...

If you are talking about esports, this is a good bet.

No I mean breakdancing. South Korea has incredible b-boy crews and is a major epicenter of breakdancing.

Mark said...

When he learned this year that break dancing would be added to the program for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris... Legit Mark suddenly had a new life goal -- Not to watch one second of the Olympics. (Not that he was going to anyway.)

Roughcoat said...

I love the idea of including duck walking. Also crab walking. Dodge ball and musical chairs.

The Russians would eventually cheat in every one of those events. Lots of steroids and hormones. The Russian women's teams would have 600 pound women with undescended testicles. And one gold tooth.

Beasts of England said...

Will there be solo synchronized break dancing?

Narayanan said...

They should include filiblustering.

Susan said...

E-sports are the up and coming thing in high school "athletics ".

I am not even joking. You can letter in e-sports.

Dave said...

Korean hip hop dancer, Poppin J
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8frDYBTybw

best part at 1:40

music is C2C Down the Road
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8frDYBTybw

samples Eddie Cusic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Cusic

Narr said...

I miss the East German Youthsex Teams.

Narr
World-beaters

Jack Klompus said...

Maybe Martin Short and Harry Shearer will finally get their shot at the medal in men's synchronized swimming.

pacwest said...

"E-sports are the up and coming thing in high school "athletics "."

I asked a 10 year old grandson what he wanted to be when he grew up. "A professional gamer." Good VR with haptics is only 20 years out. The singularity is near.

Yancey Ward said...

I haven't watched the Olympics with any real interest since 1996. I will still watch the main track and field finals and swimming finals, but you can watch those online. In 2016, I did'nt watch a single minute on the television- a first for me in the Summer games, though I haven't watched a single minute of the Winter games in two decades, even online.

Narr said...

Say what you will, the USSR produced the greatest dumb jocks in the world.

Pairs diving? WTFF? How about breath-holding?

Hand-walking? Standing on one foot? Oooh, cornhole!

Narr
The nice kind, you wretch

Sebastian said...

So breakdancing but no squash? We need more squash.

Achilles said...

J. Farmer said...
If you are talking about esports, this is a good bet.

No I mean breakdancing. South Korea has incredible b-boy crews and is a major epicenter of breakdancing.

In that case I am not so sure.

This is a judged competition. Results will be viewed and handed out politically.

There are groups with political sway that will make sure South Koreans have an uphill climb.

In esports you win or lose. There is cheating but that is more of a "hacking" variety and it is impossible to pull off in a lan-tournament environment.

South Koreans seem to do well in multiple "leisure sport" pursuits it seems.

R C Belaire said...

One more reason to skip the spectacle. In fact, any competition involving a subjective judge just doesn't cut it. You either win or lose based on a score, a time, a height, or winning a head-to-head race.

mockturtle said...

After synchronized swimming was added, it was on the slippery slope to silly walks. And if trans men-->women are allowed to compete in women's sports I certainly won't be watching.

mockturtle said...

Javelin catching might be interesting....

Beasts of England said...

’...it was on the slippery slope to silly walks.’

Don’t tease me!! ;)

Lincolntf said...

I went to the Winter Olympics at Albertville in 1992. It was great. Met Herschel Walker, Bonnie Blair, the Jamaican Bobsled Team and a bunch of other stars. I've been a pro-Olympics diehard ever since.

Achilles said...

Susan said...
E-sports are the up and coming thing in high school "athletics ".

I am not even joking. You can letter in e-sports.


This is nothing but good.

I was an athlete in Highschool. I ended up with 10 letters from sports because I was not really a football player and only did it for 2 years.

There are a lot of ways to build a common social fabric in the US. High school sports is one of them.

We would have a lot more social cohesion if the geeks cheered for the jocks on Friday night and the jocks cheered for the geeks on Saturday.

Mark said...

Once NBC got their mitts on the Olympics, it crashed and burned.

rcocean said...

"Javelin catching might be interesting...."

Ha.

J. Farmer said...

What exactly is it that makes someone better at "esports" than other people? Largely, it's things like response time and hand-eye coordination. Are these not the same skills that are necessary to be good at regular sports? The medium may be different, but there is a lot of overlap in the necessary skills. Sure, esport players may not be the fastest runners or have the strongest bodies, but the sport doesn't call for that skillset. Hell, what is a sport? People devote a tremendous amount of time and practice to become proficient in esports. It seems to me that people mostly shit on esports out of some nostalgic "kids these days" mentality.

Achilles said...

pacwest said...

I asked a 10 year old grandson what he wanted to be when he grew up. "A professional gamer." Good VR with haptics is only 20 years out. The singularity is near.

Show him some professional gaming streamers. WinterGaming for example makes more than all but maybe 10 gamers in Starcraft 2 but is probably "only" in the top 1000 in the world. People that smash him in the game make less than 10000 a year in prize money.

Being a professional gamer is going to be difficult just like being a pro football or baseball player is.

Only a small percentage of gamers are going to win significant amounts of money and they are just as genetically gifted as baseball players or football players.

Laslo Spatula said...

Wake me when we get to the Olympic Bukkake Competition.

I am Laslo.

J. Farmer said...

@Laslo Spatula:

Wake me when we get to the Olympic Bukkake Competition.

Peter North will have to be excluded to give anyone else a fighting chance.

Maillard Reactionary said...

I agree with gahrie, who got the second comment in this thread.

I had to look up "B-Boy", since I'm out of the loop (and very much liking it that way).

Merriam-Webster said: "a male who engages in the pursuit of hip-hop culture or adopts its styles"

Language fashions change so quickly these days. We used to call then "whiggers".

Separately, I doubt that the ancient Hellenes would have recognized simulated epilepsy as a proper sport for a man. Certainly nothing to temporarily suspend a war over.

effinayright said...

Grand Beagle Fen said...
No comments about javelin tossing, you racists!
************

Racists would like to see a Javelin-Catching event, IYKWIS....

J. Farmer said...

@Phidippus:

Language fashions change so quickly these days. We used to call then "whiggers".

The term "b-boy" actually predates "wigger," and the Merriam-Webster definition is exceptionally reductionist. The "b" in "b-boy" comes from the word breaking, and the term has always been associated with people involved in the breakdancing subculture. That is, it's more than simply a way of dressing or speaking. "Wigger" is something that came a bit later and had more to do with adopting the affectations of the crack dealer persona made popular by groups like NWA in the late 1980s. Of course, with the exception of Eazy-E, the other members of NWA were pretty much frauds. Dr. Dre did not have run-ins with the law, and Ice Cube grew up in the Valley and was attending Arizona State University studying architecture before he was recruited to be the main lyricist for NWA.

iowan2 said...

Ratings are down for tv viewership.

I know I turn to something else because all the network wants to do is 4 minute productions of human interests stories. I DON'T CARE. I want to watch the competition. The skill, training, conditioning...not a sob story about the competitors sister fighting cancer.

Mr. Majestyk said...

I was such a stud that other kids would use my standard Four Square rules when they became king. They'd move into the king square looking a bit lost then call out, "Mr. Majestyk's rules," and everyone immediately understood what the rules were (flies, defensive carries, once you're out you're out, lines are playable, and body hits).

mockturtle said...

Iowan2 reports: I know I turn to something else because all the network wants to do is 4 minute productions of human interests stories. I DON'T CARE. I want to watch the competition. The skill, training, conditioning...not a sob story about the competitors sister fighting cancer.

Exactly! Jim McKay and his 'up close and personal' bits were the worst but it hasn't gotten much better. And I think they know we don't want to see that drivel but this puts them [the mediahogs] in the spotlight which is what they really want. Same thing happens in golf and baseball where the guys in the booth think they are more important than the game.

J. Farmer said...

I agree that the so called "human interest stories" are boring and insipid. And this is coming from someone who has never seen a sporting event from beginning to end in his life.

Mr. Groovington said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mr. Groovington said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Marc in Eugene said...

Don't know anything about break dancing and don't see how it can be an Olympic sport but am rather pleased with myself because I know of someone who break dances, a Polish counter-tenor named Jakub Józef Orliński. He's almost done with singing the title role in Handel's Rinaldo at Glyndebourne and performed a recital earlier in the month at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.

effinayright said...

Old Standard:

Excellence in a traditional Olympic sport:

Modern standard: moving your bowels...artfully.

I expect SFO homeless to be going for the Gold.

And for progs to cheer them on:

USA! USA! USA!

JAORE said...

I know I turn to something else because all the network wants to do is 4 minute productions of human interests stories. I DON'T CARE. I want to watch the competition. The skill, training, conditioning...not a sob story about the competitors sister fighting cancer.

Bingo. At risk of incurring the wrath of our hostess, this was done to garner [heh] the women viewers.

traditionalguy said...

Is this like synchronized swimming done without water.

traditionalguy said...

OK, I get it. It's ballet by the Hip Hop community.

Daniel Jackson said...

Break dancing, or Hip Hop as the locals say, is very big in France. Quite competitive, too. There are schools, competitions, and teams that train dancers with all the winning moves. There was recently a regional competition in the town of Besseges, Gard, Occitanie, that had teams from all over the EU, including one team from Israel, all vying for a 500 Euro prize.

When the Israelis made it to the final round, I went to them to wish them well. We chatted and they asked The Old Man to give them a Brachah, which I did.

When they won the title, I went to congratulate them.

They broke from all the reporters and officials reluctantly giving them their due. Grabbed me to pose for some selfies and official photographs, shouting with glee, "That was SOME Brachah.

They were magnificent gymnasts; but, they humbly acknowledged that we can all get by with a little help from our Friend.

Maillard Reactionary said...

J. Farmer: Thanks for the information. You, sir, are clearly In The Loop.

RBE said...

Used to watch the Olympics from beginning to end...constant watching on network TV or dvr recordings. Especially winter games. I have lost interest in most of it. Not sure why.

PM said...

Daniel Jackson: Speaking of the French, Parquer would be a much more exciting Olympic event than Break Dancing since it would display gymnastic athleticism on a set course.

Daniel Jackson said...

@PM

I agree one hundred percent.

I would have to add the daily "glass of wine" (how many with the appropriate grasp on the glass) or the equally important event, "Pastiche" (from morning to last call).

Perhaps the equally important event, "Combien de saucisses vous voulez avec votre ricard?"

Bunkypotatohead said...

Guitar Hero.