Talk:2964: Olympic Sports

What took bro so long Is he stupid 141.101.98.119 13:05, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

Seems totally unclear what you're referring to, here. ProphetZarquon (talk) 15:00, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

i think they're referring to this comic being somewhat late. youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk 15:07, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

The comic appeared around 0800 EDT 20240727 (Saturday, a day late). As most folks here surely know, late posts are common on xkcd but aren't often later than the stated "MWF". After 19 years, and without the "weeks ahead" buffer insisted upon by "traditional" syndicated comics (as shown by Crowdstrike, posted the day of the event), I think Randall has done remarkably well. I'd struggle to keep a schedule like this for 19 weeks.172.71.151.95 15:34, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

I think "Synchronized Swimming" would be the most hilarious. One person flailing while a whole team tries to make it look choreographed. ProphetZarquon (talk) 15:00, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

I picture two people that are synchronized to each other while the third person tries to look choreographed - 162.158.212.172 15:11, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

Why must I think of "The fox has left his lair"... 172.71.160.71 16:39, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

Google "SNL synchronized swimming". There's a classic sketch. Barmar (talk) 23:20, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

I hear there's an opening on the GB equestrian team. Just sayin'... 141.101.69.119 19:15, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

I'm going to disagree about a couple. Beginning pole vaulters are incredibly funny. Beginners on the pommel horse aren't usually very funny. 162.158.186.252 19:54, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

I also think pole vault would be in the last category. It has always looked to me like an incredibly difficult maneuver. And I remember doing pommel horse in school; I wasn't very athletic, but I could swing around a little. Barmar (talk) 23:21, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

"Ski jump" has got to be a reference to Eddie the Eagle. 172.70.115.96 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~) Eddie was British champion. And he changed Olympic qualification rules. 172.69.43.166 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Both Bogataj and Edwards were competitive ski jumpers (Edwards, admittedly, marginally so), whereas the trope of this cartoon is that the protagonist (presumably Randall) is trying to enter the competition without any prior experience. The vibe seems to be - Challenger: "Can you fail more spectacularly than these two?" Randall: "Hold my beer." Olympic official: "Nice try, stick guy, but no. Here's your beer back." 'Thankfully for all concerned' seems a better fit to the Bogataj case, in which he was injured, spectators were put at risk, and the competition schedule was likely disrupted, than the Edwards case in which the only injuries were to the reputations of Olympic administrators, and which yielded a nice 15 minutes for Edwards. 108.162.245.253 00:02, 28 July 2024 (UTC)

I really doubt the ski jump thing is a reference to anything specific. 108.162.221.23 13:00, 28 July 2024 (UTC)

Randall has clearly never heard of an ejector crab https://youtu.be/UcOjeneHJ6E 172.69.6.207 16:04, 28 July 2024 (UTC)

Actually this is an even better example https://youtu.be/hxOW739UlWk 172.69.6.144 16:07, 28 July 2024 (UTC)

A German surfer managed to moon all Olympics viewers today, so I doubt Randall could beat that... 108.162.221.24 16:31, 28 July 2024 (UTC)

This is one of the worst XKCDs I've ever seen, I think. 162.158.63.70 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Possibly Randall is aware that an uncoached newcomer to the single sculls will almost certainly capsize their boat, quite possibly one the first stroke as this is the most unstable position. It might be possible to flip a pair oar as well, since the professional rower can only hold up the boat on one side. 172.68.64.223 08:54, 29 July 2024 (UTC)

Further, the the pair oar would likely inscribe a circle due to the asymetric thrust. In the larger boats he'd likely get smashed in the spine by an oar handle (TBF not that funny) or catch a crab (dig in an oar) that literally throws him out of the boat (both painful and funny) 172.68.64.148 09:02, 29 July 2024 (UTC)