Six days ago, tennis superstar Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron and kicked off just over two weeks of sporting excellence. Now, sports fans around the globe have been glued to their screens to support their national teams and athletes competing in the biggest event of high-level athleticism.
So amid the salty caramel popcorn, loud cheers and tears of disappointment, people are taking their emotions and laying them all out in these funny tweets that we collected below. So let’s get that Tokyo Olympics vibe up and rolling, and be sure to upvote your favorite ones!
After you’re done, I totally recommend you check out our previous post with crazy photos of Olympians and other athletes that will give you an entirely new perspective on the human body and its capabilities. No amount of respect is too much for these incredible people!
This post may include affiliate links.
With so many fans not being able to attend the Olympics this year, the post-pandemic sports event seems very different from what we were used to. Just like most professional sports, Olympic events feed off crowd energy that transfers onto the screens for viewers at home.
Commenting on the very different kind of Olympic experience this year, Rick Burton, a professor of sport management at Syracuse University and the former chief marketing officer of the US Olympic Committee for the 2008 Beijing games, called the experience “sterile.” “The sponsors are going to be thinking the ratings will be down. They’re worried they’re not going to get their money’s worth,” he added.
Moreover, sports psychologists are now observing an Olympics without fans as a real-life science experiment. It’s thought to help researchers and clinicians to measure the impact of a crowd of fans on its players—and on spectators at home. The unprecedented times offer an entirely new glimpse into what is the social and psychological makeup of the Olympic Games and how the competing athletes are affected by it.
Some athletes have already stressed the pressure that’s been building for not having an audience of spectators. On Tuesday, superstar gymnast Simone Biles dropped out of the women’s team event, blaming “not the right headspace” for competition. “It’s been really stressful this Olympic Games. Just as a whole, not having an audience. There are a lot of different variables going into it,’ she told the Washington Post.
The findings made on viewers’ engagement also show that sports without fans may be way less enjoyable. Kantar, a research firm that measures consumer enthusiasm, found that two-third of American sports spectators announced that watching sports during the pandemic was not as engaging and enjoyable. “[The Olympics] could be a little bit less engaging, a little bit less fulfilling for the viewer,” Ryan McConnell, Kantar’s senior vice president for consulting, told Quartz.
Damn, BP's censoring has gone to (present tence cat in french)
Ms. Biles did the correct thing for herself AND the team. She "lost" her "way" and she could have hurt herself, physically, destroying her abilities for the rest of her life. In addition, she allowed another American to take her place instead of ensuring a total defeat for the team.
Actually, my criticism was she should've dropped out sooner. Something after the prelims just made me think, "Oh man, her head's not in it, she's gonna break something...." I'm glad she didn't break any bones trying to "push through". Good for her!
She is an incredible athlete and even better human being. She was already a great role model before, but now she's given a voice to everyone who might be having mental health problems, specially young people and athletes who might have been ashamed to talk about it. As did Phelps and Naomi Osaka, I admire them so much for it.
yay!!!! real adult words not bleeped out!!! i am an adult, i love this!
I love Michael Harriot. He's a really funny writer who makes a lot of smart observations.
Sorry to ask the obvious, but what's the issue with Simone? I have heard anything about it over here and google hasn't supplied me with anything that seems obvious.
To do Olympic-level gymnastics, your mind and focus MUST be 100% on what you're doing or you risk *serious* injury. For whatever reason, she didn't have that, and bravely/sensibly bowed out.
Load More Replies...Will someone explain the hype around Simone Biles? It seemed everyone was talking about her in the Olympics. Sorry, I know I've been living under a rock
My dad keeps making fun of Simone and it makes me incredibly angry
Can't wait to hear how her teammates feel about her quitting. Haven't heard much from them. Wonder if they're congratulating her on her bold, courageous move.
Oh, they are absolutely "allowed", hence your dumb comment on here are others dumb comments on the internet being "allowed". But allowed doesn't mean anyone else cannot disagree with your trash opinion, hence the downvotes.
Load More Replies...Coolest thing I did at 13 was a trick on a bike that later caused me severe pain (when I landed) and would have made Tony Hawk laugh, b/c he could do it on a skateboard. So, yeah, no coolness whatsoever.
Note: this post originally had 60 images. It’s been shortened to the top 45 images based on user votes.
Here is another kind of Olympics from Remi Gaillard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBkyth_KT3E
Here is another kind of Olympics from Remi Gaillard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBkyth_KT3E