The Marketing of Wrestling Compared with Swimming During Olympic Years

[AgaveMaria]

Swimmers look tired after the competition but they don't look like they are covered in sweat like wrestlers.

Add in many think "I could do that" with a bit of practice in swimming.(basketball, etc - and even boxing) but not in wrestling. The thought that 'I would get my head torn off and my shoulders dislocated" is there. It isn't in many other sports.

Then you have the rules. Not all that easy to understand for those with no experience or exposure to the sport.

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

I had dinner tonight with a family I had never met. Husband, wife, three daughters. Swim trials were on TV. I asked the four women if they follow swimming during the Olympics. While they all said yes, it was not their favorite. Then I asked them if they watched wrestling during the Olympics. Mom said the matches were too long. Daughter 1 said they just lean on each other. Daughter 2 said their ears are gross. And Daughter 3 said the rules are too difficult to undersand. Not exactly scientific, but in line with things that have been said. Except for the ears. So, headgear?

[1032004]

12 hours ago, Scouts Honor said:

i dont disagree. but i think this is DUE to the fact the TV follows and promotes those athletes.

when was the last time a wrestler was promoted? maybe JB

maybe Rulon, AFTER he beat the russian.

Well TMS went pretty viral after her interview last Olympics, unfortunately most of the people sharing it didn’t actually care about her athletic feat.

Edited June 23 by 1032004

[ionel]

12 hours ago, AgaveMaria said:

Swimmers look tired after the competition but they don't look like they are covered in sweat like wrestlers.

Add in many think "I could do that" with a bit of practice ...

 

400m IM ... 1500 FS ... 

awaiting @swimmingknowsomething's input on the "bit" concept.

Edited June 23 by ionel

[Scouts Honor]

28 minutes ago, 1032004 said:

Well TMS went pretty viral after her interview last Olympics, unfortunately most of the people sharing it didn’t actually care about her athletic feat.

Did she glorify God? 

[Scouts Honor]

as far as I could do that..

michael phelps body is different than anyone else on the planet

wasn't something just posted here about two men the same height.. but one had long legs and was a record breaking marathoner, the other had short legs and long arms... phelps... and a was a record breaking...

just realized i read about it in atomic habits, different than i remembered.. but they had the same inseams

https://www.obeo.com/blog/phelps-vs-el-guerrouj-play-to-your-strengths/

Edited June 23 by Scouts Honor

[Wrestleknownothing]

53 minutes ago, Scouts Honor said:

as far as I could do that..

michael phelps body is different than anyone else on the planet

wasn't something just posted here about two men the same height.. but one had long legs and was a record breaking marathoner, the other had short legs and long arms... phelps... and a was a record breaking...

just realized i read about it in atomic habits, different than i remembered.. but they had the same inseams

https://www.obeo.com/blog/phelps-vs-el-guerrouj-play-to-your-strengths/

I remember seeing a TED talk about the specialization of athletes by body type. It was illuminating.

[Wrestleknownothing]

1 hour ago, ionel said:

400m IM ... 1500 FS ... 

awaiting @swimmingknowsomething's input on the "bit" concept.

I worked with a guy who claimed he could stay within a body length of Michael Phelps for one length of the pool (50 meters). I laughed out loud at him and said he could not stay within a body length of Phelps on the start alone. He kept insisting. So I bet him $500 he could not stay within a body length of me for 50 meters. He stopped insisting.

[CHROMEBIRD]

7 hours ago, 1032004 said:

Well TMS went pretty viral after her interview last Olympics, unfortunately most of the people sharing it didn’t actually care about her athletic feat.

Didn't she retire from WFS right after winning the Olympics? I guess that's another challenge, when wrestlers who win move on from the sport when people pay attention. Like Gable, sort of, and Cejudo. Rulon had a great opportunity after he beat Karelin and then mounted a comeback the next cycle. Idk what happened there.

[1032004]

6 hours ago, Scouts Honor said:

Did she glorify God? 

I honestly don’t really remember.   I think so but if so that wasn’t why it went viral.

[Scouts Honor]

1 hour ago, 1032004 said:

I honestly don’t really remember.   I think so but if so that wasn’t why it went viral.

i dont remember either... why did it go viral

[1032004]

1 hour ago, Scouts Honor said:

i dont remember either... why did it go viral

Because she said she loves America (paraphrasing).  It was a great interview, but most of the “influencers” that talked about were contrasting it against some track athlete that apparently said some negative things about the country.

[Le duke]

You guys see that recent clip featuring Phelps, where an Australian swimmer is kind of talking trash about American swimmers, and he gets pretty amped up about it?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[1032004]

And many people say elite athletes aren’t motivated by “bulletin board material”…

[mspart]

I love watching swimming.   But I don't like that they can get a bunch of medals and compete in various events.   Wrestling doesn't do that.   One event, that's it.   Boxing the same.   I like to watch gymnastics as well but have the similar reservations plus it is all opinion, like figure skating. 

mspart

[Old Dirty]

wrestlers are boring

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

On 6/23/2024 at 3:48 PM, CHROMEBIRD said:

Didn't she retire from WFS right after winning the Olympics? I guess that's another challenge, when wrestlers who win move on from the sport when people pay attention. Like Gable, sort of, and Cejudo. Rulon had a great opportunity after he beat Karelin and then mounted a comeback the next cycle. Idk what happened there.

She won worlds in 2022.

I think she was done after that.

Edited June 25 by Interviewed_at_Weehawken

[BigRedFan]

2 hours ago, mspart said:

I love watching swimming.   But I don't like that they can get a bunch of medals and compete in various events.   Wrestling doesn't do that.   One event, that's it.   Boxing the same.   I like to watch gymnastics as well but have the similar reservations plus it is all opinion, like figure skating. 

mspart

Track & Field.  Skiing (nordic and alpine and biathlon).  Speed skating (long course and short course).  Cycling (track and road).  Triathlon.  All sports, off the top of my head, that have multiple opportunities for individuals to get medals.

[mspart]

Yes this is true.   Snoboarding as well. 

mspart

[MadMardigain]

On 6/23/2024 at 9:59 PM, Le duke said:

You guys see that recent clip featuring Phelps, where an Australian swimmer is kind of talking trash about American swimmers, and he gets pretty amped up about it?
 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

If the Aussies think those cowbells in the natatorium are annoying then there is no way they could deal with the energy level of the Iranian fans drums and horns.  

[fatlaz]

Watched the Track and Field Olympic Trials last night.  They basically refused to show any of the field events.   They showed 3 woman's long jump attempts,  3 woman's shot put throws and 1 men's discus throw.  Meanwhile they showed every heat of the sprints and hurdles and all 40 laps of the women's 10000 meters.  There were basically no lead changes for 39 laps.  I really don't understand what the programmers think we are interested in.  

[TylerDurden]

33 minutes ago, fatlaz said:

Watched the Track and Field Olympic Trials last night.  They basically refused to show any of the field events.   They showed 3 woman's long jump attempts,  3 woman's shot put throws and 1 men's discus throw.  Meanwhile they showed every heat of the sprints and hurdles and all 40 laps of the women's 10000 meters.  There were basically no lead changes for 39 laps.  I really don't understand what the programmers think we are interested in.  

Field events are long and drawn out. No one would watch. It's bad TV. They show the winning throw/jumps and final results then call it a day. 

Running events are more relatable. That 5K/10K resonates with a lot of people who run 5Ks religiously and even people who just started a couch to 5K program. They also cut away from/split screen the 10K to show other events/ads. 

If you've never been to a track meet you may not understand the energy that the final day hits you with. Final after final, everything is on time. It's a beautiful thing to watch, even if you don't know anything about track. Everyone understands on your mark, set, go...winner. 

 

[fatlaz]

I was a better than average high school  shot putter/discus thrower and sometimes JV sprinter.  I married a college 400 meter hurdler/sprinter.   So I've been to quite a few meets. Similar  to wrestling, I think if the programmers would spend a couple of minutes explaining the intricacies of the event, the field events are more interesting.   The other problem with the field events,  like wrestling, is that there is no set schedule as to when the individual athlete will perform. 

[fatlaz]

I agree that they shouldn't just put the camera on the discus ring and broadcast it, but they could clip together more than one throw.

[BigRedFan]

1 hour ago, fatlaz said:

Watched the Track and Field Olympic Trials last night.  They basically refused to show any of the field events.   They showed 3 woman's long jump attempts,  3 woman's shot put throws and 1 men's discus throw.  Meanwhile they showed every heat of the sprints and hurdles and all 40 laps of the women's 10000 meters.  There were basically no lead changes for 39 laps.  I really don't understand what the programmers think we are interested in.  

Peacock devoted entire streams to each of the other events.  You could watch every discus throw, every shot put, every long jump (which was a great competition, with the top 4-5 changing almost every jump on the sixth round).

Just remember that the viewers are the product, not the competition.