Footbag in the Summer Olympics

RRW13 · Post by **RRW13** » 15 Aug 2004 14:58

Do you think that footbag will ever become an Summer Olympic event ?since there are alot of events in the Olympics that arent as commericalized as some like Fencing,( Softball which become a new event in 96), badmintion ect.

LameR · Post by **LameR** » 15 Aug 2004 15:23

I want to say yes, but not anytime in the near future. Seems like a sport like skateboarding or BMX would become an olympic sport before footbag. They're more publicly known and there's more than a handful of people in those sports that make their living off of it. It seems like footbag would fit the olympics better, I don't know how I can justify that, I just have this vision of footbag in the olympics and it looks a lot less awkward than people going off of vert ramps. I think X-Games would be a better first step, problem is, is footbag considered extreme? I dunno...

Spadrick · Post by **Spadrick** » 15 Aug 2004 15:29

Not extreme, but different. Footbag will be big enough for both some day. Until then, you need to ask yourself how can I help the sport achieve those goals?

Publicity is a major bridge to build. Get noticed by the right people, and have enough information to give to those people to keep them interested in what your doing. These people could be; Reporters, newscasters, production assistants and the like.

Get noticed, so people can't ignore what were doing.

LameR · Post by **LameR** » 15 Aug 2004 16:05

Spadrick wrote:These people could be; Reporters, newscasters, production assistants and the like.

Or just passerby. I agree with everything you said. Just keep shredding in public areas. I'm going to shove a few Freedom Footbag cards into my wallet incase I ever get someone interested. Which would be pretty doubtful because I still pretty much suck

Eh well, it could happen.

Shred on.

Seath · Post by **Seath** » 15 Aug 2004 16:22

haha no one would pass the olympic drug tests.

Maraxus · Post by **Maraxus** » 15 Aug 2004 19:18

Isn't footbag bigger internationally then say, BMX?

LameR · Post by **LameR** » 15 Aug 2004 19:20

Maraxus wrote:Isn't footbag bigger internationally then say, BMX?

Good point, but Seath's is better.

brian relly · Post by **brian relly** » 15 Aug 2004 19:37

I don't think footbag players take performance enhancing drugs...

pill · Post by **pill** » 15 Aug 2004 19:41

well in something a while ago, it may have been the olympics, they revoked somebody's win for testing positive for marijuana. which sure as hell isn't a preformance enhancing drug but they did it anyway.

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 15 Aug 2004 21:56

In the winter Olympics in Japan I think a snow border tested postive to weed and originally had his medal taken away, but due to the amount of complaint - and the fact that weed stays in your body for a very long time - meaning he may not have smoked while in Japan - I think either his medal was reinstated or maybe even he got a gold and the people below him got a higher placed medal as well.

mouseman · Post by **mouseman** » 15 Aug 2004 22:18

The sport is ready, the scene and players aren't.

pill · Post by **pill** » 15 Aug 2004 23:19

Jeremy wrote:In the winter Olympics in Japan I think a snow border tested postive to weed and originally had his medal taken away, but due to the amount of complaint - and the fact that weed stays in your body for a very long time - meaning he may not have smoked while in Japan - I think either his medal was reinstated or maybe even he got a gold and the people below him got a higher placed medal as well.

cool, then we're pretty safe it looks like =P

Spadrick · Post by **Spadrick** » 15 Aug 2004 23:58

What if footbaggers DID take performance enhancing drugs...

What would we be hitting?

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mentor · Post by **mentor** » 16 Aug 2004 00:36

Dream on guys!

The Olympics represent sports that are organised and popular to a completely different degree than footbag. It will take ages for our sport get to a point where it actually would be recognised and taken seriously by any larger body like the Olympic committee. I don’t see how the Olympics can cope with all the new coming sports in our time and there are so many that are more relevant than footbag.

Off course we need to get much better organised and more visible to the right people. Visibility is not enough though. We live in a time with rough competition and everything needs to be sold, branded and marketed in order to survive. Our approach needs to be completely different if we want success on a larger scale. The old guard of players are not necessarily the best organisers and marketing people for an example are way better than reporters to sell our sport. We need people that can show talent, patience and hard work sitting in office chairs instead of playing in Rod Lavers. It takes time for all good things to develop and footbag is still young and growing. Maybe in 10 years our sport has matured to a natural degree but it will take at least 50 years before we get to be an Olympic discipline.

Footbag is a sport in our own minds but nobody else knows – how could they?