Olympic porn

dancers perform at the women's beach volleyball gold medal match

Just what is the fascination with athletes in skimpy costumes, posing nude for magazines etc. etc. all about? There are surely much more explicit pornographic images all over the internet. Just why are pictures like these so popular? It's about the context of course. We somehow associate the Olympics with ideals of 'athletic purity'. Seeing semi dressed or nude athletes is all the more titillating because it seems at odds with what the games are supposed to be all about. The nature of the games have definitely changed, women's beach volleyball being the prime example. At one time, any involvement with professional sport meant instant ineligiblity for the Olympics. Women's beach volleyball, with it's skimpy bikinis, rock music between points and sexy dancers is about as commercial as sport can be. After all; who really watches it for the sport?

The average man must see thousands of naked women in any given year, either in pictures or in the flesh, yet he is physically incapable of ignoring the possibility of seeing more. Many spend almost every spare moment persuing tits and ass and never seem to be able to get enough.

Testosterone is a highly potent chemical, and driven by this force men will completely irrational things. Many women understand this and have turned putting it to their advantage into lucrative careers. Most of us are not complaining.

May the force be with you...

Bush thumbs up for beach volleyball women

President George W. Bush temporarily switched roles Saturday from commander-in-chief to cheerleader-in-chief at the Summer Olympics, stopping by to offer support for the American volleyball and softball teams.

He made a surprise visit to the beach volleyball venue, where he watched the U.S. men's and women's teams practice. But it took a little coaxing to get Bush out on the sand court.

source: Reuters

more pictures

Is it just me but does this picture look kind of compromising?

Kind of bummed; beach volleyball bikinis

Ever wondered why female beach volleyball players wear micro-bikinis? Four-time Olympian Natalie Cook has provided a straight answer. While the rules of the sport have changed to make it more pacy for television coverage, 2000 Olympic gold medallist Cook said the bikinis are not about audience eye candy but all about the conditions.

"...we wear a bikini because it is hot out there most of the time,'' Cook, the first female beach volleyballer to go to four Olympic Games, said.

If a woman wants to play under the auspices of the International Volleyball Federation, she better get out her tape measure; women's uniform bottoms have to be two and a half inches wide on the sides. The federation, based in Switzerland, decided the uniforms should be standardized. It says beach volleyball is played on the beach, so swimsuits are in keeping with the sun and fun atmosphere.

Apparently the 'fun atmosphere' only applies to women; male volleyball players are now required to wear shorts that fall a bit above the knee.

"I'm kind of bummed; I like my tights," said the sport's most famous player, Gabrielle Reece, who is known for wearing black Lycra tights rather than a bikini suit while playing.

Despite Natalie Cook's 'straight answer'; I'm still wondering why female beach volleyball players wear micro-bikinis. If this ruling is not simply about providing eye candy for TV cameras, surely male beach volleyball players should be made to wear skimpy bikinis too.