The Winter Olympics are full of entitlement and leisure class athletes

[superpatriotman]

Clearly there are exceptions, but almost to a person, every competitor is a wealthy silver-spooner.

At least the Summer games provide some sports for those not born or privilege.

Prove me wrong.

[JT45242]

1. Biathlon and x country skiingis often military or ex military from cold places

Hockey outside the US is not a privilege sport as many club teams hand down equipment.

But figure skating, snow boarding, bobsled, etc take huge bucks either from the person or the government.

[sir pball]

3. I would hardly call downhill sports (snowboarding/skiing) "elitist".

No, they aren't "buy a basketball and go to the city court" cheap by any means, but they're hardly polo or motorsports or yacht racing…plenty of non-millionaires hit the slopes every winter

Now, to get to an Olympic level is a different story, it does take a hefty chunk of change to have the free time and coaching infrastructure for that, but the same applies to any sport, right down to running or ping-pong.

[JT45242]

7. Day passes at skiing resorts are crazy expensive...throw in gear

Like golf...you have to look at how much u have to pay to practice to get good.

Then there is all the travel costs if you live outside the rocky mountain area

[sir pball]

11. It certainly does not need to be that expensive.

Day passes are…yes, they are wildly overpriced, but nobody who's serious, about getting good or just having fun, buys one. Season passes are a MUCH better deal, a weekday pass at Sugarloaf in Maine is $769. Not dirt cheap, but not unaffordable for a lot of people. Gear is a non-issue unless you have to have the newest, shiniest toys…I have a perfectly serviceable set of used boots and skis that I got for

[PJMcK]

2. Agreed

I stopped watching the Olympics years ago. They are all professional athletes because they have to be in order to survive and train. That commercialism doesn’t interest me.

Further, the organizers almost always fail spectacularly from a financial perspective. Too often, the expensive infrastructure becomes a waste once the Games are over.

Just my opinion.

[rampartd]

4. the nordic skiing events generally highlight warfare skills

the biathlon more so, perhaps the ski jump less.

[edhopper]

5. You probably have to be at least

Middle Class to pursue most of these sports.
But so what? They are dedicated athletes who put their whole life into being as good as they can be.
And for the most part, most will never get rich doing it. All those athletes fro all those countries are there to compete.
Why does their background matter?

And you don't need to be privileged to Curl.

[sir pball]

12. Realistically you have to be middle class to pursue any non-major-league sport.

Yes, if you're good at one of the big pro-league sports (e.g. basketball/baseball/football) you can get the support you need without having to pay via the HS->college->pro pipeline, but for pretty much any other sport you need to have the resources to make training an unpaid (or worse yet, a paying-for) full-time job. It takes just as much time and effort to be a good runner or tennis player, but in a bit of a paradox, you can't make a living off of it until you've proven yourself top-tier, on your own time and your own dime.

[BannonsLiver]

6. And? So what?

[oberle]

8. Is there a rule that all sports

have to include everyone?

[MineralMan]

9. Then I Suggest You Not Watch the Winter Olympics.

Simple, eh?

[mysteryowl]

10. Where are you getting this information?

[obamanut2012]

13. You are wrong, on both counts

[Johonny]

14. For years it was design to keep the working class

From competing...