Swagger and braggadocio - part of sports?

I'll tell you what I am absolutely over as these Olympic Games progress, and that's the hamming it up when athletes are introduced to the crowd. It may have been reasonably fresh when Usain Bolt was doing his bow-and-arrow routine some years ago, although I am sure he did not start it. But now, everyone, especially the sprinters, the rock stars of athletics, feel the need to have a signature set of (increasingly bizarre) actions they perform as the camera lingers on them.

I'm sure it serves a whole host of purposes, from psyching out the opposition to establishing their own frame of mind to galvanizing the crowd. But, more than anything, it is purely made-for-TV self-aggrandizement. These are supremely confident individuals at the height of their physical prowess. You can just FEEL the testosterone in the air (even around the women).

American sprinter Noah Lyles may have won the 100-metre dash in what was probably the closest and overall fastest race of all time (Lyles won by five-thousandths of a second!), but he is one of the worst offenders as regards pre-race shenanigans. Abetted by the unprecedented long wait before the race start, complete with light show, lasers and dramatic music (what was THAT all about?), Lyles had plenty of time for a complete mummer routine after he was introduced. Lyles also takes athletic fashion to the next level with pearls in his hair, custom-designed watches, blingy necklaces, and custom nail polish.

However, the longer it goes on, and the more forced and performative it becomes, and the more awkward it seems to me. I put it in the same category as tennis and soccer players (and now other athletes) calling for a crowd reaction or increased applause, something they pretty much all do these days, and which would have been unheard of a couple of decades ago. If a crowd wants to cheer and applaud, they will cheer and applaud; you don't have to orchestrate it, just because you think you have done something particularly impressive or worthy. I don't know who started it, but it is now engrained in an increasing number of sports.

Also in the same category, I put the ridiculous dance routines and mime shows many soccer players now put on for the crowd after scoring a goal. Again, I don't know who started it - I'm thinking maybe the Brazilians? - and maybe some fans really like it. Me, I find it vaguely embarrassing, and annoying. You certainly can't imagine a hockey player or a rugby player doing it, but maybe that too will happened one day.

It just represents to me the ongoing thinning of the line between sports and entertainment. Maybe there IS no line, maybe I'm just an old curmudgeon living in the past. I just don't see the cool factor in these performances. It's just swagger and braggadocio.