Rap superstar Snoop Dogg helped lend some credibility to breaking in his Olympic debut, but spectators were unimpressed with flat performances and non-existent commentary.
The hip hop icon was invited to open the new Paris 2024 Olympics event at the pop-up stadium on Place de la Concorde and showed off some moves of his own to the delight of the crowd.
“Of all the places Snoop Dogg should be at the Olympics, this feels like the right one,” one fan posted.
But the crowd, and Snoop in his oversized Olympic sunglasses, were left wanting more after the event got off to a lackluster start at the Games.
“Why is it considered a sport?” asked one spectator.
“This is a joke. Padel, futsal, cricket or roller hockey at home while we have to pretend that this is a sport,” posted another.
“It’s disgusting, shameful, disrespectful and disappointing,” another fumed.
Snoop Dogg wasn’t the only one who had a hard time understanding breaking at the Olympics
Spectators dubbed this move by Australian Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn ‘The Tyrannosaurus’
Manizha Talash, who fled the Taliban, was disqualified for holding this protest.
What added to the disappointment of the debut was the lack of explanations by the commentators about what breaking is, what the movements performed by the athletes were called and how the judges scored them.
“I was interested but the announcer kept saying ‘wow that’s great blah blah blah’ and I just want to know what it all means,” one viewer posted.
“Haha, yeah, the announcer said something like ‘Wow, that’s one windmill turned into two thousand’ and I was like… if you say so, dude,” another replied.
“All the announcers do is get excited when good music comes on. They don’t help at all,” posted another.
Even self-proclaimed breakers found the show confusing.
“I’m a disruptor and I agree that announcers need to explain things better,” one person posted.
There were some standout moments, including moves by gold medal winner Ami Yuasa of Japan and refugee groundbreaker Manizha Talash, who was disqualified for wearing a cape that read “Free Afghan Women.”
While Raygun’s routine wasn’t up to par with the rest of the ‘B-Girls’, she had a lot of fun making her Olympic debut in Paris.
However, Australian competitor Rachael Gunn, also known as Raygun, failed to accomplish any of them and was eliminated from the heats without scoring a single point.
However, she did manage to revolutionize the Internet with a series of comments about her bizarre and markedly Australian routine, which included a kangaroo dance.
“Australia just went back 40 years,” one viewer posted on social media platform X.
“How did it get here?” asked another.
“I’d like to personally thank Raygun for making millions of people around the world think ‘hey, maybe I can go to the Olympics too,'” another posted.
“Honestly, the moment Raygun did his kangaroo move, this competition was over,” another added.
“What my nephew does after telling us all ‘watch this’,” posted another.
The Australian became a household name overnight and was proud to represent her country.
While Raygun was outclassed, she became an instant icon after putting in the work in her chosen sport for years and was proud to bring her routine to a global audience, even if it wasn’t competitive.
“What I wanted to do was come here and do something new, different and creative – that’s my strength, my creativity,” Gunn said.
‘I was never going to beat these girls at what they do best, dynamics and power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many opportunities do you get in life to do that on an international stage?
“I was always the underdog and I wanted to make my mark in a different way.”