Olympic Fever
 

Here's a thread for all your Olympic-based discussion.

I thought I would kick it off by asking people what they thought of the opening ceremony. The big lake was impressive but they didn't really do anything with it. What the heck was with that little kid in the paper boat? The huge mask that split into the bits was quite incredible. The parade was okay but the camera stayed zoomed in so you didn't really get the whole effect. And people up the top of the stands in Athens probably couldn't see a thing. What the heck was with Bjork singing in Icelandic? The whole thing was really quite short compared to previous ones with no dancing lawn-mowers.

And on to the sport. I'll probably get caned from the rest of the australians but Thorpie really irritates me. I'd love to see Grant Hackett win just once.

I missed the opening, but have tuned into as much Olympic coverage of the games as I can. I was particularly on the edge of my seat while watching Women's Volleyball, today. It was a very close match. USA vs. Germany.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/results/5039956/detail.html

-oddguy

Oh christ odd guy not another NBC site...I get bombarded with ads if I enter one so nope sorry lol.I watched it for 2 mins.The oepning was awesome.All those people and one person standing there in the middle.Truly amazing

Dude. Women's Beach Volleyball.

Nuff' said.

Didn't watch it! Don't watch it! Won't watch it!

I mean what does it provide for the winners?

Do they get cash? To compensate for the thousands spent on training their atheletes?

I don't think its notoriety... I mean... do people sit at home and think "Oooooh! The Greeks can make a kick ass papier mache head... lets holiday in Greece!" or "Holiday 2005? Beligium as they won the 4 metre, twined style dives in the Olympics"... Don't think so!

*thinks deeply* Dead or alive extreme beach vollyball........best game ever. Not for the gameplay. Of course!

CB, it is an honor to be presented with a medal of any kind at the Olympics. It shows that you as an athlete have proven yourself to the world.

Oh...and Ian Thorpe won the Gold in 200m freestyle. Australia must be proud.

-oddguy

after a while it isn't so special before.

Still, as of last night we were top of the medal tally, both in golds and in total medals won. Too bad it won't last. We should start sliding once the swimming ends and the athletics start.

I've been very sad this week... SBS is gone... Why SBS? It could have been channel 10, or channel 9. But SBS!! *twitches* Stupid Australia...

Sigh... I hate the Olympics and Australian pride so much... So very, very much...

Yeah... for the individual.. but what does it offer the rest of society?...

some fat b*stard sitting there drinking beer and eating pasties watching it on the tube surely can't feel kudos!

I was quite disappointed at the (American) coverage of the fencing event, the only Olympic sport I really care about. I mean, the thing isn't even live. You would think they would at least add some better instant replays or something.

Blah.

Carly Patterson won in women's overall gymnastics. I hate that woman. An inconsistent, rich, prepped up midget with horrible eyebrows. The distaste on my tounge that Russia lost is that of a bitter, venomous hatred.

I hate the Olympics. I don't know why. Maybe because they just plain suck. Meh.

I haven't even seen fencing! And that was one I really wanted to watch. It was on the late-night coverage yesterday and I wasn't staying up all night to watch for it.

Oy...and did anyone see Paul Hamm win Gymnastics yesterday? Amazing. I was on the edge of my seat!

-oddguy

It was nice to see Tyler Hamilton win the cycling time trial a couple of days ago. After dealing with the death of his dog and then having to drop out of the Tour de France right in the middle, it's nice to see that he can get some recognition. He's a really good athlete and deserves it.

The Olympics are a boring, tedious excuse for the world to revel in their proto-fascism guilt free. I NEVER watch the Olympics and if my family is watching them I make it a point to denouce the Olympics and cheer rabidly for the teams that are squaring off against the U.S. Go Romania! There are only 3 things that would make me watch the Summer Olympics:
Full contact Roller Hockey
A 3 event cap on participation. I'll digress on this one. I'm sick and tired of seeing people enter 10 plus competitions. Let someone else compete, assholes!
No tape delays or commentary.

Cheers! I agree.

If you guys hate the Olympics so much, you can leave those of us that enjoy it to our conversation.

-oddguy

I don't hate it, I just hate the way its presented. For instance, I've always wondered if computers couldn't do a better job of judging sports but I was completely taken aback by the sheer shittiness of it when I was watching a boxing bout with my brothers. They didn't even record body blows for Christ's sake! Can anything be more annoying than tape delays? Why spend 45 minutes watching when 4.5 minutes on the 'net will tell you who won? Completely pointless! And I'm really starting to despise that Phelps bastard. 17 bloody competions and he's only medalled 7 times! I'm sure athletes who would specialize in those events would have a strike rate above 50 percent, wouldn't you? Sometimes its fun to watch, especially when some backwards, 3rd world bomb crater bitchslaps a favorite.

yeah I'll agree with that one. People here have been crowing on about how thorpie - in only his second olympics - has won the most gold medals of any australian. But he is in about a hundred and thirty races. As a percentage of the number of sports he competes in Dawn Frazer still kicks his arse.

*Imagines Dawn Frazer bitch-slapping Thorpie for taking her record*

Oooh thats nice...

The large number of swimming events is very redundant. I'd see no problem in merely naming the top swimmers for short and long distances in each stroke style, + relay. No need for 10 different lengths for each style. Though, I enjoy the whole swimming/gymnastics period more than track & field, at least.

Also its ridiculous to have heats and finals for sports like diving, gymnastics, archery or shooting. You should just perform once (or best of three) and your score is final. Also the rule that you can have different swimmers in heats and finals in relays is shonky-arama!

Romania dominated the pommel horse! Woot! Well, somebody's gotta represent. And how about Team U.S.A. getting dope-slapped by Lithuania! They're not a team, they're 8 wingmen and Duncan and none can shoot from the perimeter for shit.

^_^ I'm from Romania!! WooT!

I don't get it. Don't the winners also get sponsors for winning?

And my favourite sport to watch is swimming and athelics(hows it spelled? :S)

I was stuck in a shelter hiding from Hurricane Charley when the opening ceremony was on, but have enjoyed watching the rest

Womens Beach Volley Ball...

May/Walsh
VS.
McPeak/Youngs

Anybody see that game? May/Walsh absolutely killed McPeak/Youngs. It was fun to watch because both teams were USA.

-oddguy

I hate the olympics! They are just a whopping great pile of steaming shiete.

Still no one answred my question :(¨

Doesn't the winners also get sponsors, and money if they win gold or something?

Depends on the athlete, the country and the sponsor. I think some countries give cash bonuses to gold-medal winners. In the past companies have given prizes (eg cars) to all the winners. And with sponsors; if an athlete is already signed to a sponsor they may have a clause in a contract that will increase his/her wages if (s)he wins gold. And if they don't have any sponsorship a gold will make it more likely that they will get signed up but that decision is up to the sponsor in the end.

I just watched McPeak/Youngs battling (and beating) Australia on the Spanish channel. Oh, the joys. Also, I can't wait to see the Men's 4x400 relay. Does anybody really stand against a team that attained a 123 finish? And speaking of that, what the heck is up with the first place 400 meter guy? Running in sunglasses with a necklace flapping around your neck? And that men's high bar final. 5 minutes of booing. Hilarious.

I don't agree if someone has a negative opinion to state it is just as valid as a positive one, and so has as much right to be posted here, so long as it does not border on spam or flaming it's fine.

And on-topic I can't stand the olympics or any sporting events really. I don't find that sort of thing entertaining. What I really find pathetic is the Greeks organisation skills in building the stadium, it was finished only, what, a week before the event started.

It seemed a lot longer than 5 minutes. Really though, the judges need to get their jobs right the first time around.

It just happens to be my opinion that in a topic about the Olympics, people discuss the Olympics. Wow! What a concept! ;) The negative comments don't really add anything to the thread at all. At least someone like Statikk explains his opinion. But SS's negative post added nothing.



-oddguy

it proves they are the best in the world at that sport, until the next olympics

Well, at least until the next World Championship, or world cup or any other of the hundreds of events that happen every year. The only thing that makes the olympics special is that all those sports are happening at once.

The olympics are most prestigious that the world championships or anything like that, not least because every event of the olympics is actually shown on terrestrial tv.

As compared to extra-terrestrial TV.

There are some athletes who are more concerned with their sport's world championship or world cup. Especially the team sports.

Yes, but the Olympics may as well be the pinnacle of sporting covereage in terms of public knowledge. WOrld championships and such may very well house a much more selective and inclusive range of athletes for specific events, but the Olympics are going to come close to, if not matching the level of competition provided.

In other news, anybody else watch the men's marathon earlier, where the Brazil guy got tackled? Hilarious, yet calls for a good deal of pity.

Poor guy, bowled over by a crazed ex-priest who thought he was Satan after misinterpreting his bible.