RyanSpaulding Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Who here is watching them? I must admit I've never been into the Olympics...but when the mens 4x100 swim team came back and beat the trash-talking French team (who said they love to 'crush' the Americans....HA!) to win gold, I leaped out of my bed into a full blown Tiger Woods-like fistpump. The USA basketball team should have no problems this year as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic H Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 umm free tibet? not really interested except for basketball and some of the athletics events really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I usually loosely follow Swimming, Gymnastics, Track and Field. So far I have caught mostly swimming and gymnastics. I try to pay attention to the basketball scores, but will only watch 10 minutes here or there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanSpaulding Posted August 11, 2008 Author Share Posted August 11, 2008 I try to pay attention to the basketball scores, but will only watch 10 minutes here or there. Agreed. Minus a select few teams, it's like watching the Harlem Globetrotters play. It ends up being an alley-oop fest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koper Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I must say -GOOD LUCK ENGLAND on the next Olympics opening ceremony. This year was one of the most amazing shows i have ever seen.. EVER!!! I try to watch all the sports there is. How often do you get a chance to see Archery (and how tight was that finals?) , diving, fencing, handball, waterpolo, kayaking,.... breather and .......... and all the emotion that goes with these smaller sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geardaddy1 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I must say -GOOD LUCK ENGLAND on the next Olympics opening ceremony. This year was one of the most amazing shows i have ever seen.. EVER!!! Check this out about the composited fireworks; http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Some-Opening-Ceremony-fireworks-were-faked?urn=oly,99745 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I must say -GOOD LUCK ENGLAND on the next Olympics opening ceremony. This year was one of the most amazing shows i have ever seen.. EVER!!! I try to watch all the sports there is. How often do you get a chance to see Archery (and how tight was that finals?) , diving, fencing, handball, waterpolo, kayaking,.... breather and .......... and all the emotion that goes with these smaller sports. Well Im really disappointed with the America coverage. I usually watch this magnificent celebration of all thats good in the world on English TV. The Americans only show the sports that they have a good chance of winning. All Ive seen so far is swimming and gymnastics. They should have a more varied highlight agenda, as I for one cant stay up all night and follow the live coverage. That said, it was exciting seeing the mens 4x100 relay swimming. I secretly wanted the french to win, as Im used to rooting for everyone against America (because they win everything). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanSpaulding Posted August 11, 2008 Author Share Posted August 11, 2008 That's a new one for me. Rooting against the country you're from or reside in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I know, very un-patriotic of me isnt it? Im from the UK but I live in Chicago. I do love the States, but when it comes to sports, I just cant bring myself to want them to win. Difficult to explain, I think the little guy is just easier to be a fan of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 In my area (with HD cable) I get the olympics on 3 channels at any given time plus there are dedicated soccer and basketball channels, so no complaints about the coverage. What I find annoying is that the web site does not have more pictures of Merel Mooren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanSpaulding Posted August 11, 2008 Author Share Posted August 11, 2008 Im from the UK but I live in Chicago. Ah...ok. Makes more sense. I think people are more tied to their birthplace than their current locale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 True. I also think where your father is from is more of an influence than your birthplace/residence. "You Will support Manchester United until you die..You Will support Manchester United until you die..You Will support Manchester United until you die..You Will support Manchester United until you die..You Will support Manchester United until you die..You Will support Manchester United until you die..You Will support Manchester United until you die..You Will support Manchester United until you die..You Will support Manchester United until you die.." dad's mantra ad infinitum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Well Im really disappointed with the America coverage. I usually watch this magnificent celebration of all thats good in the world on English TV. The Americans only show the sports that they have a good chance of winning. All Ive seen so far is swimming and gymnastics. They should have a more varied highlight agenda, as I for one cant stay up all night and follow the live coverage. I disagree. The American women swept the medals in fencing, but I didn't see coverage of it until hours later when it showed them on the medal stands. The American stations show sports based on the popularity of the sport in America, not whether or not the are good at it. The stations are concerned about ratings, and advertising. It is how they make their living. They are not concerned about breadth of coverage of the games. There is a correlation between the sports shown for marketing reasons, and the sports that Americans tend to be good at. Meaning, Americans like to watch sports they enjoy playing. Since they enjoy playing that sport, there will be more people who excel at that sport. Since there are more Americans excelling at that sport, they will do better on a international stage in that sport. And then there is Woman's Fencing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Good p[oints all round Travis, but Im still a bit miffed I dont get to see more variety in the highlight shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipjor Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 it's kinda weird how guys from Amercia are playing on Russia's bball team, and the woman from Czech that won the very 1st medal lives in Colorda Springs, CO...seems like you really dont' have to live in a country to represent it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 You don't. There was one guy in Equestrian who could have chosen from 4 countries and chose Jamaica because it was easier to make the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Hmmm... I figured that if you were playing for another country, then you must have extenisve childhood ties to that country. I never researched it, just assumed. It doesn't really seem as interesting if you didn't grow up in the country you are playing for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koper Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 well, there are many other possibilities to see the games. this is the first olympics that broadcasts every sport online. NBC shows them all online, unfortunately, only for american ip's. as for fratanizing with the enemy, (not olympic related) a South African now captains the English cricket team, how bizare is that?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 the beach volleyball was riveting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanSpaulding Posted August 14, 2008 Author Share Posted August 14, 2008 I, for one, whole-heartedly believe that He, the Chinese female gymnist, is a 14 year old girl. In fact, China's own news agency, as of last year, labeled her as 13...and even referred to her as 'a little girl'. The Associated Press tracked down the report and have a copy saved, but it has been erased from it's original location since then. One of the gymnists is missing a baby tooth still. So how big of an issue is this? It's obvious being younger (oblivious to the mental pressure) and shorter and lighter make for easier acrobatics. Is this acceptable? Seems the IOC doesn't want to ruffle the feathers of the host country by investigating this...so it wont get resolved. I, for one, am not suprised at this. China seems to be all about the image...the image of golds, superiority, success...all the while being horrid on human rights, free speech, and freedom. I dont doubt the passports were faked by the govt because they knew of the advantages. I'd say if the Chinese govt was a slightly moral one, I'd hesitate. But they are not a moral one...and the illusion of being the best outweighs ACTUALLY being the best. Does this situation piss anyone off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobNJ73 Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 China seems to be all about the image...the image of golds, superiority, success...all the while being horrid on human rights, free speech, and freedom. There are those who would aruge that the US is just as guilty of the former, and coming ever closer on the latter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanSpaulding Posted August 14, 2008 Author Share Posted August 14, 2008 (edited) There are those who would aruge that the US is just as guilty of the former, and coming ever closer on the latter... Comparing the 2 govts on the latter is ridiculous. Regardless, this isn't the point. The question is, is it a major deal that the host country may be covering up the ages of it's gymnists, while the IOC refuses to investigate? Edited August 14, 2008 by RyanSpaulding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic H Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 china is a pretty f***ed country full of double standards, like most countries - but these double standards are more appartent now the olympic spotlight is aimed upon it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobNJ73 Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Comparing the 2 govts on the latter is ridiculous. Regardless, this isn't the point. The question is, is it a major deal that the host country may be covering up the ages of it's gymnists, while the IOC refuses to investigate? You're right... my bad for injecting the snarky little comment there. This is not the place to open up that can of worms, and missed the point of the post it was responding to. More on-topic... is there an age limit for competing in the Games? That is, would this gymnast be disqualified for being too young? I really have no idea, but it just seems that when I would watch the Games in the past, the gymnasts all seemed awfully young... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 You're right, that Chinese team looks underage and there are a lot of clues that they are, they ought to be investigated for it and if they are not old enough they ought to be disqualified - I'd hate to take away a medal from a 14-year-old girl who's worked her ass off for it but this sort of thing can't be allowed, it's child abuse and this sets a bad precedent. It's disappointing that nobody seems willing to say anything about this except for Bela Karoli, who I don't think is in China. The Chinese have got away with all kinds of things without much coverage, from revoking visas of people they think will protest to barring access to web sites even for foreign journalists - who could just call the home office and say "email me a PDF of this web page". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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