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Are any of you fans of the Olympics? I am.
During the two weeks that the Summer Olympics are in Beijing, I have watched a lot of the sporting events on TV (no, I did not go to China). The United States of America is quite good in a lot of sports (think Michael Phelps in his swimming; he broke eight world records). We also got gold in women's soccer, men's kayaking, equestrian, a couple of track events and men's volleyball. We were not that good in diving, ballet and sync swimming. Even though China won the most gold medals, USA won the most total medals.
The opening and closing ceremonies were spectacular and is probably one of the best shows for the Olympics in history. It is amazing to see how people form patterns on the ground inside BirdÂ’s Nest (there is no markings on the ground), not to mention all the fireworks. The parade of the nations took the longest time, since there are about 200 countries being introduced. The closing ceremonies are not as fun to watch as the openings, meaning all the events are done, but still had some interesting events. It cost like 400 million dollars for the opening ceremony alone. The ceremonies and the events will forever be remembered.
The climate will definitely be milder there. In Beijing, it was hot and humid, and smog was a concern. And they were hit by heavy rain several times during the two weeks. I have seen cyclists having to race outside in the rain.
I am looking forward for the 2012 Olympics in London (which is the third time London puts on Olympics), but that is still like 47 months away. Are any of you planning to see the 2012 Olympics? Meanwhile, the winter Olympics is going to take place in Vancouver, BC in February 2010 (just 18 months away), and it is next door to Seattle.
Regardless
Well Team GB did very well with the best medal haul since the 1908 Olympics at White City in London.
Yes I'm planning to go to Vancouver in 2010 and see the Ice hockey at it will be the first time I hope to see North American ice Hockey.:-)
Cheers,
John.B
PS...If you are coming to London remember we got a 100 year old transportation system in the tube, so you journey will be quite quaint and warm!
Hi John.
It is interesting to know about how Great Britain did, although the US won more medals.
By the way, how long will you be in Vancouver? I am from Seattle, which is directly south from Vancouver.
It is unlikely that I will be coming to London for the Olympics. The tickets for the games and ceremonies can be quite expensive. I do communicate to a couple of people from China, and even then, they did not go see the games in Beijing because they said that they cannot afford the tickets. Some people simply stood outside Bird's Nest, since they cannot afford tickets to go inside the stadium to watch the ceremonies (even though they are already in Beijing).
Regardless
So I bloke swam the pool in 8 events! Surely it's about taking part as well not the total of medals but then again it depends where you live!
Cheers,
John.B
Chances are, you have watched or heard about Michael Phelps and the fact he had broken seven world records and won eight gold medals in one Olympiad. Since I live in the US, I rooted for the US to win, and in most cases, the US did, and yes, Phelps is from the US.
If you are talking about Vancouver, I am more likely to remain in Seattle and watch the games on TV (although it is possible but slim that I may come up to watch some games). Nevertheless, I will root for the US.
Regardless
Actually it's North of Vancouver. Justin you know where Vancouver is you live a stones throw from there.
Kevin
Sure do Kevin. :-) Hop on a little plane with double wings in Seattle and you should be there in about 35 minutes which would be my best guess. The "Wright Bros. Airlines" I have found to be the most reliable. Forget Alaska Airlines. They have "Frostbite!" :-0
Blimps used to be good, but they stopped those as the last one blew-up just as it was about to land in Newerk Airport which is just east of Vancouver and a little to the south of Friday Harbour which is west of Orcas Island which of course would place it about 45 miles south of Seattle and a tad north of Port Townsend.
Of course one could always try the hugh magnificent Ferries that run throught the beautiful San Jaun Islands and on up to Vancouver Bc. One trouble however..........they only work in the water so couldn't be driven on the roads leading to the Olympics. But, one COULD rent a Walking Catfish and ride on its back the rest of the way.
Justin~
Not a sports fan myself although I did catch a little of the opening ceremony.
Since you caught a little of the opening, what events did you see in the Opening Ceremony (unless you forgot)?
A few examples were torch lighting, Chinese art and dancing (ancient and modern), and the Parade of the Nations.
Regardless
Same here. Guess music has always been in my blood and was my major lifes calling. (Composer of 196 works to date of which over 150 were put into publication. Concert Recitalist for 32 years, Organist/Choir Director and teacher of Musique.)
Wow Justin, that's really impressive, I had no idea you composed music, awesome!
Thank you so much Hegg. I am a bit out of my time frame so to speak. The critics have likened me to sounding like Claude Debussy (1862-1918) or Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). But neither of these composers can really be compared. If anything, perhaps I am more like Ravel. But then again, what is a critic? That's all they can do. Let them try to compose one measure of music. That is, "if" they dare! LOL :-)
Justin~
Guess your hair will be pretty long by 2012, eh? :)
I will find out when the 2012 Olympics come around. I plan to live my life as a long hair, no matter what other people say about my hair.
Regardless
Yawn.......
Kevin
Aww you not coming to the party in 4 years then!
What? Miss a chance to ride the old tube with millions of sweaty smelly people in mid August.
I wouldn't miss it for the world!!
Cheers
Kevin
I wouldn't miss it for the entire Cosmos! :-0
Yeah, I know the feeling as well.
Justin~
PS: Time for a nap in my 15 Sq. Ft. Log Cabin put together with Lincoln Logs and genuine (I would NEVER use fake) Elmers Glue.
Meh...
I find it pretty boring in my opinion. Then again Im self diagnosed with ADHD hahaha!
Least this thread be totally....well you know.
Here's Tero Jarvenpaa of Finland who took the bronze.
I was rooting for for him, and I'm not Finnish!
Kevin
Interesting. I did see a couple of long haired athletes coming into the Birds Nest during the Opening Ceremonies. Nevertheless, I mainly root for the US.
Regardless
Here is some MLHH hair. I think there are 2 guys here with longer hair than mine, so I get the bronze.
EdG. and Hair Religion, are you out there?
Scott
What a bummer. He just missed a medal. He got 4th place in the javelin.
Scott
Tero Pitkamaki won the bronze, also a Finn but no long hair.
Oh Perkele!
Isn't this like the most horrid swear word in the Finnish language? HAHAHAHAHA!
I don't know any swear words.....LOL
hehe, lol:D well being a half finn myself i can say it means like hell in english.
Satana perkeke!:D
Sadly he cut his hair, but it's still quite long
http://www.iltasanomat.fi/urheilu/uutinen.asp?id=1576538
He's growing it back and he promised he next hair cut will be after London 2012
A semi-longhaired (about shoulder lenght) Austailian won gold
in the pole vault.
Didn't watch the summer games, I'm more fan of the winter games.
I like ice skating myself and did it competitive for a while.
Hi Vincent.
Winter Olympics can be fun to watch, but to me, summer Olympics brings more exciting events. I did not watch the 2006 winter games, though, but I would probably plan to watch the 2010 winter games on TV, and the games will be close to where I live.
Regardless
They are, I especialy remember the team persuit with speed skating.
The dutch team was ahead on the semi-finals but they fell and there changes for the gold where over.
They ended winning the bronze.
I had not seen speed skating. I understand that it is disappointing for the Dutch, but since I am from the US, I root for the US. At least, they still got a medal.
Regardless
I have been a fan of the Olympics ever since I can remember, both summer and winter. The earliest I remember is Moscow in 1980. I better remember the winter Olympics in Sarejevo in 1984 however. I especially remember the 1988 Olympics in Seoul when Matt Biondi helped the US win the swimming relay. I had the opportunity to catch a good many of the events on television this year. I really like watching the gymnastics and the rowing events and swimming too. The synchronized diving was something I'd never watched, but it was cool. One of the guys who dove for the US was from the University of Georgia. It was cool too that Dara Torres at 41 was able to medal in her event. It was also good to see a wide variety of athletes from countries that had never won medals before do so. You have to cheer for a rapids rafter from Togo who got the gold. And then the guy who set a new world record in the 100 meter dash at 9.69. That is quite amazing. I cannot say that I only wished the US athletes well, as I enjoy seeing a competitor from any nation or region do well and exceed all expectations.
I really like to watch most sports except professional basketball, but I am not really good at many sports. I used to run track and play football, and tried to play basketball with little success. I do like tennis and always cheer for Rafael Nadal in his tennis tournaments. He is from one of the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain. The coolest opening ceremonies to me were in 2006 in Torino when the Italians brought in a Ferrari to the Olympic stadium and had it doing doughnuts in the midst of the goings-on. The opening ceremony usually says volumes about how a country would have others perceive it. To me this captured some of the essence of Italy.
My only gripe with the whole affair is the immense out-lay, expenditure, and infastructure that a host city must invest in to host the games. It seems like it would be more logical to host the games in one place every four years like was done in the classical period of Greece, when and where the games originated. When the Olympics were in Atlanta in 1996, some said that it was "the biggest debacle and disaster to hit the city of Atlanta since Sherman burned it to the ground." Perhaps. I do know that the Greeks went into debt to host the games and will be paying for it for a while. However, with a country as big as China, the games are much less of a burden. I don't really know how many would go for a fixed venue, but it is an idea.
MB
Hi Matt.
Although I am not a fan of watching sports on TV for the most part, I get attracted by the Olympics since it involves other countries, and the fact that it only take place once every four year (for each Olympic). Winter Olympics are okay, although it is not as interesting as the summer ones, since it involves fewer events. I remember seeing Olympics as early as 1992 (both summer and winter). They used to have both summer and winter Olympics on the same year. Starting in 1994, summer and winter Olympics start alternating every two years. I don't remember the 1988 Olympics; I was only 2 years old. I am glad you also saw some of the events on TV, but we, the US, were awful in sync diving. I was also amazed that the 41 year old won a silver medal. It was also amazing that other countries won medals for the first time. Togo never won gold till now. A runner from Kenya broke the men's marathon record. The only country that I did not like winning is Russia, since they are makers of a lot of computer viruses, spyware, Trojans and other nasty stuff (although Chinese people make such stuff too, but they also hosted the Olympics).
I am good in playing basketball, soccer and softball. I also like to run and take walks. I say this year's Opening ceremony is the coolest. The closing ceremony is not as spectacular and it also meant the fun was over. I did not watch the 2006 winter Olympics.
I understand that they have to spend a lot of money to build venues for the events. It would probably be cheaper to host in the same place every time, but it would also be a little more boring to watch the Olympics. I like to see different culture themes in Olympics. I have actually watched the Atlanta Olympics games in person in 1996; some of my family lives there. Like I said, a fixed venue would cost less, but you see the same place over and over again, and many people would lose interest in watching the Olympics.
Regardless
"It cost like 400 million dollars for the opening ceremony alone."
I think a lot of children went to bed hungry that night.
--Val
Children (and people) go hungry all the time, Olympics or not. Don't blame the Olympics.
Regardless
I don't blame the Olympics, per se. I just see this (mis)allocation of resources as another example of people caring about "things" more than they care about people. There are many other examples about which the human race, collectively, should be far more embarrassed. Indeed, I think the Olympics are worthwhile and valuable for many reasons, but feel the spirit of friendly competition could be enjoyed just as much with far less "fluff" or flashy spectacle that is only there for its own sake.
The bottom line for me is that, despite an overabundance of food on this planet, tens of thousands of people die of starvation every day. The $400 million dollar price tag on this singular event--an event that really did NOTHING to significantly improve the quality of peoples' lives, and that will be forgotten within a matter of days by practically everyone but those few in attendance--just got me thinking about how screwed up society's priorities are.
--Val
I understand about the famine, but here in the US, we have an opposite problem. A lot of people eat too much calories. Obesity is just as deadly as famine. Over 100,000 people die each year from health complications caused by obesity and overeating. It might be helpful that the Olympics take place in the same place every time, since they can reuse the same facilities and not have to build new buildings. Here's an idea: How about all the money going into all the fast foods, sodas, high-frutose corn syrup, and calories in the US go into the 2012 Olympics instead. And when the Olympics are not in play, how about shut down all the companies in the US that make unhealthy food, and donate all the money to the hungry.
Regardless