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No excitement this time around. I usually look forward to the games, especially last time out.
With the drugs thing going on, I dunno, just meh! about it all.
You cared enough to start a thread about it though.
You cynic. I'm massively excited about this international festival of corruption, consumerism, kickbacks, pollution, waste, drugs and oppression.
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they've got a new light railway and a new museum what more would they want! ?
Is it wrong to want to watch it to see how badly Brazil put on the event? What's Portuguese for schadenfreude?
Started a thread as I'm bored sitting on a train with nothing to think about 🙂
The mountain biking might be good to watch.
(and wonder how many are clean / cheating)
recreate a *fun* olympics theme at home by having a poo & a wee in the bath and forcing your kids to swim in it.
Does seem to have been a bit of a slow build up.
Armitstead lucky to be going..
probably because its time zone affected if you a brit/european, lots of the finals for events at around 2am GMT
It's the same every time apart from 2012. It has to start before you can get into it and then it's so full on you will be loving it very quickly.
@Stoner I think they use the same word for Schadenfreude as we do 🙂 (which I imagine was your point)
Totally agree OP. I love the Olympics and 2012 was simply wonderful at every level. Rio has been a dire choice for sailing since the announcement, it was well know that the bay is literally full of sh.t and of coirse all the promises of clean ups have been broken. I have seen pictures of boats covered in brown and black gunge when returning from training, Swiss team where mugged and the launching pontoon fell apart a couple of days ago. Competitors told to keep their mounts shut if they fall in 😯
When the games start I will be watching though, in particular swimming, cycling and of course the athletics - Mo and Jessica being our superstars.
Yep, the time zone thing is going to nause it up. I would imagine I'll be mostly watching highlights of events I know the results of already.
The sailing will be interesting, the neddies will be too, the rest I'm not bothered about.
Certainly doesn't seem as hyped as those prior to 2012.
MTBing I'm never really sure about, since it's a totally man-made super artificial course that's wide open and designed for getting TV cameras etc in there.
They should have done an urban DH, that South America is famous for.
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36944741 ]the Chinese are unimpressed ![/url]
Anything involving water is just going to turn into a battle of seeing who can go the longest without vomming.
Hopefully the golf will get cancelled and the participants entered into Greco-Roman wrestling instead.
I love the Olympics. It won't be the same as 2012, I remember listening to it at work and having to stop and listen to the commentary on the shooting and canoeing. My son is in Edinburgh diving g club and one of his teammates Grace Reid is competing so we are going to get together with some of the other parents and kids for a BBQ and to watch her. I'll also be keeping an eye on Grant Ferguson in the MTB, he was one of the kids in the original kids club at Glentress that Emma and Tracey started and whom I helped for a few weeks before my son was born.
I have always enjoyed the olympics but this one has absolutely failed to capture my attention. I think it is two things.
Firstly the London olympics was a high point (even though the legacy is a joke and the concentration on elite performance over mass participation a disgrace), it was a great show and a few weeks of joy in a recession. So anything after is not going to match up.
Secondly the corruption at the top of sports administration is causing a general tarnishing of the image of all sports and disenfranchisement of fans (Remember Norway leaking the list of Olympic demands before pulling out of the winter games hosts).
Firstly the London olympics was a high point
Well I thought so, but apparently not according to some Chinese athletes -
[i]Lu Zhimin says the biggest task for the athletes this year is to "come back alive". Vivienne_Rui quips, "Our country should dispatch to Brazil the World Championship-Level disaster support group".
"Be sure to double-check the gymnastic equipment!" jokes Xiari Weifeng Xiaohan. Others joke about the uneven bars being a bit more than uneven.
"[b]I really thought that London had the worst Olympics ever[/b]; I never expected this," says y_oyeaiyaai.
CindyFoxYeye agrees, saying, "[b]London is finally able to regain some face[/b]."[/i]
I hope it goes well, but for a long time the Olympics has been better at transferring public money into private hands than achieving any sort of "legacy" for the host nation.
I can't wait to watch all the Olympic-related crime vids on LiveLeak. Already stocked up on popcorn.
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Same,
Not sure what it is this time around, China was full of stories about polluted beaches and water, every Olympics I can remember had tales of half finished facilities and un-snagged athlete villages in the lead up.
Same for Wimbledon and the 'Le Tour' this year, both won by Brits, not for the first time in recent history, but it's still pretty rare, but not nearly the usual amount of media coverage - I didn't even know Wimbledon was on, until it ended.
I guess the news is still very busy at the moment, not been many slow news days this year, but I have think that national pride is at an all time low at the moment, I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it seems a bit empty cheering for someone you don't know because they're a Brit, seems like the end of the party to me.
seems a bit empty cheering for someone you don't know because they're a Brit
Maybe this is it. I have never felt less proud or disillusioned with my fellow brits than I do now. Combine that with sports governing bodies being seen to be weak and corrupt and suspicions of the competitors drug free status being at an all time high and there does seem to be less point than ever in the getting interested.
Cringing at the thought of Claire Balding trying to manufacture another Burt Le Clos moment. It was the spontaneity of the situation which made it so great so I hope she leaves well alone.
Its just a glorified school sports day, where the teachers all get to buy a yacht and a private jet. Can't see what the fuss is all about.
The Premiership starts in a couple of weeks though.....
😀
Well it was just announced that a local mountain biker is number 4 in the Oz team for the road race so stuff like that helps to keep the interest up, keen to see the road race, XC and at least cav on the track.
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The Premiership starts in a couple of weeks though.....
Yay! MOAR money laundering!
nah euros was [i]last[/i] monthYou cynic. I'm massively excited about this international festival of corruption, consumerism, kickbacks, pollution, waste, drugs and oppression.
Yes, but Flashy football wears its corruption like a badge of honour. It waves two fingers at anything other than money. It doesn't wrap itself up in all the noble Olympic history and sporting sacrifice for ultimate glory bollocks
I kind of admire the shameless, we couldn't give a **** honesty 😀
😀
[url= http://www.reddit.com/r/apocalympics2016 ]http://www.reddit.com/r/apocalympics2016[/url]
How can you not be at least intrigued by Rio 2016? I sincerely doubt this will go without a hitch.
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Not watching an event hosted by a country that treats some of its citizens in such a despicable manner by failing to provide a roof over their heads and sanitation.
I didn't watch the London Olympics either.
Can't be doing with this any more.
Not watching an event hosted by a country that treats some of its citizens in such a despicable manner by failing to provide a roof over their heads and sanitation.
America?
OK, could be applied to many countries but doesn't make it right.
Not watching an event hosted by a country that treats some of its citizens in such a despicable manner by failing to provide a roof over their heads and sanitation.I didn't watch the London Olympics either.
logic fail
Not watching for the reasons stated is fine and noble if you would have otherwise watched and enjoyed it - ie it's a boycott. But that's rather blown out of the water if you didn't bother watching the London version too.
logic fail
wimminz logic innit. 🙂 Morally repugnant and feel that money is needed elsewhere.
Not watching for the reasons stated is fine and noble if you would have otherwise watched and enjoyed it - ie it's a boycott. But that's rather blown out of the water if you didn't bother watching the London version too.
The moral high ground is always popular in the summer holidays
It seemed perfectly logical to have it in London. Hosting a multi-billion quid (taxpayer funded) corporate bonanza in a city that is being socially cleansed of frightful plebs?
Thats the Olympic ethos in a nutshell, isn't it?
So Rio is the logical next step from there too.
The moral high ground is always popular in the summer holidays
I'm like it all year Mike!
There's a lot wrong with the Olympics and a lot wrong with sport in general but there'll still be some epic performances over the next few weeks, personally I'll focus on those.
Morally repugnant and feel that money is needed elsewhere.
It's a fallacy that were it not used for the Olympics, "the money" would be used for poverty relief.
By that logic, nobody should spend money on anything until poverty is relieved by some arbitrary measure. Therefore, if you own a television, you are "morally repugnant" because you didn't give "the money" to a poor person instead.
"Not watching for the reasons stated is fine and noble if you would have otherwise watched and enjoyed it - ie it's a boycott. But that's rather blown out of the water if you didn't bother watching the London version too."
Well, London (and the UK) fails to provide adequate housing for many of it's own citizens:
A problem particularly prevalent in the Olympic borough of Newham:
http://londonist.com/2014/10/focus-e15-protest-highlights-housing-going-to-waste
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/jun/02/olympics2012
Meanwhile, hundreds of flats in the Olympic park currently stand empty, years after they were first built.
I'm sure you could find similar about pretty much every country in the world. And it wasn't Cg's reason for not watching the London olympics was it? Hence my comment 🙄
Me too. I'll probably watch a bit of cycling and running, but that's it.
Are the boxers wearing headgear for this one? There was talk of them doing away with headgear a little while back. Seems a bit crazy to me but I understand there are pros as well as cons.
I'm looking foreword to it - party arranged for OC on Friday just like 2012.
Then the real actions - guess the clean athlete - begins 😉
And it wasn't Cg's reason for not watching the London olympics was it?
Yes, it was the reason that she clearly stated.
Yes, it was the reason that she clearly stated.
0/10 for comprehension ability.
Really convert? can you not read, or are you just trolling now?
Do you not realise that "failing to provide a roof over someone's head" means they are homeless?
I expect I'll get into it - I like Olympics, where interesting sports you normally never hear of get showcased for a couple of weeks. However I'm certainly a lot less excited about this version than I've ever been - was even more interested in Atlanta - to the point I've only just realised it starts this week (yes despite all the pre-event hype concerning drugs and other dodgy stuff). Not quite sure why - in some ways Rio should be an excellent venue, but it seems it's more likely to be a bit rubbish.
Kind of agree with c-g - whilst other countries also have issues with poverty and the Olympics is just a big corporate splurge ignoring ordinary struggling people, things are rather worse in Brazil. However whilst sport doesn't put food in your belly, it is still uplifting for the masses who don't read the Guardian.
can you not read
You are a plonker - go and have another read. Slowly, it might help.
Clue- she is not going to watch the rio olympics because of the homeless issue. She didn't watch the London Olympics, just because - nothing to do with the London homeless issue. So posting links to London homeless issues is an irrelevance.
Go read. Learn to comprehend. Then come back and apologise 😉
Whilst we're picking apart c-gs comment, I can't help feeling this would have been a better punchline:
Not watching an event hosted by a country that treats some of its citizens in such a despicable manner by failing to provide a roof over their heads and sanitation.and I won't be watching this one either
Hadn't really thought about it but love all sports and will get into it I'm sure.
Seems the Brazilians have finished all the sporting venues? Better than expected then. Hope they are able to host a great olympics.
"You are a plonker - go and have another read. Slowly, it might help.Clue- she is not going to watch the rio olympics because of the homeless issue. She didn't watch the London Olympics, just because - nothing to do with the London homeless issue. So posting links to London homeless issues is an irrelevance.
Go read. Learn to comprehend. Then come back and apologise "
Actually, she hasn't given a reason she didn't watch the London games.
I read her post very slowly. 😀
Actually, she hasn't given a reason she didn't watch the London games.
Very true, but I'm taking '[i]wimminz logic innit.[/i] 😆 ' as a sign it's not connected 😉
may not have a specific reason attached but when it immediately followsI didn't watch the London Olympics either.
it would be quite easy to infer that the same reason applied.Not watching an event hosted by a country that treats some of its citizens in such a despicable manner by failing to provide a roof over their heads and sanitation.
So can we stop bickering?
it would be quite easy to infer that the same reason applied.
No it wouldn't
Yes, bickering is silly - off to do something more useful!
I think with everything else that's been happening in the world there's not been much room for the Olympics in the news. It's quite refreshing actually, when you compare with the build up to the World Cup or the Euros where everyday we're hearing that Rooney has stubbed his toe or the teams scrambled eggs were cold. Sports events are ridiculously over hyped these days so it's good if it's taking a back seat to more important news. Saying that I enjoy hearing about a young farmer winning a medal for obliterating clay doos then the following week driving a combine harvester. A lot of the competitors at the Olympics don't make a lot of money out what they do and sacrifice a lot to get there. I think it's great my son trains alongside an Olympic athlete and hopefully it will inspire him.
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You're all winners, here
Guys ... I'm not a total killjoy but would prefer to see a pared down version. That means egos need to be left at the door and no corporate nonsense either. Clearly no figures can be extrapolated as regards how many idle peeps have been inspired (jeez, I hate that word) and haven't a clue whether schools or athletic clubs had noticed an uptake. Perhaps the teachers on here could give an insight?
The London Olympics were at the start of austerity, I had been dealing with failing health (and death) of a parent. I saw a hospital that was short-staffed, a ward that had seen better days, beds sandwiched so close together that there was no privacy when dying. I felt that people, especially the elderly, deserved better than that.
clodhopper - thanks for those links and will now take a read.
I think there will be a lot of health scares for athletes, especially those on the water, I'm amazed it was not moved and I don't blame those not going due to zika.
Meanwhile, hundreds of flats in the Olympic park currently stand empty, years after they were first built.
Why?
Least excited by an Olympics ever and that includes lower than Atlanta and Athens. The whole Russian fiasco casts such a huge cloud it is hard to get excited. WWE is probably more honest than the Olympics has ever been. Bit embarrassing that some of the UK's athletes like Lizzy and Farah are also going under a drugs cloud.
The whole IOC needs chopping down in size, core sports the rest can go. I mean bmx & golf FFS 🙄
Lightweights, I can be morally repugnant without any sporting events at all...
I won't be watching Olympic Tennis, golf or rugby and I am big fans of those sports. They are just not Olympic sports.
Guys ... I'm not a total killjoy but would prefer to see a pared down version. That means egos need to be left at the door
Same could be said for STW.... 🙂
cinnamon_girl - MemberWhy?
This story [i]starts[/i] with most of them being sold to Qatar for over a quarter of a billion pound loss. (that's even before you get into the associated vacant plots that were given away along with the east village, with room for another 2000 flats)
I won't be watching Olympic Tennis, golf or rugby and I am big fans of those sports. They are just not Olympic sports.
Yeah, but most of the other sports that are are Olympic sports are mainly just.... you know... a bit shit. I really don't get the idea of watching a sport you wouldn't already watch just because its the Olympics? If i couldn't GAS about rowing, or squash, or horsey things, or whatever, then why watch it once every four years just because some fantastically corrupt people deem you should do so, and some muggins country has been had over for several billion for the pleasure of hosting it?
This story starts with most of them being sold to Qatar for over a quarter of a billion pound loss. (that's even before you get into the associated vacant plots that were given away along with the east village, with room for another 2000 flats)
The Atheletes village and the development site were all bought at the same time by Delancey Qatari Diar. The development sites weren't "given" away. The accommodation blocks once converted into apartments together with the sites were bought at market value in a competitive tender overseen by the National Audit Office.
Social housing blocks had already been pre-allocated to a local housing association
HTH.
P-Jay - Member
it seems a bit empty cheering for someone you don't know because they're a Brit
This. I've never been someone who simply supports british athletes. It's one reason why I HATE the BBC coverage of most sporting events...they often only show the british performances at the expense of everyone else's, meaning you miss out on any sense of rivalry, competition, build up, context, excitement. They fill time with montages and athlete back stories and miss out live action. It's crap, one of the main reasons I don't have a TV license.
As for the Olympics, when's it on again? I don't really have any sense of what's going on with it, or when the sports I like are on.
Stoner - MemberThe accommodation blocks once converted into apartments together with the sites were bought at market value in a competitive tender overseen by the National Audit Office.
A deal in which they're predicted to make over £1bn profit on a £575 million investment while we lose £275 million. Hard to see how it could be more competitive really.
A deal in which they're predicted to make over £1bn profit on a £575 million investment while we lose £275 million. Hard to see how it could be more competitive really.
A bargain compared with Hinckley Point!
"The Atheletes village and the development site were all bought at the same time by Delancey Qatari Diar. The development sites weren't "given" away. The accommodation blocks once converted into apartments together with the sites were bought at market value in a competitive tender overseen by the National Audit Office.Social housing blocks had already been pre-allocated to a local housing association"
There is no social housing at the Olympic village. There was no rehousing of existing local authority tenants in the area, with replacement of their secured tenancies, unless they moved out of the area. The percentage of 'affordable' (a laughable concept at best) housing has shrunk dramatically from what was promised. The whole thing is, sadly, a complete social failure.
Somebody has made an awful lot of money from the London Olympics. And it wasn't the taxpayers.
There were 1379 units allocated to triathlon housing association
http://www.triathlonhomes.com/about-us/
Thanks chaps for enlightening me. Zero accountability and the tax payer just keeps bending over.
Zero accountability
Gibberish