Let the 2012 Olympics Discussion Begin!
LastSixtySix
Posts: 352 Member
Did you watch the Olympic opening ceremony? What a fantastic demonstration of the way drama, ritual, comedy, fireworks and creativity can combine to make a truly awe-inspiring event. It was great to see a ceremony where people and integration truly matter, where royalty and jingoism is only representated as a joke James-Bond-spoof, where "Mr. Bean" can play with the LSO and win the Chariots of Fire race by cheating, and where, in spite of all the ribald pollution of the Industrial Revolution new rings are forged that give way to doves of peace on bikes and a cauldron made of flame petals. . . A brief overview is given here if you missed it: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/07/27/olympics-opening-ceremony-kicks-off924027.
And now we get to watch the athletes perform! What's to lose?
There are controversies aplenty, of course, like the "possible" hypocrisy of the American uniforms, Britain's "possible" not-so-subtle jab to Americans about their pride in the NHS, and who knows what else. There are also inspirations - the personal sacrifices needed to achieve even a spot in an Olympics game, Saudi women athletes for the first time, the ability of all these countries to lay aside their differences for a fortnight (some Muslim athletes even flexing with their Ramadan celebration in order to gladly participate, and Israeli athletes carrying on with smiles even though they didn't get the desired moment of silence to those slain in the 1972 games) to name a few. Personally, I even find inspiration in the commercials made for the Olympics. I couldn't get the Ryan Lochte, "Luck didn't get me to London, I swam here" ad out of my mind. Didn't even know who the sponsor of the ad was - had to look it up!
Let the discussions begin!
No spoilers though, please. Keep race results secret until at least the next day because some may want to watch the races on the old-fashioned tube in their time zone without knowing the winners beforehand.
-Debra
And now we get to watch the athletes perform! What's to lose?
There are controversies aplenty, of course, like the "possible" hypocrisy of the American uniforms, Britain's "possible" not-so-subtle jab to Americans about their pride in the NHS, and who knows what else. There are also inspirations - the personal sacrifices needed to achieve even a spot in an Olympics game, Saudi women athletes for the first time, the ability of all these countries to lay aside their differences for a fortnight (some Muslim athletes even flexing with their Ramadan celebration in order to gladly participate, and Israeli athletes carrying on with smiles even though they didn't get the desired moment of silence to those slain in the 1972 games) to name a few. Personally, I even find inspiration in the commercials made for the Olympics. I couldn't get the Ryan Lochte, "Luck didn't get me to London, I swam here" ad out of my mind. Didn't even know who the sponsor of the ad was - had to look it up!
Let the discussions begin!
No spoilers though, please. Keep race results secret until at least the next day because some may want to watch the races on the old-fashioned tube in their time zone without knowing the winners beforehand.
-Debra
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So far I am frustrated by the "livestream" coverage because, as so often happens, it appears they did not allocate enough capacity and it was completely unusable on my computer due to the frequent freezes and crashes. Plus it took about 10 min just to find the 1 event I wanted to watch.
But I have been gratified to see the responses so far from the American athletes in the events where they have not won gold medals. All too often, the uneducated US media overstates their chances (and tends to dismiss the competition), so that when Americans don't win they are given the "loser" treatment. From what I have seen so far, Americans have been thrilled to do their best, and with their second and third-place medals.
I did find the opening ceremony rather odd. I read a tweet today where someone said his father-in-law lost his cell phone at their house last night. He found it, but now is afraid to give it back to him.
But I give them credit--they succeeded in disabusing everyone that the Beijing 2008 ceremony should be considered the standard that everyone should follow. And the dancing industrialists, odd as they were, underscored this. (I was puzzled at the celebration of the NHS).
But I always enjoy the parade of nations--the joy and enthusiasm of all of the athletes. As jaded, mercenary, corrupt, and bloated with self-importance as the Olympics are, this is what makes it all worthwhile.
Of course the best part of the Olympics so far was seeing Romney called a "mittwit", even by British conservatives and hooted and hounded off the island.0 -
I am still so completely confused by the opening ceremony. Is the message supposed to be that England was pastoral and wonderful, and then everything went downhill? Why was there WWI but not WWII? What was with the dancing Edwardian gentlemen? In short, what the hell was going on?
Aside from that, I'm still sort of annoyed that I turned into a gymnastics event in order to see two gymnasts from my country compete, and instead, I got to watch the same Japanese guy on every piece of equipment.0 -
I just went through a post on this in the chit chat forums. It is interesting to see the different views and opinions depending on where one is from. Our world view definitely colors our interpretation of situations we come across. We are indeed very political in the US and seem to have a hard time taking politics out of most things.
Oh, and it seems to be a consensus that the NBC coverage sucked. It was said that parts were edited out, played out of sequence, and too much talking. I missed the entire ceremony.
If you are interested....
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/684912-olympics-opening-ceremonies0 -
I am still so completely confused by the opening ceremony. Is the message supposed to be that England was pastoral and wonderful, and then everything went downhill? Why was there WWI but not WWII? What was with the dancing Edwardian gentlemen? In short, what the hell was going on?
Aside from that, I'm still sort of annoyed that I turned into a gymnastics event in order to see two gymnasts from my country compete, and instead, I got to watch the same Japanese guy on every piece of equipment.
The opening ceremonies could definately seem confusing. My daughter had a good take, I thought. She said that it wasn't "better than" Bejing's opening ceremonies but showcased a different history and worldview. Whereas Bijing's show highlighted the East's exquisite conformity and rigid dependence symbolized by the lining up of the print type, London's show highlighted the brilliant diversity and chaotic independence of Western achievements. Different, though one was not better than the other. I'm really proud of the British for being proud of themselves and, at the same time, poking the cheekiest fun at themselves. They truly inspire.
Although the Olympic athletes are rocking my socks off right now, I'm extremely disappointed in the display of crush 'em competitiveness by Ryan Lochte. His acceptance of the idiot interviewers' remarks of beating and "dethroning" Phelps is the epitome of unsportsmanlike philosophy and, sadly, it is the way America as a whole is seen by the rest of the world.
I was hoping for more graciousness (but, even Presidential candidates feel they know more than anyone else - Mitt Romney certainly isn't coming home from London with any gold!). You know, when you are on top, do you have to try and annihalate your opponent, especially when your opponent, in this case Phelps, is the one who pushed and drove you to succeed in the first place? Competitiveness can be viewed as "iron sharpening iron", everyone contributes to make the world or the game a better place, or leave-'em-in-the-dust rapacious arrogance. Hmphf! I'm still gonna watch though! And cheer. Go Phelps! Come on buddy - you still got it!!!
As for the Romniator, if people thought Palin or Quayle had no diplomatic flair, get a load of Mitt! While he has offended liberals in London by the millions, it's the conservatives in England who are more than a little offended. "The prime minister explicitly slapped down Romney’s claim of expertise for running the much smaller Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. 'We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities in the world,” David Cameron said at a press conference in the Olympic park yesterday. “Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere.' fromt http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/27/mitt-romney-s-london-gaffes-unite-divided-britons-against-him.html.
This would be a hoot but I can't really join in the laughter because, at this point, he could still win the American election (horrors).
-Debra0 -
I just went through a post on this in the chit chat forums. It is interesting to see the different views and opinions depending on where one is from. Our world view definitely colors our interpretation of situations we come across. We are indeed very political in the US and seem to have a hard time taking politics out of most things.
Oh, and it seems to be a consensus that the NBC coverage sucked. It was said that parts were edited out, played out of sequence, and too much talking. I missed the entire ceremony.
If you are interested....
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/684912-olympics-opening-ceremonies
Hey, DoinIt - I've tried every which way to get to the discussion link you listed but to no avail. I can see the conversations but when I clink on any one of them, I'm taken back to the main message board page. Do you know if it is a closed link?
Thanks - Deb0 -
I have never paid attention to the olympics,and after 35 years I do not expect that to change0
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I just went through a post on this in the chit chat forums. It is interesting to see the different views and opinions depending on where one is from. Our world view definitely colors our interpretation of situations we come across. We are indeed very political in the US and seem to have a hard time taking politics out of most things.
Oh, and it seems to be a consensus that the NBC coverage sucked. It was said that parts were edited out, played out of sequence, and too much talking. I missed the entire ceremony.
If you are interested....
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/684912-olympics-opening-ceremonies
Hey, DoinIt - I've tried every which way to get to the discussion link you listed but to no avail. I can see the conversations but when I clink on any one of them, I'm taken back to the main message board page. Do you know if it is a closed link?
Thanks - Deb
Looks like they pulled it. Maybe it went too political :-)0 -
Why does the coverage suck?! Unless I go online, I will never catch Judo, the shooting, Tae Kwon Do, fencing and so on. Also, what is that big band aid I see on all the beach volleyball athletes?0
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Not many events that I make a point to watch, except football (soccer). Enjoying the women's games, but the age limit for the men's game's has pis sed me off. 23 and under, with 3 "older" players allowed on each national team roster.
So, I'm not even watching the men's games any longer. No way that the best teams can be on the field, especially on a team like Spain.0 -
Not many events that I make a point to watch, except football (soccer). Enjoying the women's games, but the age limit for the men's game's has pis sed me off. 23 and under, with 3 "older" players allowed on each national team roster.
So, I'm not even watching the men's games any longer. No way that the best teams can be on the field, especially on a team like Spain.
The NBA owners want to go the same route, although I don't know if it is for the same reason. They are currently having discussions with FIBA about imposing an age limit on the Olympic basketball competition.
Some might say "oh, good--let's get back to the spirit of young people in the games" and that might be a valid reason--but these guys aren't that altruistic.
They want to set up a World Cup-style tournament that takes place every two years, modeled after the soccer World Cup. They are convinced that they can grow it into something just as big. And best of all--they will control it, own it, and receive all the money. As one owner said about the Olympics: "Why should we have to share the money with anyone else?"
So enjoy your Dream Team while it lasts.0 -
Why does the coverage suck?! Unless I go online, I will never catch Judo, the shooting, Tae Kwon Do, fencing and so on. Also, what is that big band aid I see on all the beach volleyball athletes?
So agree!
NBC obviously didn't get message of the digitial memo from Tim Berner-Lee "This is for everyone"!!! Geez, you'd think with all of the ads plastered everywhere on the NBC Olympic website that you could watch whatever you wanted, whenever and however. Maybe NBC was angry that the opening ceremonies didn't highlight during the nightmare sequence their favorite British villian and so they've reimagined him - Ebenezer Scrooge!
-Debra0 -
Online digital coverage by the BBC is great, not sure those outside the UK can use it but you may be able to because they've lifted their usual live broadcast rules. As well as news and results you can watch live action or catchup with anything you've missed, search for your sport's schedule and the catchup options:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/live-video/p00w2tks
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I like the way that Horseguards Parade has been turned into a Beach Volleyball stadium and, even though they're allowed to wear shorts most of the female competitors are still wearing bikini bottoms. Is it really neccesary for the DJ's to play blasts of Benny Hill music or 'Fat Bottomed Girls' between action bouts though ?0
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I like the way that Horseguards Parade has been turned into a Beach Volleyball stadium and, even though they're allowed to wear shorts most of the female competitors are still wearing bikini bottoms. Is it really neccesary for the DJ's to play blasts of Benny Hill music or 'Fat Bottomed Girls' between action bouts though ?
I thought I had read somewhere that the bikini bottoms were mandated by FIVB. I did a little more reading and while the size of the bikini bottom is mandated, I guess participants do have other options. It would appear that the bikini bottom is preferred by more of the athletes themselves.Holly McPeak, a three-time Olympics beach volleyball player and winner of the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens games, said she'd pick the bikini over the one-piece every time.
"It's not even close," she said. "There's so many reasons for it."
Not only are they more comfortable, the bikinis allow for a greater range of motion. One-pieces also have the unfortunate side effect of trapping sand where it doesn't belong.
So I guess I can enjoy the uniforms now without feeling chauvinistic. Teh Google rulz again!0 -
I wish it were easier to watch what events you want to... I was fortunate to stumble upon men's team archery and watch USA bring home the silver on Saturday... But it's difficult to find the sports and matches I want to watch... When the description on the TV say's Archery... it still seems to be soccer or field hockey or some such... :indifferent:
I at least got to root for the Netherlands in Women's beach volley ball (they lost) though.
I tried watching it through BBC... and apparently they don't want any of the rest of us accessing it..
I need to sign up for the NBC version and just try and figure it out...
As far as the bikini's are concerned... I would have though they would have given them a better range of motion as well.. but as long as they can wear whatever they are comfortable in it doesn't bother me.0 -
I thought I had read somewhere that the bikini bottoms were mandated by FIVB. I did a little more reading and while the size of the bikini bottom is mandated, I guess participants do have other options. It would appear that the bikini bottom is preferred by more of the athletes themselves.
The movement thing makes sense, but then why are the men wearing shorts? Regulations I guess, but the women can definitely wear shorts in this tournament if they wish to. Glad that most of them are opting for the less friction option though.:bigsmile:0 -
Movement sir. You answered your own question. Imagine trying to jump up and down or dive while you balls are being jammed by the bikini. I can only imagine the horror if they had lots of pubes.0
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I do enjoy watching a few sports.. Spent the day at my grandparents house watching swimming and gymnastics yesterday. Had fun discussing the muscles on the Italian gymnasts. Grandpa thought it was funny that their glutes were so toned that the little 4 ft tall ladies walked funny.
Would love to have seen diving as we have a local Boilermaker who took bronze! Alas, didn't get to see the opening ceremony as we don't have cable at our house.0 -
Why does the coverage suck?! Unless I go online, I will never catch Judo, the shooting, Tae Kwon Do, fencing and so on. Also, what is that big band aid I see on all the beach volleyball athletes?
isnt every event available somewhere? or are you complaining about prime time coverage? they are going to show the big ratings stuff on prime time. NBC payed a fortune for the games. i dont have a problem with that.
whos going to win silver in basketball? we know the USA has the gold wrapped up already.0 -
The Olympics coms down to two words for me: Federica Pellegrini
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My biggest complaint is that when I go to search for the segments with the sports I want to watch, they are widely inaccurate... Online it will say Archery is played from 11:45-12:15 on such and such channel... but then when I go to record that segment it's still showing soccer or canoeing or something... :-/ Not Cool NBC/AT&T! Not Cool!0
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That french swimmer is ok. I'm more about US womens volleyball team.
As for the coverage, I wish I could see some of the events on TV like Judo, Archery and so forth, instead of on a choppy website that lags every so often. The Lifting compettion would have been nice to watch as well. Comcast is only showing sttuff on NBC Sports and NBC. No where else
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Two of the Olympics' U.S. Men's Swim Team members - Ryan Lochte and Tyler Clary - proved this week that they have no practical understanding of the word sportsmanship. Lochte and Clary both publically dis teammate and competitor Michael Phelps. It was satisfying last night to watch Clary, who stood out prior to the butterfly heat by his expert observations of Phelps's "work ethic", slip away to a distant spot in the pack. Lochte, while talented, certainly has so-far failed to perform to elite status. Sometimes karma is nearly instant!
The Olympics showcases sleek bodies and raw talent. Every heroic and dastardly trait is displayed in microscopic detail. To see the conquer as well as destroy your competitor rear its head, stands out remarkably for this year's American men's swim "team". Did some of the coach's subtly plant this poison in Phelps's teammates? It would not have taken much spark in that tender of testosterone-driven-who-can-snatch-the-few-available-corporate-sponsorships environment.
In all that shark-infested water with his own team let alone the international competitors, I hope Phelps performs historically well in his medal race today.
-Debra0 -
I had the opportunity to watch the US women's eight destroy the rest of the field on Sunday at Eton Dorney. Very, very impressive.
The Opening Ceremony...well, I imagine there were some very confused international audiences. To be honest, I thought the first half was amateurish and more than a little 'cringe-worthy', but things picked up in the second half.
As a British resident, but with multiple international allegiances, I'm getting a bit fed up with the BBC's insistence on 24/7 coverage of British athletes and blackout on any other team if they're not in the top 3. I'd have loved to see some of the US Gymnastics team, but couldn't find a single shot.- please tell me the US networks are showing a bit more internationalism?!0 -
I wish it were easier to watch what events you want to... I was fortunate to stumble upon men's team archery and watch USA bring home the silver on Saturday... But it's difficult to find the sports and matches I want to watch... When the description on the TV say's Archery... it still seems to be soccer or field hockey or some such... :indifferent:
I at least got to root for the Netherlands in Women's beach volley ball (they lost) though.
I tried watching it through BBC... and apparently they don't want any of the rest of us accessing it.. I need to sign up for the NBC version and just try and figure it out...
As far as the bikini's are concerned... I would have though they would have given them a better range of motion as well.. but as long as they can wear whatever they are comfortable in it doesn't bother me.
I think finding the events you want to watch is an Olympic sport in itself!
That being said, on day 3-4, with my being on vacation this week and having all day to figure it out, I think I am starting to get a handle on the coverage.
You have the complications of 3-5 broadcast networks showing a combination of live and delayed events. Then there is the "livestream" feature, that I am not sure everyone has access to. Throw in the time differences, the odd scheduling of some events to fit in with the US audience, the multiple events taking place at once, and it is a giant mess.
At one point yesterday morning I had two browsers open, trying to keep track of 4 events simultaneously, as well as watch the TV. I needed Gatorade and the warm-down pool when it was over (actually, I gave up after about 15 min as the sensory overload was about to cause a seizure).
It's like going to Disney World--if you show up without a plan, you are going to get steamrolled.
I would suggest starting with nbcolympics.com. Skip all the "news" and "video" sections and go right to "Schedules and Results" (and make sure you pronounce it "SHED-yules", not "SKED-ulz"). Make sure you hit the tab "my time" and look for the events you want to watch. From this screen you can view results, full replays, or go right to the live action.
One of the frustrating things about the livestream is that there often is no commentary. I was trying to watch the men's team final yesterday, but there were different feeds for each apparatus. I watched the US men on the floor exercises, but when they moved, I didn't know the next station. I kept sampling the different feeds, but without knowing the exact rotation, kept coming up with different teams or scenes of nothing going on. And each time you switch to a new feed, you have to watch a new set of commercials. For this, the "results and schedule" screen saved me--it showed not only the rotations, but the order of participants as well. (Unfortunately after watching Orozsco wipe his butt with the pommel horse, I could see where things were going and went to lift weights).
The main broadcast channels, esp the evening NBC main show, are going to be cut and edited to craft a dramatic narrative--I think it's unrealistic to expect anything different.
Given the timing of many of the events, unless you are following Twitter or some other feed that gives you immediate results, I haven't found the London time delay to be all that disappointing. Most of the final individual events are taking place in the late afternoon (US Central Time) anyhow, so if you are at work all day, it's almost like being live anyhow.0 -
Two of the Olympics' U.S. Men's Swim Team members - Ryan Lochte and Tyler Clary - proved this week that they have no practical understanding of the word sportsmanship. Lochte and Clary both publically dis teammate and competitor Michael Phelps. It was satisfying last night to watch Clary, who stood out prior to the butterfly heat by his expert observations of Phelps's "work ethic", slip away to a distant spot in the pack. Lochte, while talented, certainly has so-far failed to perform to elite status. Sometimes karma is nearly instant!
The Olympics showcases sleek bodies and raw talent. Every heroic and dastardly trait is displayed in microscopic detail. To see the conquer as well as destroy your competitor rear its head, stands out remarkably for this year's American men's swim "team". Did some of the coach's subtly plant this poison in Phelps's teammates? It would not have taken much spark in that tender of testosterone-driven-who-can-snatch-the-few-available-corporate-sponsorships environment.
In all that shark-infested water with his own team let alone the international competitors, I hope Phelps performs historically well in his medal race today.
-Debra
I don't necessarily mind when people are competitive and confident, as long as they are not disrespectful to other athletes. I think Lochte and Clary may have crossed the line a little, but I don't see it as negatively as you. It's neither mean or dishonest to say that Phelps has not trained at a top level for these games. I didn't see the remarks live, so I don't know his tone or the context in which he said them. If someone asked him to comment directly on Phelp's performance and he was just making a matter-of-fact observation, then I don't have a problem with that.
Lochte seems to be the kind of guy who needs to see competitors as "enemies" -- it's not uncommon among elite athletes (Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong are in that same group). And it wouldn't surprise me that, among his competitors, there is a little resentment about all the publicity that Phelps receives (not to mention his annoying mother who should be banned from TV).
My big issue is that if you are going to talk tough, you better perform, and, after his big 400 IM race, Lochte has kind of wet the pool since, so to speak. He lost a huge lead in the 4x100 relay and finished out of the medals in the 200 freestyle. Just from the look on his face, it looks like he is tired and lost his focus after the big win.
Contrast that with the US woman's Gymnastic team. They came in with a swagger that bordered on arrogance, but they have seized the moment (so far), taken the pressure, and just slapped it aside-- with attitude.0 -
I'm just wondering if there is somewhere where I can watch specific matchs and meets after the fact... like on NBC.com or something... I have pretty much avoiding any all olympic news and I'm glad yahoo and our NBC affiliate have all been posting *spoiler alert*.0
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I'm just wondering if there is somewhere where I can watch specific matchs and meets after the fact... like on NBC.com or something... I have pretty much avoiding any all olympic news and I'm glad yahoo and our NBC affiliate have all been posting *spoiler alert*.
nbcolympics.com
look at "results and schedules" . I think you can also look up overall results under the individual sport (as opposed to day by day). The playback can be a bit skittish depending on your internet connection, but you should be able to find everything there.0 -
I'm just wondering if there is somewhere where I can watch specific matchs and meets after the fact... like on NBC.com or something... I have pretty much avoiding any all olympic news and I'm glad yahoo and our NBC affiliate have all been posting *spoiler alert*.
nbcolympics.com
look at "results and schedules" . I think you can also look up overall results under the individual sport (as opposed to day by day). The playback can be a bit skittish depending on your internet connection, but you should be able to find everything there.
That's what I thought, I just wasn't sure. I know I have the apps on my ipad to watch it through there, I just need to get the login info from my DH (he does the bills).0 -
I'm just wondering if there is somewhere where I can watch specific matchs and meets after the fact... like on NBC.com or something... I have pretty much avoiding any all olympic news and I'm glad yahoo and our NBC affiliate have all been posting *spoiler alert*.
nbcolympics.com
look at "results and schedules" . I think you can also look up overall results under the individual sport (as opposed to day by day). The playback can be a bit skittish depending on your internet connection, but you should be able to find everything there.
That's what I thought, I just wasn't sure. I know I have the apps on my ipad to watch it through there, I just need to get the login info from my DH (he does the bills).
Don't know how the apps work. I just got Mrs Azdak an iPad yesterday (early bday present) and went to the livestream on the website. All in all, the iPad seems like the perfect Olympic multitasking tool--i.e. you can check out the livestream while watching other games and events on the broadcast TV. But I didn't want to download any apps to her machine. Just didn't seem right.0
This discussion has been closed.