London 2012 Olympic Games!

As the games are getting ready to begin, I thought a thread might be appropriate.

Anything related to the games can be posted here. Talk of your countries great triumph, or heart-breaking defeat, what events you are looking forward to, what athletes you think have the best chance to medal, etc.

Good luck to everyone's respective country!

Let the Games Begin!

( Edited 27.07.2012 22:55 by Hawk )

Yes mate, thanks for making one!

So pumped for the Games. Loved watching the opening sequence just now. Music segment was awesome and everything was choreographed perfectly. Great insight into British history which I hope other countries understood and enjoyed. Even though many of us Welsh, English, Scots etc clash and prefer not to class ourselves as British these days, this has made me proud to be British tonight.

Enjoying watching so many fit girls parading the stadium right now

Unfortunately, coverage doesn't start for another hour and fifteen here. :/ I have to watch a delayed opening ceremony, but at least I'll get to see it! I can't wait!

It was an amazing spectacle to watch. I loved the celebration of British music.

Just wish the BBC people didn't keep talking over it. I swear some times they were just saying something to remind us they were there.

Yeah, I wish commentary was an option for all events and sports.

I'm definitely going to be watching plenty of that again on YouTube, especially the music. Watching this just really makes you think of the good things in life, uniting the whole world together in celebration, rather than all the bad goings on. It really makes you think a world of peace can be possible and bring out the best in people. I love how sports can produce these kinds of positive emotions.

Such a joyous occasion to have this right on our doorstep!

Lrrr said:
It was an amazing spectacle to watch. I loved the celebration of British music.

Just wish the BBC people didn't keep talking over it. I swear some times they were just saying something to remind us they were there.

The NBC people in the U.S. were doing the exact same thing. It started to get on my nerves.

I thoroughly enjoyed the opening ceremony! Especially the part when the Olympic cauldron was formed to the tune of Eclipse by Pink Floyd. Awesome!

Like Azuardo said, the Games always give a little taste of what the world could be, and it tastes lovely.

( Edited 28.07.2012 05:16 by Hawk )

Firstly, you can't call the thread "London 2012 Olympic Games" THE OLYMPIC POLICE WILL SUE YOU!!!!

The first 20 mins or so of the opening ceremony was just weird. The random rugby tries and the patriotic songs seemed to be a reminder of the differences, rather than the unity of the UK. Then there was Brunel quoting Shakespere? Not quite sure what that was about either.
I was also confused by the bit where the girl lost her phone. She lost her phone, a guy found it, and then called her up to tell her? Did I miss something there?

Overall I did enjoy it though, partly because it didn't take itself too seriously.

Cheesing it up said:

I was also confused by the bit where the girl lost her phone. She lost her phone, a guy found it, and then called her up to tell her? Did I miss something there?

I was thinking the same thing...were they hoping that people wouldn't notice...? The only thing i could think the was that the guy called her friends phone...the other option is that around 97% of "Urban" youth carry two phones around with themselves these days anyway...

I was watching it in 3D on the BBC HD Channel and it was truely epic! Bond and Bean were highlights for me!

About the phone call, I noticed that as well! I looked at the other people in the room and said "Did you guys just see that? How was that possible?" And they all said "What?", so I let it go.

lol you lot aren't the only ones. I'll have to try and rewatch that to see if we missed something...

I'm loving all this sport right now. 2012 has been awesome for continued sport. I've been flicking between all sorts of events today. That 16 year old Chinese girl in the swimming getting a world record was amazing.

The Olympics are such an awesome event. I think this time will be a little different for me, as rather than rooting for solely the U.S, I'm gonna root for the truly incredible individuals of all the countries.

The opening ceremony was overall great. The beginning was soooooooooooooo cool. It reminded me of Isengard from Lord of the Rings (especially with the forging of one of the circles). The part with the guy and girl was ok. I liked the music selection, but the side story seemed pretty unnecessary. Rowan Atkinson was HILARIOUS!! The ending was awesome too, with the perfect use of Pink Floyd's Eclipse, Paul McCartney's Hey Jude, and the lighting of the torch. (though I do think that China's was the best ever. It literally blew my mind).

Screw the announcers. They catered to the dumb know nothing American citizen. Extremely offensive as well. When North Korea showed up, they started talking about Kim Jung Il's incredible golf record where he supposedly scored like 11 holes in one (on the first time he played too). Why the eff did they have to say that? It's like they're perpetuating the western stereotypes of a country that's been through a ton of hardships. Also, when some African country came up (I think it was Angola, not sure), the announcers started to talk about how they were famous for their horrible game against U.S.'s basketball dream team where they lost like 120-40. Are you kidding me NBC?!

Now, onto the games! All I really saw so far was Phelps' disappointment. He came in 4th!



( Edited 29.07.2012 09:06 by bornforthis43 )

Sorry for the double post, but this is hilarious!

^ Is awesome. hahaha

So far, I've been enjoying watching the volleyball more than anything. Both indoor and beach... And not just because of the ladies in bikinis.

http://deadspin.com/5930219/a-south-korean-fencer-is-refusing-to-leave-the-piste-after-being-screwed-out-of-a-chance-at-gold?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Oh wow, this sucks. I feel real bad for her.

Uh, how the hell did they not overturn that decision? Disgraceful.

The Japanese mens gymnastics team appealed against a score for their last apparatus event today. They were in fourth place but after appealing and gaining more points they jumped to second and claimed silver, pushing GB to bronze and Ukraine out of the medals to fourth.

Did anyone see the 15 year old Lithuanian girl win the 100m breaststroke just now? I love these stories.

( Edited 30.07.2012 20:31 by Azuardo )

bornforthis43 said:
http://deadspin.com/5930219/a-south-korean-fencer-is-refusing-to-leave-the-piste-after-being-screwed-out-of-a-chance-at-gold?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Oh wow, this sucks. I feel real bad for her.

How on earth could they not overturn that? I'm sorry, but that is one of the worst decisions I've ever seen. That clock got stuck so the opponent had extra time to score a hit. It was over! That pisses me off. I feel so bad for that girl.

( Edited 30.07.2012 22:42 by Hawk )

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-olympic-badminton-disqualified-20120801,0,4202500.story

Wow.

http://deadspin.com/5931226/was-this-disgraceful-olympic-boxing-match-fixed?comment=51501044

It's good it was overturned. Such stupidity.

On a separate note, I'm finding it hard to follow the sports in the Olympics where winning is determined through judging (diving, gymnastics, boxing etc). I'll still call them sports, as I have a very broad definition, but I don't understand how people can value victory when it is given at the hands of judges who can clearly be biased. Idk, it just seems really wishy washy to me.

Oh gosh, how is the coverage over seas? NBC is fucking up real bad.
http://www.deadline.com/2012/08/nbc-edited-out-pivotal-womens-gymnastics-fall-to-create-fake-gold-medal-suspense/
I read another article which summed up my thoughts on this that I can't find. It pretty much says that the Olympics, at least in America, have become a huge reality show series. It's sooooooooo true and sad. NBC is extremely jingoistic, and doesn't give a shit about any other country. It's supposed to be an INTERNATIONAL event!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




( Edited 03.08.2012 05:52 by bornforthis43 )

I'm really enjoying it, we went to the Olympic Park two days ago, we had a park passes only, couldn't get any tickets to the events inside. The ticket fiasco is a major sour point for me.

Another great haul of medals today.

It pretty much says that the Olympics, at least in America, have become a huge reality show series. It's sooooooooo true and sad. NBC is extremely jingoistic, and doesn't give a shit about any other country. It's supposed to be an INTERNATIONAL event!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know the "cool" thing these days is to have no patriotism for your country, but I personally have no problem with NBC having a US bias. They're broadcasting to the US. Is it shocking that they're rooting for the Americans?

If I was watching the game in Hungary, for example, I would expect a bias in coverage toward Hungarian competitors. It's only logical, and to go so far as calling it "jingoistic" is I think a bit extreme. On the contrary, I'd find it rather bizarre if their networks spent all their time talking about Phelps instead of Laszlo Cseh, for instance.

The Olympics are certainly an international event, but they are also a national showcase. I think if there's not at least a modicum of nationalistic pride involved, "you're doing it wrong". These games should make us all feel proud of our respective countries, and I think it's fine for the networks to get a bit caught up in that sentiment.

That said, I do share your disgust with NBC's general broadcasting quality, what with adding as much drama as possible to the proceedings. I'm also still irritated by tape delays, but at least they are providing a live stream over the web. I've enjoyed watching the swimming events live on the internet rather than having it spoiled through twitter before being able to see it on the delayed evening broadcast.

Overall though, I think it's been an excellent Olympics. I especially enjoyed the biking early on, where a great deal of London was showcased as the competition went on.

It's not like that over here. And I don't think it's just because it's in our country either. Yes, there is a bias of home country events, of course - that's what we all want - but there is coverage for just about everything going on. Everything is live, and I can flick through four different BBC channels on Freeview (satellite has about 30 channels for Olympics or something daft). I've loved that the big events like swimming finals are shown in the evening so that people who work don't miss them. And the BBC website streams almost everything live, too. We're certainly getting a massive choice, and it's been fantastic.

I heard NBC didn't show all of the opening ceremony, as well, instead choosing what they thought were the best bits to show. Disappointing.

The buzz everyone is getting off the Olympics here is awesome. It's bringing everyone together in a wonderful way, including countries. We're all talking about it and supporting our nation's competitors. It's incredibly emotional at times. The 'inspire a generation' slogan is definitely gonna ring true. It's definitely making me wanna move away from sitting on my arse playing games and do more sports.

Proper chuffed Andy Murray's in the final. I think he can do it versus Federer this time. Just two sets needed. (edit: oh, it's best of 5 in the final...) Can't wait for the tracks events to properly get under way, too. 100m mens final Sunday night!

( Edited 05.08.2012 14:18 by Azuardo )

Hmmmm, ok. So, primarily I was watching NBC's primetime coverage. It sucked HUGE. Then I started to watch their coverage throughout the day and it was WAYYYYYYYYY better. They showed a plethora of different sports and countries. I guess the majority of American viewers only cared for the big stuff so that's what NBC hyped up. For the people who really cared about sports and stuff, NBC had coverage tailored to them. So, yea, I guess I'm not mad anymore.

Over the weekend I was in Canada and it was eerily similar to America's coverage. Like they would talk about American athletes a lot, sometimes even more than some Canadians lol. Then again, I was in Toronto.

A truly great Olympic Games, I will treasure many fond memories.