Team nz not won much then?
conversely do we all love Tony Blair ? there is no doubt that his glad-handing brought us the games.
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NZ has done quite well really on a per capita basis thanks, as a plastic kiwi I get to celebrate GB and NZ. Being honest we're spanking Aus in the golds so the is all that matters. Be proud, you have a beautiful country, a stunning history and a chance to shine.
It was noted that Blair was there in the velodrome t'other day. As the Guardian noted ''driven, no doubt, by nothing more than his life long love of track cycling'"
Indeed
to come back to a couple of points, if paris had won what difference would it have made to the UK?
Other than the obvious of not having to spend large amounts on a stadium that no one is actually sure what to do with, an olympic village that will have to be substantially remodelled, a vast security bill etc.
What would have benefitted if we hadn't spent the money on what is politicians vanity project? Spend the money on infrastructure and on sport, but the olympics? a self appointed bunch of blazer wearers who i suppose aren't as corrupt as FIFA.....
I suppose one good side, but i doubt politicians will pay any notice, G4S have been publicly displayed as being incompetent before a global audience.
Does anyone really think that a couple of weeks of sport is actually going to change anything? yes a few people will be inspired to get off their arses, and in a few years some of those people will win things, but most will have another beer, pick up the remote and go back to the footie.
Nz col. Thank you ,you are a nice man.
I certainly dont hate the Olympics.
Its not that important to me to give it that attention.
Still think its a total waste of money though.
charliethebikemonger
Pick your own highlights, its the digital age 😉
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/live-video
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/sports
There's always been nonsense on telly in the middle of the night, don't blame the Lympix for that.
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Can't be all bad
http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8511061
I'm off to our office tomorrow where we have a whole bunch of Aussies - I'll be diplomatic 😉
bwaarp - Member
Yes the olympics are still shit, .....So yep they are self masturbatory shit and If I wanted to hear about that I'd listen to avant-garde jazz.
One of two things at work here -
Returned from the pub pished and what followed was this drunken effluvia?
Or
Cat run across the keyboard before you did a spell check and hit send post?
poor ol' KP sensational innings at Headingley smashing the best and fastest bowling attack in the world to all parts of the ground and he hardly gets a mention.
Am I following the argument right:
(1) "We" aren't happy that this country has a culture which means participating in sport is weird.*
(2) "We" aren't happy that this country is investing in a massive sporting event that might just change some attitudes to sport.
Is there actually a fear that participation in sport will become mainstream and STWers will need to find a new niche to set themselves apart as being different?
I was never excited about the Olympics coming to London but I'm impressed so far, and hope Glasgow can follow on the coat tails with the Commonwealths in 2 yrs time.
If we really expect it to have an effect on 'the man on the street' though we will need to do something about the number of top level athletes who come from privileged backgrounds and private school education.
* Personally I find the concept of competitive sport a bit weird, I'm not sure where our compulsion to beat our fellow man comes from, but I'd love to see a change in culture where the majority of people were active in some way; even if that means we need to encourage bizarre competitions for people to challenge each other in.
Ioum: the highlights show is crud,
I could pick my own highlights but I would pick what I am familiar with.
I also don't wanna sit through everything, sit down for an hour at the end of the day. I want to see the best bits, the highlights, and I want to see sports I am unfamiliar with. You have the best (insert any sport here) players in the world, so even the tiddly winks should be good viewing.
The bbc has editors, it is there job to pull the best bits from the day and present them to us. They spend their time on sickly montages, rather than showing the actual race.
Red button detailed coverage does not excuse the highlights programme.
Not complaining about the Olympics, just highlights coverage that does not show highlights or coverage well.
Does anyone really think that a couple of weeks of sport is actually going to change anything?
Very unlikely. It simply means that some fat lardy slob laid sprawled on a sofa in front of his TV clutching a can of lager and cheering, can bask on the personal glory of a dedicated sportsmen/sportsmen, who through their own tireless determination have spent countless hours training every day for years, claiming pride and credit for their achievement on the basis that they too are British.
And those same fat lardy slobs are just as likely to have enthusiastically voted for politicians who in the last 20 years have shamefully sold off over 5,000 school playing fields to developers, with the pointless short term one-off aim of saving themselves a few pennies in tax.
Yes it doesn't matter whether the Olympics costs Britain £8 billion or £16 billion just as long as people are "enjoying" themselves, but God forbid that school kids should run around enjoying themselves playing games and sports on fields which can be sold off to developers.
I've seen tonnes of other stuff that I'd never seen before, with other nations competing. Of course the BBC is going to be GB biased, but it's nowhere near as skewed as some are making out.
So... If we are such a great sporting nation, why does Mo have to train in the US?Because that's where His Cuban coach (Alberto Salazar) and the Nike Oregon Project are based.
If the offer was extended to them, do you think the Aussies would move their cycling program to Manchester under Shane Sutton.
OK, I haven't read a lot of the above although I do agree with the comments about the journalism and reporting from a lot of it, it's very jingoistic and with a tendency to use "celebrities" rather than people who actually know what they're talking about. I hate the hype around it all and the corporate love-in.
But the actual event itself - WOW.
I've been in the velodrome for a lot of it and (to me) it's frankly no different to a lot of the World Track Championships or World Cup events I've worked on - same athletes, same officials, same (very good) atmosphere.
But outside that, walking round the Olympic Park with people from literally every nation on earth, hearing the roars from the stadium, the crowds sitting on the grass watching the big screen, everyone friendly and smiling and helping each other - that's priceless.
Being on the train or tube when the driver reads out a result from an event and everyone cheers. Being out and about on the bike and people stopping to talk about Wiggins or the team pursuit. I know this sounds corny but it has brought out the best in people however it's something you need to be actually there for - even watching on TV you just don't get the feel for it that being in the Olympic Park with 200,000 others gives.
To all those " haters " who remain unconvinced I would say ... it's your loss ...
BUT
If you are determined not to watch any of it at least get a copy of Isles of Wonder ... I defy any one not to be impressed by the soundtrack of the opening night ... having been there and loved every minute I can say listening to the CD brings great memories flooding back of the best show I have ever EVER seen live .. and that includes a lot of concerts including Queen at Knebworth, Bruce Springsteen, U2 at their best , The Who , Rolling Stones etc etc
I would also encourage folks to take a look at other sports while there is chance, I went to a basketball match last Tuesday and had no idea just how physical it is
😀 😀 😀
So... If we are such a great sporting nation, why does Mo have to train in the US?
Altitude training .Loads of Athletes go abroad to get above 6000ft or so where they condition themselves to a lack of oxygen .Its either that or sleep in an oxygen tent in the spare room
Very unlikely. It simply means that some fat lardy slob laid sprawled on a sofa in front of his TV clutching a can of lager and cheering, can bask on the personal glory of a dedicated sportsmen/sportsmen, who through their own tireless determination have spent countless hours training every day for years, claiming pride and credit for their achievement on the basis that they too are British.
Ah well, so long as you feel you are better than them its probably OK! That attitude becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
Does anyone really think that a couple of weeks of sport is actually going to change anything?
Its not just about 2 weeks though. Theres been a huge investment in team GB leading up to this, and there is definitely a feel good about british sport right now, and not just about football like it usually is - that has to have some positive legacy.
It may be too late for the 'adults' but I genuinely believe that it (and its spin off effects) have helped motivate my 8 and 4 yr old. The older one has been doing stuff all year that culminated in all the local schools have a "Local Olympics" (although they did have to change the name at the last minute for fear of getting fined!). The youngest came home from nursery last week with a gold medal and claiming to have been in the olympics - because the staff had decided to run some sports. Would they have bothered if the olympics were not in London - past experience would say no! Will my kids end up in the olympics - not likely with these genes but they have been motivated to pay attention to sports they didn't know about, they have been doing exercise they wouldn't have done otherwise etc.
Does it mean that if a teenager today aspires to get to the top level that his teachers, parents, coaches, etc might believe it is possible for someone from the UK to achieve that, and encourage him/her - I hope so!
Quite frankly i couldn't give an old mans nutsack either way. I don't knowingly avoid at much as i don't watch it. I'm sure i'm missing out, but i find 90% of it boring regardless where it's held. I'll maybe catch the mountain biking and i'll watch the closing ceremony like i watched the opening, drunk, so i forget how much it's costing
If the offer was extended to them, do you think the Aussies would move their cycling program to Manchester under Shane Sutton.
Probably not but they do have a lot of athletes in the US
The Chinese swimming team pretty much live and train full time in Australia
I'm going to carry on running, gymming, riding my bikes, enjoying my sports regardless. Up to others if they choose to participate or not...
Very much looking forward to getting on that track when it opens to the public and making the best of whatever legacy there is...
It won't make money, promises will be broken, it may not turn us into a nation of participants but who cares... why not just make the best of it?
Can't say I hate the Olympics. Do find it jolly boring though, not really sure why people are suddenly interested in sports they generally have no interest in(generalization I know)
Good luck with Olympic legacy, Olympic success does not translate to sporting development of the population.
Most successful Olympic country : USA
Fattest developed country : USA
Some of the coverage has been pretty crass. Like the rower guys who got silver at the last minute, beaten by some Danes. They were very unsporting, didn't even try to hide what a tragedy this was for them, in spite of the fact they had just won silver for their country. The interviewer should have cut away, not shove a mic and camera in their face. Worse poor losing than the Aussies, and that's a significant achievement.
And interviewing obscure relatives of British bronze medal winners during the presentation ceremony, when the winning anthem is played. That's just disrespectful !
I thought Olympics extra with the medalometer and cardboard cutout faces of medal winners was a bit tacky. I thought I was watching Blue Peter or Going Live.r
The crying like babies thing, Adlington pleading behind teary eyes for the public to understand how hard it is to medal in swimming and everything being 'unbelievable' and 'amazing' have annoyed me, but other than that I've enjoyed it.
I'm waiting for one of the track side beeb presenters to get angry if tears aren't forthcoming. It will happen.
Most successful Olympic country : USA
Presumably you are basing that on the US's huge population, which doesn't exactly suggest an Olympic success story.
The US has a population 5 times that of the UK, and yet it has less than twice the amount of Olympic medals that the UK has. At this present moment in time Great Britain would appear the "most successful Olympic country".
nah, just basing it on medals won throughout the history of the games
Well it looks as if their "fattest" status which you refer to, has finally caught with them then.
We are not far behind them on the chubster front though, hmmmm crisps
Presumably you are basing that on the US's huge population, which doesn't exactly suggest an Olympic success story.The US has a population 5 times that of the UK, and yet it has less than twice the amount of Olympic medals that the UK has. At this present moment in time Great Britain would appear the "most successful Olympic country".
So, New Zealand is the real success story of the Olympics then?
According to the Guardian yesterday NZ tops the table of medals per head of population. But who cares, we are beating the Aussies on the proper table, that's what counts !
And we have the coolest uniforms out of anybody, no contest there. We beat the Aussies at that, too:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10820940
According to the Guardian yesterday NZ tops the table of medals per head of population.
Fair enough, I only based it on what it appeared to me - that Britain topped the medals per head of population.
So, are New Zealanders particularly fat then ?
Moaners are missing the point. It's not going to change Britain by having better sportsmen and women.
Change comes from people feeling a sense of pride and happiness.
When people are happy, however fleetingly, they rarely do wrong to their fellow man.
It is this that helps change things for the better on a national level.
Jeez, I'm turning into a right happy clappy hippy!
Moaners are missing the point. It's not going to change Britain by having better sportsmen and women.
Change comes from people feeling a sense of pride and happiness.
And will it, when in a few weeks people remember they haven't had a payrise for a couple of years, the weather is still shite, they still get stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work, etc.
I return to the phrase Panem et circensis.
IF you want progress and people to feel happy, maybe people need to feel that they belong to society, things like the olympics are distractions and work for a while. I believe it was Engels who observed the reason why there was never a revolution in the UK was that the people felt they were a part, that they benefited from the empire.
Compare now, how many people feel they benefit and how many that they are being shat on by politicians, business leaders, trade unionists, etc?
So, are New Zealanders particularly fat then ?
Dunno, give 'em an Olympics and see what happens.
Think you have to host the bugger to get the legacy!?
So, are New Zealanders particularly fat then ?
According to that faultless source of all knowledge Wikipedia, Kiwi's are a right bunch of fat knackers
26.5% obese
I'm hungry
Of course, there are issues of the moral bankruptcy of the Olympic movement, the sham sportsmanship and the vulgarity of the commercialism that goes with it. But once those are put aside, there is a priceless and invaluable lesson to all this that has been forgotten too easily in our celebrity culture.
Success is the reward for hard work and sacrifice. It does not come on a plate nor is it a fundamental right. Individual success is also built on strong foundations and support. Compare the quiet professionalism of GB cycling and rowing with our celebrity sports. When the pressure is on, who delivers? The true professionals. How odd that many of our winners are articulate and self-effacing. 😉 Oh, and surprise, surprise, competition matters. Listen to the successful and how they all commented on the constant drive towards higher and higher standards, the challenges and expectations of being part of Team GB. Let's hope this message is re-learnt by our educational system. Of course, non of this fits well with those of a certain persuasion and little surprise that their posts are largely negative. A bitter pill to swallow, perhaps?
I dropped some kids off at Gatwick in the early hours today and on the return R5L were repeating the commentaries and crowd reactions from yesterday. For inspiration, that was priceless.
When people are happy, however fleetingly, they rarely do wrong to their fellow man.
It is this that helps change things for the better on a national level.
I agree with this sentiment but it is, as you say, fleeting. Whilst it would be nice to think there will be something long standing after all this, I do think this feeling of collective happiness/pride etc will come to a grinding halt once the closing ceremony is over.
As you were and back in line. Would be great if that wasn't the case and would love to be proven wrong but I cannot see any legacy beyond the games.
I won't disagree with much you have written THM,
but do we have a system in place that finds the best, or a system where we are lucky and when someone good appears we can support them? Do we have a system that gets the best from people or just muddles through? Why should we be happy with third in the table? I see no reason why the UK can't come away with more medals than anyone else if that is the aim. Look at cycling for proof of that.
Equality is never going to be possible, but a system that gives opportunity, in my opinion is. Thing is someone has to pay to give those born with less opportunity a chance of making it, and this might be at the expense of the funders own children.
At the end of the day i don't hate the olympics, i am just indifferent, i have no real interest in sailing or athletics so why should i change this for a fortnight once every four years?
Do i think the money could have been better spent, yes, why should we be funding the IOC and their hangers on? why should we be paying for political vanity projects? and i do include aircraft carriers in this as well.
If you enjoy it fine, i just don't believe that in 6months it will have made any real difference to most peoples lives, and for me that is what really matters.
Loving the Aussie medal stats. 1 gold and 11 silvers. pedal faster mate!
Some of it is pretty grim... Like Percy and Simpson earlier today, apologising for [i]only[/i] getting silver. "We feel so bad for everyone watching and supporting." That's a ropey state of affairs, sure they could have taken gold and maybe were expected to but any medal at this level is a huge achievement. "Sorry we're only the second best in the entire world"
"Sorry we're only the second best in the entire world"
yes, to be blunt they were the first looser.
Its a competition, you go for experience or to win. they were there to win they didn't.
This is not to denigrate what they have done, and it is far more than i could ever hope to do, but if what drives you is winning, which it is for most top level athletes, then they lost. There are only two positions, first and other.
