2016 Olympics - Opening Ceremony and beyond....

[Maltaran]

12 hours ago, polishgenius said:

London is an exception to this in that as far as I know they have found uses for most of the venues, including the media center.

They also had a number of existing venues to use instead of building new ones, e.g. Wimbledon for the tennis and Lords Cricket Ground for the archery.

[Andriy Czarchenko]

Rio actually had a huge number of existing venues for Olympics as they were either built for 2007 pan american games or  existed before that.

[dbunting]

On ‎8‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 3:20 PM, Risto said:

Yeah, one of the problems of IOC and their ideology that OGs actually cause a sustainable economic boom is that it actually doesn't. One only needs to see the Bird's Nest in Beijing to understand how behind the talk about economic prospects, is just the empty talk to cover the fact that hosting OGs mostly procures only short-term gain.

For most cities, Olympic Stadium can be quite the burden. That is why Japanese, of all people, have been struggling with theirs.

That was my point about Budapest. As far as I know they have no need for 90% of what would be left in the aftermath of hosting the Olympics. LA and Paris likely has 90% of it there already and has a use for it. I however don't want any part of the U.S. hosting the Olympics again so soon.

[Mladen]

1 hour ago, dbunting said:

That was my point about Budapest. As far as I know they have no need for 90% of what would be left in the aftermath of hosting the Olympics. LA and Paris likely has 90% of it there already and has a use for it. I however don't want any part of the U.S. hosting the Olympics again so soon.

I am afraid that between the national pride of small country like Hungary and the usual thirst for proving they can do it and IOC's lack of partners among rich megacities and desire to expand the influence, poor Hungarians will become the new Brazilians. There is no way it can end well for them. As for US hosting, well, your turn  

[DireWolfSpirit]

I like the notion of the Games going to all corners of the globe. Most of the whining is tabloidish noise from the press. I'd like to see more Olympics outside just the Group of 7 type nations. It's doable, but in the press they seem to linger on excuses why things cant be done instead of look to solutions. Lets have Games in Africa or Manilla or Iceland next.

[polishgenius]

3 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

 Most of the whining is tabloidish noise from the press.

 

 

Really?

[lacuna]

34 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

I like the notion of the Games going to all corners of the globe. Most of the whining is tabloidish noise from the press. I'd like to see more Olympics outside just the Group of 7 type nations. It's doable, but in the press they seem to linger on excuses why things cant be done instead of look to solutions. Lets have Games in Africa or Manilla or Iceland next.

This is a joke, right? You read so many outlandish things on the net, it's hard to tell sometimes.

[Davrum]

On 8/26/2016 at 0:08 AM, Altherion said:

I only see one world record (in the 400m individual medley). Which were the others? Hosszu's accomplishments are certainly impressive and it is unfortunate that she didn't get much coverage, but I don't think that this is American bias so much as bias towards overall medals. Hosszu won 3 golds and 1 silver whereas, say, Ledecky won 4 golds and 1 silver. The fact that all of Hosszu's medals were individual whereas Ledecky only won 3 individual golds is a rather subtle distinction.

Good call, Hosszu broke one World Record. She also broke a separate Olympic Record.

[Davrum]

On 8/26/2016 at 0:57 AM, Maithanet said:

I'm sure my bias for the great American Usain Bolt has blinded me  

Hosszu didn't win more medals than anyone, and I don't see why only individual medals should be prized, it's not like relays are easy to win.  She had a great Olympics, no doubt, but unless she can repeat that performance in 2020 and 2024, she can't be realistically compared to Bolt or Phelps.  Those two have simply towered over their sports, while Hosszu is only arguably the most dominant woman swimmer at Rio (along with Ledecky). 

Not your bias goofball, the bias of Murican coverage. 

You stated that this Olympics, like the previous two, was dominated by Bolt and Phelps. In truth Phelps did not dominate the pool in Rio. Phelps was great as usual, but certainly no more great than Hosszu, nor Ledecky, who broke two world records in addition to her medal haul.

I also don't see why "only individual medals should be prized", but it's more than obvious that swimmers from larger nations have a far easier time of winning relay medals than those from nations with smaller populations.

[White Walker Texas Ranger]

On August 26, 2016 at 3:51 AM, baxus said:

Every host city needs to build a whole lot of venues anyway. It's not as if any single city has all these world class venues for 28 sports (it was 28 in Rio, if I remember correctly) since there's no way 28 sports are that popular in any single city. And most of these venues get repurposed after the event. I mean, it's hard to see Rio needing an Olympic level dressage centre (or whatever the venue for dressage is called) or those stands on the rowing/canoe sprint venue.

I must admit that I haven't really followed Hope Solo incident that closely but a quick Google search turns up with people backing her up saying things like:

In addition, she chooses not to talk about the reason for her suspension but about her commitment to the USWNT for years now as if that should somehow absolve her of the guilt.

So, by this interpretation she is not guilty of unsportsmanlike (or unsportswomanlike or unsportspersonlike, if you prefer) conduct but of being too passionate and loving the game too much. It's an excuse 

Do I think the suspension longer than ones given up to date? Yes, I do and it definitely is. Do I think it's time for finally fighting unsportsmanlike conduct in all sports with everything you got? Yes, I do and it definitely is. Some might ask why start with her, but you have to start somewhere and whoever the first major suspension was handed to would have the same question and would receive the same answer. The problem would arise if the player on USMNT for behaving in the same way would get shorter suspension or even no suspension at all.

On the other hand, I don't remember Phelps getting the "boys will be boys" treatment for his DUI or anyone trying to make excuses for his behaviour. I don't even remember him trying to give up some excuse at the time. Also, in addition to 6 months suspension, he was disqualified from competing in the World Championships which was THE event of that year in his sport. His behaviour cost him both the opportunity to significantly increase his medal count and earn more money from sponsors. Phelps was suspended for three months for a photo of him with the bong, without failing drug tests or anything like that. He was suspended from his sport, he lost endorsements and all that. He didn't go for any excuse that time either and instead chose to accept the consequences.

Lochte did have the backing of the public and US Olympic team and US Swimming team but only until the truth came out at which point he lost millions of dollars in business deals and remember that neither US Olympic Committee nor US Swimming team have handed out their punishments to him (or have I missed it). Unlike Phelps, Lochte did try to get his ass out of trouble with lies and making fools out of people and I hope he gets the longest possible punishment.

No one is denying that women's sports (athletes included, of course) is often treated differently than men's sports or that there are significant problems with way some things are handled but these three examples you've focused on are just not good examples.

In addition to Hope Solo's declining skills, she's been a headache for the USWNT for years now. Not just criminal stuff like assaulting her nephew and sister, but also for feuding with other players.

Ryan Lochte, on the other hand, despite being a douche and idiot, hasn't engaged in public misconduct before.

[DireWolfSpirit]

@lacuna @polishgenius  Regarding the press there was a 3 month echo chamber of negativity for the runup to Rio. A wide swath of the public opinion was set before a single contest was staged. In reality the games went off pretty damn smoothly with an array of entertaining moments,  Yes I thought the coverage bordered on tabloidish and was annoyed at the concerted negativity before the Games even started.

As for taking the Games to the far corners of the planet, fuck yes I'd like to see them go many places beyond just the major economic powers. When Ali fought Foreman in Zaire they told him he was crazy, that was 40 some yrs ago and he wasnt crazy, he made history.

Other countries besides the U.S. U.K ,Japan, Norway, Canada, China, etc can do this. If it requires more resources for the host, the World should build the apparatuses to fund it and make it happen. Its one of the few things on this planet that nations can peacefully come together and celebrate humanity on a grand scale. I support finding the ways to spread it as far and wide as possible. The George Soros, Bill Gates, Warren Buffets, etc of the world could probably be sold on helping if we mounted a campaign like we did for the Statue of Liberty restoration. Its doable, I dont buy the notion it ( the Olympics) has to alternate between 6-7 wealthy countries.

[lacuna]

I don't wholly disagree that many of the "scandals" were overplayed (though I'm sure there were some legitimate ones), nor do I think sensationalist journalism is good, but part of the media's brief is to publicize negative aspects of billion dollar projects using public funds, I'd say. Much more so than praising and applauding. Whether or not the Games were ultimately a success is unconnected to the controversies in the run-up.

One concert and boxing event is far easier to manage than an entire Olympics. Especially when the host country is under dictatorial rule. And I'm no expert on the back story there, but I don't think Ali had much to do with the initial decision to have the fight in Zaire. From my limited understanding, Mobutu, Don King and a big bag of money probably had more to do with it. But that's neither here nor there.

 

I give up. I wrote, rewrote, edited and reedited about ten pages of ramblings about how large countries and foreign* private individuals would never pay for Games to be held in small, poor countries, but too much of it was unsupported by fact. I expect that it's impossible, but I'm happy to be proven wrong.

 

*'Foreign' because most rich people don't live in small, poor countries.

[Corvinus85]

8 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

@lacuna @polishgenius  Regarding the press there was a 3 month echo chamber of negativity for the runup to Rio. A wide swath of the public opinion was set before a single contest was staged. In reality the games went off pretty damn smoothly with an array of entertaining moments,  Yes I thought the coverage bordered on tabloidish and was annoyed at the concerted negativity before the Games even started.

As for taking the Games to the far corners of the planet, fuck yes I'd like to see them go many places beyond just the major economic powers. When Ali fought Foreman in Zaire they told him he was crazy, that was 40 some yrs ago and he wasnt crazy, he made history.

Other countries besides the U.S. U.K ,Japan, Norway, Canada, China, etc can do this. If it requires more resources for the host, the World should build the apparatuses to fund it and make it happen. Its one of the few things on this planet that nations can peacefully come together and celebrate humanity on a grand scale. I support finding the ways to spread it as far and wide as possible. The George Soros, Bill Gates, Warren Buffets, etc of the world could probably be sold on helping if we mounted a campaign like we did for the Statue of Liberty restoration. Its doable, I dont buy the notion it ( the Olympics) has to alternate between 6-7 wealthy countries.

In that case why not just hold the Olympics in a neutral location? Heck, the rich people + governments of the world could built an artificial island in international waters somewhere near the tropics, and have the games there. And the responsibility of maintaining the facilities and living accommodations would be shared among all the nations that wish to participate in the Olympics. 

[White Walker Texas Ranger]

9 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

@lacuna @polishgenius  Regarding the press there was a 3 month echo chamber of negativity for the runup to Rio. A wide swath of the public opinion was set before a single contest was staged. In reality the games went off pretty damn smoothly with an array of entertaining moments,  Yes I thought the coverage bordered on tabloidish and was annoyed at the concerted negativity before the Games even started.

As for taking the Games to the far corners of the planet, fuck yes I'd like to see them go many places beyond just the major economic powers. When Ali fought Foreman in Zaire they told him he was crazy, that was 40 some yrs ago and he wasnt crazy, he made history.

Other countries besides the U.S. U.K ,Japan, Norway, Canada, China, etc can do this. If it requires more resources for the host, the World should build the apparatuses to fund it and make it happen. Its one of the few things on this planet that nations can peacefully come together and celebrate humanity on a grand scale. I support finding the ways to spread it as far and wide as possible. The George Soros, Bill Gates, Warren Buffets, etc of the world could probably be sold on helping if we mounted a campaign like we did for the Statue of Liberty restoration. Its doable, I dont buy the notion it ( the Olympics) has to alternate between 6-7 wealthy countries.

Very little of the shit said about the Rio Olympics was untrue. It did cost billions of dollars for a country undergoing a recession and massive budget cuts to things like social services and education. It did suffer from massive delays and cost overruns largely due to corruption. In an effort to get the venues built, they didn't build the transportation infrastructure they originally promised that might have actually helped the people living there after the Games. There were sanitation issues. Despite Ryan Lochte being full of shit, crime was a problem.

[David Selig]

Why waste billions on an Olympics venues which will mostly be unused after that and help the corrupt IOC bureaucrats get even richer when there are so many better ways to spend the money to help less developed countries?

[Andriy Czarchenko]

Again guys, most of the actual sports venues at Rio were actually pre-existing.

[Davrum]

On 8/30/2016 at 6:17 PM, DireWolfSpirit said:

@lacuna @polishgenius  Regarding the press there was a 3 month echo chamber of negativity for the runup to Rio. A wide swath of the public opinion was set before a single contest was staged. In reality the games went off pretty damn smoothly with an array of entertaining moments,  Yes I thought the coverage bordered on tabloidish and was annoyed at the concerted negativity before the Games even started.

This.

One of our veteran sports journalists - a guy who's covered every Summer Olympics since the mid 80s - said Rio was actually one of the better run, better organized Games he'd ever experienced.

Of course Rio has its problems, especially with Brazil's economy having dived in the last couple of years, but when they need to get stuff done they get stuff done, and they do it better than most.

[Which Tyler]

Well played Sarah Storey - fantastic race for her 12th olympic gold; in her 3rd games as a cyclist (previous 4 as a swimmer).

Kadeena Cox the big one to look out for - realistic chance at gold in both cycling and athletics this year.

 

Great day for the Brits all round on the medals table - 11 in all (up 4 from London and Beijing 1st days) with 4 golds.

 

Pity the US doesn't seem to take these games seriously at all. What's the coverage like? In the UK we've live coverage of every event again, along with constant coverage on the channel's primary on-air site, highlights etc.

 

ETA: Oh, and Kudos to C4 for using the BBC journalists already there; with just a few of their own added in (last leg crowd, and a few ex-paralympians)

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

6 hours ago, Which Tyler said:

Well played Sarah Storey - fantastic race for her 12th olympic gold; in her 3rd games as a cyclist (previous 4 as a swimmer).

Kadeena Cox the big one to look out for - realistic chance at gold in both cycling and athletics this year.

 

Great day for the Brits all round on the medals table - 11 in all (up 4 from London and Beijing 1st days) with 4 golds.

 

Pity the US doesn't seem to take these games seriously at all. What's the coverage like? In the UK we've live coverage of every event again, along with constant coverage on the channel's primary on-air site, highlights etc.

 

ETA: Oh, and Kudos to C4 for using the BBC journalists already there; with just a few of their own added in (last leg crowd, and a few ex-paralympians)

I couldn't even tell you if they are even televised. 

[Which Tyler]

Another good day for TeamGB, 6 more golds... and counting.

Well up on the 2012 medal tracker.

 

More tickets sold to tomorrow than day of the able-bodied Olympics; mostly through sensible pricing.