Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: gwEm on July 31, 2012, 09:51:55 PM
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What are people making of the Olympics so far? The opening ceremony, the events, the lack of UK medals, the price of tickets, the corporate sell out?
I wanted to hate the opening ceremony, but ended up thinking it was pretty good.
The missus wanted to go to an Olympic event rather than holiday this year, so we've been looking at what tickets are left etc. So expensive!!
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I feel the same about the opening ceremony. I feel sad about the whole ticket situation. It feel like the athletics has been lost beneath this weird veneer or corporate sponsorship and some commercial front. A lot of the sponsors have had big tax breaks as part of the sponsorship deals. I'm amazed by the athletes and that it should be all about, but it doesn't feel like a games for the people of great britain
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I feel the same about the opening ceremony. I feel sad about the whole ticket situation. It feel like the athletics has been lost beneath this weird veneer or corporate sponsorship and some commercial front. A lot of the sponsors have had big tax breaks as part of the sponsorship deals. I'm amazed by the athletes and that it should be all about, but it doesn't feel like a games for the people of great britain
This sums up my feelings too, the special Olympic lanes upset me a little at first too (not for real Londoners) - but in reality they are actually helping me as a cyclist. I'd like to see cheaper events so everyone can get involved. If the Olympics is meant to be about inclusivity I haven't seen too much of that so far indeed.
On the plus side, I don't see too much of the much talked about transport chaos so far. There a definitely extra tourists around, but its not affected me too badly so far. Generally I find my feelings towards the whole thing mellowing though I'm still morally opposed.
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i liked the opening ceremony - much better than expected.
i generally dont like sports but can let myself get excited about it every four years.
beach volleyball has been genuinely exciting - and not just for the reasons i expected.
handball also seems like a lot of fun - maybe if football had a passive play warning system i might be able to get into it
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There hasn't been a huge increase in tourism or the amount of people about town as far as I can tell. The economic benefit of the games was always a lie anyway. These events never bring any meaningful economic growth.
I was upset by seeing a reporter claim the Olympic park was built on "wasteland". I have mixed opinions on this kind of thing.
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I was dreading the whole thing, mainly because of worries about travel - which has turned out to be a complete false alarm (thus far.... touch wood)
Enjoyed the opening ceremony, which I don't usually, but I was pretty confident Danny Boyle would come up with something interesting. That said, after the initial bit of British socio-economic history (which kept reminding me of Pink Floyd's The Wall!) it did get a bit disjointed, I thought.
Sports-wise..... I really don't feel like it's got going yet. I don't think it's the relative lack of GB medals, maybe it's just because the majority of interesting stuff is going on while I'm at work. I think I prefer it when the Olympics is on the other side of the world so you can stay up all night watching it.
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only thing I've enjoyed so far is womens beach volleyball, italy vs england, it was really good!
I also HATED paul mcartney :wallbash: but everything else at the opening ceremony was great
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I have to say, I've no interest at all in the "ball game" events - basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball, handball, hockey... and although I like football, I don't think it belongs in the Olympics.
Thank goodness we also have swimming, gymnastics, cycling, rowing.... and bring on the athletics next week! :D
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The swimming has been good - a few upsets and good old Phelps getting his 19 medals.
I also liked the opening ceremony, although I expected to hate it.
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Good so far - +1 on the opening ceremony, I suspect that I was just expecting it to be cr@p, and it was actually really interesting.
I also think that beach volleyball was better than expected. Genuinely good sport to watch. I heard a woman on Radio 4 talking about it, and comparing it to soft core pornography. And I couldn't help but think: you should really watch some better porn...
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I watched some soft core porn once (many years ago - an Electric Blue film, I think) - and beach volleyball is far more exciting.
Personally, I thought the opening ceremony was too self satisfied and referential to me - although the fact that it upset so many on the right wing was its redemption.
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I watched some soft core porn once (many years ago - an Electric Blue film, I think) - and beach volleyball is far more exciting....
I enjoy Watersports... :P
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The opening ceremony was good, but I thought China topped them.
And volleyball is being played in Earl's Court, right?
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The opening ceremony was good, but I thought China topped them.
beijing was very impressive - we were never going to manage that kind of synchronised control of hundreds of people. its a relief that Boyle went a different way instead.
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And what is the deal with the badminton players?
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And what is the deal with the badminton players?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19072677 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19072677)
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LOOK AT THIS SH!T!!
Disgusting... :o :o
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17809169
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I would have prefered to read " Banned for life - and then shot" .
He not only brought dis-honour to a great art, but also proved he needs removing from the gene pool. :evil:
As an antidote, let us think only of the very likeable Zoe Smith . Hoorah ! :D
(http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u135/Fourth_Feline/1c88fd38.jpg)
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What a wimp - witness Enter the Dragon - The referee allowed Bruce Lee to get attacked by a guy with a couple of broken bottles - and all he did was shriek like a mating fox and mumble something about a Shaolin temple.
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I thought the opening ceremony was horribly cheesy. The forging of the rings was pretty cool and I thought the Bond/Queen bit was funny, but the rest I could've done without. But then I've always thought syncronised dancing like that was a load of bollocks.
Haven't really watched much of the actual events other than a bit of the womens weightlifting and of course their beach volleyball :P
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What a wimp - witness Enter the Dragon - The referee allowed Bruce Lee to get attacked by a guy with a couple of broken bottles - and all he did was shriek like a mating fox and mumble something about a Shaolin temple.
+1
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I also HATED paul mcartney :wallbash: but everything else at the opening ceremony was great
What? You didn't just fast forward that bit (thankfully finding it was the end and there was no need to restart playback woo)?
Quite how no-one shot that mother$%&#er I don't know. Anyone who had tickets to that ceremony had a $%&#ing DUTY to make that ####!! dead.
Apart from that, it was odd, and occasionally decent. But mostly odd.
Awesome job by Helen and Heather in the rowing today, and of course Wiggo... A much better day for Team GB today!
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Awesome job by Helen and Heather in the rowing today, and of course Wiggo... A much better day for Team GB today!
Sir Bradley (as he's bound to be soon) is a legend. He has good taste, too.... eh, Roo?
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p216/phillyq/BritishcyclistBradleyWigginsposedholdingaTelecasterguitarattheVelodromeinManchester.jpg)
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LOOK AT THIS SH!T!!
Disgusting... :o :o
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17809169
I love the high energy dance from the Kazakhstan guy at the end, the cuban deserves to be banned it's pretty aggressive and bad sportsmanship too
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And what is the deal with the badminton players?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19072677 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19072677)
I have to say I think there's nothing wrong with this. It's tactical play to position yourself in the best place to win over the whole competition. It's like saying baseball players shouldn't be able to play sacrifice bunts to benefit the team overall.
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LOOK AT THIS SH!T!!
Disgusting... :o :o
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17809169
I love the high energy dance from the Kazakhstan guy at the end, the cuban deserves to be banned it's pretty aggressive and bad sportsmanship too
As a former Tae Kwon Do competitor the guy couldn't have kicked him properly otherwise the ref wouldn't have just walked away as he did.
Not condoning it AT ALL, it's awful sportsmanship and rightly so he's banned.
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I have to say I think there's nothing wrong with this. It's tactical play to position yourself in the best place to win over the whole competition. It's like saying baseball players shouldn't be able to play sacrifice bunts to benefit the team overall.
I have absolutely no idea what that last bit means, I'm afraid..... but of course there's something wrong when you have players deliberately attempting to lose matches.
Not only is it against the spirit of the competition, but what about all those people who paid money - quite a lot of it, in some cases - to be there and had to watch that farce?
It is true that perhaps the organisers should have anticipated something like this; they should rethink the setup of the competition for next time.
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I've really been enjoying it all so far.
Although it has caused me some problems. I got laid off again 2 weeks ago. Basically the firm I work for have had to put all their work on hold until mid September. So no work to do and I lose my job.
There are restrictions on construction work, I work in demolition so me and loads of others cant work.
Not good. Extremely p!ssed off.
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I have to say I think there's nothing wrong with this. It's tactical play to position yourself in the best place to win over the whole competition. It's like saying baseball players shouldn't be able to play sacrifice bunts to benefit the team overall.
I have absolutely no idea what that last bit means, I'm afraid..... but of course there's something wrong when you have players deliberately attempting to lose matches.
Not only is it against the spirit of the competition, but what about all those people who paid money - quite a lot of it, in some cases - to be there and had to watch that farce?
It is true that perhaps the organisers should have anticipated something like this; they should rethink the setup of the competition for next time.
Muhammed Ali's rope-a-dope might be better example on a UK-centric board?
Without question it's against the spirit of the Olympics, and perhaps of sport, but not at all the spirit of competition. The event is organised in a fashion that their efforts to draw or lose certain matches are totally inkeeping with the spirit of competition so people should be expected to exploit it. They're trying to win the whole thing!
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I've really been enjoying it all so far.
Although it has caused me some problems. I got laid off again 2 weeks ago. Basically the firm I work for have had to put all their work on hold until mid September. So no work to do and I lose my job.
There are restrictions on construction work, I work in demolition so me and loads of others cant work.
Not good. Extremely p!ssed off.
Feel for you mate, don't like to hear that kind of story. Hope it works out.
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I've really been enjoying it all so far.
Although it has caused me some problems. I got laid off again 2 weeks ago. Basically the firm I work for have had to put all their work on hold until mid September. So no work to do and I lose my job.
There are restrictions on construction work, I work in demolition so me and loads of others cant work.
Not good. Extremely p!ssed off.
Feel for you mate, don't like to hear that kind of story. Hope it works out.
Thanks mate.
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more unsporting behavior:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-19094680
I loved the track cycling yesterday - really exciting.
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What's unsporting about it? It's just a guy being an arse. It has nothing to do with sport. Every negative act committed by a sportsman isn't 'unsporting' simply by association.
I have zero interest in the Olympics but I'm really enjoying the hyperbolic journalism. Really hoping for a British athlete to test positive for doping just to see the McCarthy-esque witchhunt.
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What's unsporting about it? It's just a guy being an arse. It has nothing to do with sport. Every negative act committed by a sportsman isn't 'unsporting' simply by association.
i guess: bad loser, disrespectful or whatever.
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I've managed to almost completely avoid it all so far.
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I've completed avoided it until yesterday because I find most of it tedious but I enjoy the athletics with its pacier jumping between events. Quite enjoyed it.
Totally indifferent to who wins, but I like folks don't outrageously impressive stuff.
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Really hoping for a British athlete to test positive for doping just to see the McCarthy-esque witchhunt.
I must say that is a strange thing to hope for. I hope for no positive tests whatsoever.
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Holy cr@p! What a day! What an evening! :D
I am feeling unapologetically jingoistic.
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Holy cr@p! What a day! What an evening! :D
I am feeling unapologetically jingoistic.
Yes, I'm warming to the event more and more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4PoRiC1Zxc
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i wonder how much the people in the daily mail offices are squirming after our recent wins
after the opening ceremony the published this article - now withdrawn
http://www.freezepage.com/1343493744VDGIBPHPUW
ut it was the absurdly unrealistic scene – and indeed one that would spring from the kind of nonsensical targets and equality quotas we see in the NHS - showing a mixed-race middle-class family in a detached new-build suburban home, which was most symptomatic of the politically correct agenda in modern Britain.
This was supposed to be a representation of modern life in England but it is likely to be a challenge for the organisers to find an educated white middle-aged mother and black father living together with a happy family in such a set-up.*
Almost, if not every, shot in the next sequence included an ethnic minority performer. The BBC presenter Hazel Irvine gushed about the importance of grime music (a form of awful electronic music popular among black youths) to east London.
This multicultural equality agenda was so staged it was painful to watch.
* just like Jessica Ennis perhaps?
Born in Sheffield, Ennis is one of two daughters born to Vinnie Ennis and Alison Powell, and has a younger sister named Carmel. Her father, originally from Jamaica, is a self-employed painter and decorator; her mother, a social worker, was born in Derbyshire.
how about Mo?
Born Mohamed Farah in Mogadishu, Somalia on 23 March 1983, Farah moved to Djibouti after the outbreak of the Somali Civil War. He later moved to Britain at the age of 8 years old, speaking barely a word of English. Farah's father was born in England and grew up in Hounslow; his parents met after his father went on holiday to Somalia.
In April 2010 Farah married his longtime girlfriend Tania Nell, in Richmond, London. Farah has a stepdaughter called Rihanna and he and his wife are expecting twin daughters in September 2012.
He is a fan of Arsenal F.C., a Muslim and is an active supporter of the Muslim Writers Awards.
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Really hoping for a British athlete to test positive for doping just to see the McCarthy-esque witchhunt.
I must say that is a strange thing to hope for. I hope for no positive tests whatsoever.
I just think the way it'd be reported would be a joy to read. We've got some appallingly jingoistic coverage as it stands. The reaction to a British athlete doping would be hysterical.
Also keen to see how the Daily Mail reports Mo Farrah's win tomorrow. Asylum Seekers BAD Medal Winners GOOD. Must cause some consternation trying to word that report in their office.
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Also keen to see how the Daily Mail reports Mo Farrah's win tomorrow.
here you go ;)
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/315307_453890187974751_228155570_n.jpg)
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:lol:
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Really hoping for a British athlete to test positive for doping just to see the McCarthy-esque witchhunt.
I must say that is a strange thing to hope for. I hope for no positive tests whatsoever.
I just think the way it'd be reported would be a joy to read. We've got some appallingly jingoistic coverage as it stands. The reaction to a British athlete doping would be hysterical.
Yeah - I agree with you there. I do get a little embarrassed at some of the BBC highlight coverage, especially the Gabby Logan bits when she has either Thorpe or Johnson in the studio. Still don't want to see British athletes cheating although the press reaction would be interesting.
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Really hoping for a British athlete to test positive for doping just to see the McCarthy-esque witchhunt.
I must say that is a strange thing to hope for. I hope for no positive tests whatsoever.
I just think the way it'd be reported would be a joy to read. We've got some appallingly jingoistic coverage as it stands. The reaction to a British athlete doping would be hysterical.
Yeah - I agree with you there. I do get a little embarrassed at some of the BBC highlight coverage, especially the Gabby Logan bits when she has either Thorpe or Johnson in the studio. Still don't want to see British athletes cheating although the press reaction would be interesting.
To be fair, the Gabby Logan programme seems to be specifically intended to highlight the achievements of "Team GB" in particular. I don't see anything wrong with that, it's nice to have a bit of a feelgood factor in the country, it'll disappear soon enough.
And I like Michael Johnson and Ian Thorpe! I always hugely admired Johnson as an athlete and I like his intelligent "voice of reason" persona as a pundit. Thorpe has been excellent too, I like his sense of humour and he's not afraid to speak his mind (although his habit of saying "Look..." at the start of every sentence is mildly irritating)
Oh, and I hope we don't see any British athletes testing positive.
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Agreed there Philly. I think Thorpe and Johnson are great!
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Sending robots to Mars costs 1/5 as much as the Olympics :lol:
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Do all you guys in the UK get the events live?
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I don't have a tv. But I think with all the Red Button features you can watch pretty much any event live. I have just been watching the iPlayer updates they put up in chunks that show you the featured events.
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of course its all live, currently on BBC 1 i can watch 1 of 9 events with the red button, but its often more than that. then there are the other bbc channels all showing stuff at various times and the bbc website streaming a similar amount of live events
since we are hosting the event i suppose they arrange the main events around prime time to some extent. they don't have to do an NBC and delay coverage to fit the schedule they think is best for ratings
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Yeah, over here in the States, they're delaying all of our feeds, and they don't show the main events until 11:30, so I think they're doing a pretty cr@ppy job.
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And they cut the memorial for terrorism victims from the opening ceremony because it wasn't about USA victims. Mental.
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That was a ridiculous decision to cut the memorial.
The BBC also have a ridiculous number of Olympic channels (24 I think). Many of them showing just live action without commentary - particularly tonight with some of the athletics.
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The BBC also have a ridiculous number of Olympic channels (24 I think). Many of them showing just live action without commentary - particularly tonight with some of the athletics.
People keep telling me about these channels, but are they on Freeview? I can't find them.
Must admit I'm not very good with the "red button", I very rapidly get pissed off trying to negotiate the menus.
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The BBC also have a ridiculous number of Olympic channels (24 I think). Many of them showing just live action without commentary - particularly tonight with some of the athletics.
People keep telling me about these channels, but are they on Freeview? I can't find them.
Must admit I'm not very good with the "red button", I very rapidly get pissed off trying to negotiate the menus.
Red Button is terrible - takes way too long to react to be useful.
I think the Olympic channels are freeview (they really should be). From channel 474 on my box - they have them for standard and High Definition.
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I only seem to have three Olympic channels (and HD equivalents) on my Freeview - BBC1/BBC1 HD, BBC3/BBC HD and "301" (which is basically the Red Button channel, I think).
You'd have thought all BBC channels should be available on Freeview. I'm probably doing something wrong.... :?
Doesn't really matter that much, I'm primarily interested in the "main" sports like athletics, swimming, cycling, boxing and they're (mostly) on the channels I have available.
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Red Button is terrible - takes way too long to react to be useful.
its no good for channel surfing - but fine if you know what you actually want to watch
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Red Button is terrible - takes way too long to react to be useful.
its no good for channel surfing - but fine if you know what you actually want to watch
I always find it says something like "Choose your sport" or "Choose your commentary" in the corner of the screen, but when you actually press the button it doesn't take you where you wanted to go (or thought you were going).... just to the Red Button Main Menu. And from there none of the options seem to respond as they're supposed to and I'm never able to find anything!
Matbe it's just me, but I don't usually have problems with technology.
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This is pretty good. And yes, I also get confused with sailing.
http://gawker.com/5932302/the-best-olympic-commentary-ever-is-too-good-for-television?tag=londonolympics
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Sailing or track cycling have always stumped me.
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I still don't get why the old dude has to go round on a bike with an engine for the first 5 laps of the Keirin. Why not just cut him out and get straight down to business? I guess that would make it a sprint race if they did though.
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i agree - would it not be best to just rely on the athletes do do what they are supposed to.
apparently it cuts down on some of the tactical stuff - but that seems to be half the skill.
they dont tend to use them in the running anymore, why keep them on the bike track
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The keirin is meant to be about aggressive riding, with an unpredictable outcome. It was invented in Japan where they absolutely love betting on it. Apparently there's over 50 tracks in Japan.. A bit like greyhound racing I guess. I think the yakuza have been known to fix a lot of the races.
The rules are very tight over there - only certain steel frames and components are approved for the bikes. The idea is to make the bikes similar to what a state of the art track bike would have been in the 50s/60s and to level the playing field as much as possible.
The motorbike (or they use another bicycle rider sometimes) starts off around 15mph, and leaves track at 30mph. I guess it cuts down a lot on the slow game of chess that happens with a one on one sprint. But on the other hand, the race starts at a pretty high pace, and theres much more of them on the track.. So the strategy is different, you've got to see the gaps, position yourself and time your sprint.
My favourite form track racing is the elimination race, but I like keirin a lot too.. I'd love to be fit enough to compete in an amateur race. I did a couple of possibly illegal sprint races in the past (!) and did okay, getting to the semi final.. But you cant compare to a proper competition on a velodrome. Anyway, the point is, the buzz of sprint racing is absolutely fantastic.
I'm saving for a holiday in Japan later this year and hope to see some keirin races. I've only become interested in cycling the last 3 years ago or so, but it's a great world I think.
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The Elimination race that Laura Trott won as part of the Omnium was fantastic. Probably my favourite track event.
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Is it over? Did I miss it?
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The closing ceremony was an embarrassment until the giant inflatable squid. Awful sound mix and acts who are well past their prime getting wheeled out and sounding awful!
My favourite event was obviously the bmx racing, finally a cycling event that's actually exciting to watch. And that comes from a cyclist! The mtb and road/velodrome are so dull to watch imo.
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Didn't see the lcsoing ceremony but have it recorded - maybe I'll be using the fast forward button extensively!
As for BMXing I agree - such a great spectator sport. The heat that had 7 of the 8 riders wiped out was insane. The only slight gripe I have about the BMX is that the final is just a one off race. I'm not a big enough follower to know if this is the way it is usually done but a few heats for the final surely wouldn't have taken too much organising.
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closing ceremony definitely wasn't as good as the opening, but it had its moments. sound mix was pretty bad indeed ;) anyway, it was decent enough i thought.
i still have moral issues with some of the organisation. but on the other hand, i quite enjoyed watching all those sports and there was some cool moments. overall, i liked it, too bad its over.
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Whistler Crankworx started 3 days ago anyway, far superior to the olympics :D
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The closing ceremony was indeed a bit ropey compared to the opening one.
Very odd choice of musical acts - I was expecting a who's who of big names, old and new, but it felt more like "well these are the ones we managed to get". Didn't gel at all.
Still (almost) shed a tear as they extinguished the flame, though. The whole thing was much, much better than I ever expected.
It'll be interesting to see if the government stick to their spur-of-the-moment promises about future sports funding, or if they'll just let it slide quietly onto the back burner as the general state of euphoria wears off.
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I went to the Olympic boxing finals on the last day.
Had a great time and came back home to watch the closing... Very mixed bag.
Darcey Bussell look HOT AS HELL... I love that woman.
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... Darcey Bussell look HOT AS HELL... I love that woman.
Indeed Dave : her manner of entrance was very apt, she is a Goddess . :)
Especially relevent on this ocassion , as the stunning level of athleticism in Ballet - would eclipse many Olympic events. Darcy is indeed a 'Class Act'. 8)