Beijing 2008, or: who else isn't watching?

[Adrian II]

So who else isn't watching this stupendous display of trivia and hysteria? You aan I are probably the only ones and we may not even agree on the reason why we don't watch.

I don't watch because the games are kitsch. They represent power politics, big money and chauvinism and have nothing to do with sports, certainly not amateur sports, although they profess to be about nothing but the latter.

Feng Jianzhong, deputy chief of the Chinese Sports Affairs Bureau, has stated that the last candidate to bear the Olympic torch would 'represent the image of China, can communicate with the world and can show the Olympic spirit.' Well, Mr Li Ning, of Li Ning Sportswear Ltd, certainly did. His company made a handsome profit on the Hong Kong stock exchange this week. And not only the fireworks were fake, so was the singing of the Chinese hymn. No doubt most sports victories are fake, too, although you never know which one until the drugs tests are in, the corrupt judges are smoked out (which they never are) and the real women are separated from the steroid hybrids.

Call me oldfashioned, but to me it's simply distasteful to see all those vain, empty-headed sports figures assembling in one of the world's worst dictatorships and doing their inane little routines with balls and spears and stuff, and all the world is watching it on tv and going 'aaah', oblivious of the millions of slaves in China's camp system, some of whom live not far from Beijing since they had to help build some of the facilities.

Bah. At least the Roman circuses were the real deal, they weren't effeminate celebrations of commercialism that destroyed the manly spirit of the observers; they inspired them to face wounds and death scornfully, to celebrate the glory and victory even of criminals and slaves as long as they demonstrated aptitude, courage and persistence.

But wait, the Chinese have Christians, don't they? Why don't they throw some of them to the pandas lions? They kill them in prisons, underground cellars and work camps, so why not in public?

[Lemur]

I have a wife. Women love them some Olympics. So no, I can't ignore the corrupt little show entirely. But I'm doing my best.

It's nothing against China on my part, however. I always try to ignore the Olympics. Sports are meant to be played, not watched on the freaking couch.

[Warmaster Horus]

I don't watch 'em. I find it boring, and with some afterthought to be exactly what you described them as: power politics, etc.

Also because practically all the "competitors" have steroids pumped in them, probably.

[InsaneApache]

I've managed to miss all the events so far, even the opening ceremony, so consider it a job well done. Now and again I hear summat on't radio about whining syncro divers but that's about all....

Who's winning?

As if I care

[Louis VI the Fat]

The Olympics? I'm enthralled!

I can't wait until we smash the Yanks at the men's 4 x 100 relay swimming final.


look it up.

[Xiahou]

I've managed to miss all the events so far, even the opening ceremony, so consider it a job well done.

Ditto.

[Viking]

Well the olympics shows China from its best sides

The cute little girl whose sweet-voiced rendition of one of China’s favourite revolutionary anthems started off the Olympic opening ceremony performance may not have been all that she seemed. Little Lin Miaoke, it has been revealed, was only lip-synching.

Officials have now admitted that the voice that rang out through the vast Bird’s Nest stadium was really that of seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, who may have had the voice of an angel but whose crooked teeth made her unsuitable for the opening ceremony's top spot.

[...]

Chen Qigang, music director for the ceremony said in an online article: “Little Yang Peiyi’s failure to be selected was mainly because of her appearance, because we were concerned with the interests of the nation.”

Communism and equality at its best, surely.

[Spino]

I think I've caught about 15-20 minutes of the Olympics since it started.

While I also despise the diva/celebrity aura surrounding modern athletes (and their awful egos and attitudes) I am quite comfortable with the presence of displaced/projected nationalism in the games. Politics and nationalism has always been part of the Olympics since the day the games were first held way back when.

I lost interest in the Olympics when I hit my late teens. My apathy increased when they opened the Olympics up to professional athletes who were living off fat team contracts and piles of cash from commercial sponsors. There was something special about watching amateurs busting their hump to train, perform and compete at world class levels. Also, there was an added level of excitement due in no small part to the whole 'Cold War/East vs. West' thing. My most recent beef with the Olympics is the insistence on incorporating every silly sport under the sun into the games.

[Ice]

The Olympics? I'm enthralled!

I can't wait until we smash the Yanks at the men's 4 x 100 relay swimming final.


look it up.

That was the one where the 1-5th place teams all broke the records, right?

Oh yeah, tell your countrymen not to brag until it's a sure thing

I've been watching a lot of the Olympics. It's good entertainment to see quality athletes.

[Adrian II]

There are more of us than I thought.

Mind if I join you guys around that campfire? Let me tell you the story about Adrian's rowing days at university. It only cost me time and money, buckets of em, I had to puke at the end of practically all our daily training hours and I never won anything. And I had a great time!

[drone]

Haven't watched any of it. Even before I got cynical about the commercialized aspects of the Games, the Summer Olympics never really appealed to me anyway. The Winter Games are more fun to watch, but I don't really care too much about them these days either.

For grins though, a 2008 Summer Games Humor Item.

[Adrian II]

For grins though, a 2008 Summer Games Humor Item.

IRQL-not-less-or-equal! I know that screen!

(your grins)

EDIT
According to that article even the Chinese know that Vista is crap.

[Banquo's Ghost]

Count me among the disinterested. I might be distracted if there was reasonable coverage of the fencing, but pretty much everything else leaves me cold.

I'm much happier spending my time over the next few days blowing tiny birds out of a wet, grey sky.

[Adrian II]

Some of the stories are hilarious though. Anyone else seen the story about the government cheering squads?

The specially trained cheerleading teams have been kitted out in identical bright yellow t-shirts with Communist-red collars.

Each 'fan' has been issued with two inflatable red and yellow clapping batons, which co-ordinate with their shirts.

Sitting together among the foreign tourists who wear an array of clothes, they appear as solid yellow blocks with both their shirts and sticks mirroring the colours of the national flag.

Bashing the inflated PVC sticks together in a frenzy of national fervour to make a surprisingly loud noise, some of the 'volunteers' even appear to enjoy being 'supporters'.

linky

God, what a pathetic show.

Well, mundus vult decipi..

[InsaneApache]

Count me among the disinterested. I might be distracted if there was reasonable coverage of the fencing, but pretty much everything else leaves me cold.

Would that be the interlocking link or razor wire? Curious minds need satiating.

[Abokasee]

I've missed all the events, including the opening, except the paired diving (The Russians ****ed up big time there) but otherwise I've avoided 100%, apparently the British got gold for Cycling (It was raining )

Unfortunatly, it is to do more with Politics than Sport these days.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

And the next Olympics? I can confirm, that we are 100%, positively, absolutely guarenteed, no questions asked, no doubts, not a word of a lie, be READY

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

by 2013

[Adrian II]

[..] apparently the British got gold for Cycling (It was raining )

Well, that sums it up for me, too. Some Dutch athlete lost and told the press he 'wasn't ready' for the match. I mean, he could see it coming for a full eight years - how can you not be ready?

[Innocentius]

I watched the opening ceremony since the idea of China showing off appealed to me (and it turned out to be pretty decent entertainment, although I switched channel during the songs and speeches). I haven't watched the rest and will not watch it either, for the same reason I have never watched a single Olympics: Sports suck.

Find me something less interesting than people moving, I dare you.

[Faust|]

Find me something less interesting than people moving, I dare you.

You might be sorry you asked that...

[KarlXII]

I refuse to watch the Olympics due to symbolic opposition to the Chinese government. Tibet, the human rights record, the pollution, the fact they closed factories and moved homes etc.

[InsaneApache]

Originally Posted by Innocentius
Find me something less interesting than people moving, I dare you.

PRon.

[Viking]

PRon.

[HoreTore]

I see no reason to watch any other sport than football. Why torture myself with lesser entertainment?

[yesdachi]

I am not a big fan of the Olympics and I don’t think China should have gotten to host it this year (on the bright side maybe the attention will help them become a better country) but I am a man who loves “current events” and the Olympics are a big deal around here so I have seen some and will see probably see some more, especially if I notice women’s beach volleyball is on, for some reason that really appeals to me.
That tall Chinese girl is H-O-T!

I really don’t care at all for the common sports like basketball but I enjoy seeing some of the ones that don’t get much spotlight. I watched some archery, skeet shooting and fencing the other day and it was interesting.

I know its commercialized but what isn’t? I’ll watch some and take it for what its worth.

[Adrian II]

More humour from the Games!

Spain's Olympic basketball team posed for an advertisement prior to the Games which appears to show all its players slanting their eyes, a move that could offend its Olympic hosts in Beijing. The ads, for a Spanish courier company, appeared in the Spanish-language newspaper La Marca.

As the uproar over the picture has grown today, more information about the advertising shot has come to light. The New York Times reports that Spain's basketball team is sponsored by Li-Ning Footwear, a Chinese company founded by (drumroll) Li Ning, the final torchbearer who was hoisted along the top of Beijing National Stadium during the Olympic Opening Ceremony finale. The ad reportedly references the Spanish team recently extending their contract with the footwear giant for another four years.

linky

Like I said, Mr Li Ning truly embodies the Olympic spirit!

[CountArach]

I'm only watching the cycling events because that is the only sport I am interested in.

[BigTex]

I'll watch when MMA makes it's return to the Olympics. Till then very little captures my attention.

Not to mention the Olympics, a celebration of peace and freedoms, is being held in a repressive regime with a stadium built on slave labor. Staying away from this circus act this year.

[Crazed Rabbit]

More humour from the Games!

Spain's Olympic basketball team posed for an advertisement prior to the Games which appears to show all its players slanting their eyes, a move that could offend its Olympic hosts in Beijing. The ads, for a Spanish courier company, appeared in the Spanish-language newspaper La Marca.

As the uproar over the picture has grown today, more information about the advertising shot has come to light. The New York Times reports that Spain's basketball team is sponsored by Li-Ning Footwear, a Chinese company founded by (drumroll) Li Ning, the final torchbearer who was hoisted along the top of Beijing National Stadium during the Olympic Opening Ceremony finale. The ad reportedly references the Spanish team recently extending their contract with the footwear giant for another four years.

linky

Like I said, Mr Li Ning truly embodies the Olympic spirit!

Wow, that Spanish team ... are they still in grade school or what? Why would they pull something like that?

And this Olympics, for all its flaws, did cause me to jump and yell "YES!" when the US won the 4x100 relay. What a great moment.

CR

[Hosakawa Tito]

Forget the Olympics. You want entertainment watch this show. Most Extreme Elimination Challenge

[DemonArchangel]

I'm Chinese, the Chinese are my people, and I strongly support them. Problem is, like many other members of TW.org, I find the Olympics to be boring (also, the Bird's Nest was *NOT* constructed with Slave Labor, I visited the construction site this winter as they were building it, the PRC wouldn't trust the building of the stadium to slave labor). They should add some form of Parkour to the Olympics (or something more death defying than the traditional sports at least), then I'll watch.