[Tournament] 2008 Olympic Games discussion thread

The opening ceremony wasn't quite as propaganda-ridden as I had feared, and in retrospect that was quite a wise choice by the Chinese, but the part where the children representing China's ethnic minorities symbolically gathered in unison under the Chinese flag was truly stomach-turning stuff.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Zergrinch

And in other news, the footstep firework footage seen on TV was faked.

And in other news, it seems the little girl who sang during the ceremony wasn't really singing at all. According to the chap in charge of the music, the real singer didn't live up their demands of "perfect looks, feeling and expression". He goes on to make the absurd claims that they wanted to "give the right image" (?) and that he was "thinking of what was best for the nation".

link (in Swedish, with pics of the girls).

What's next, the Chinese soldiers presenting the flags were really programmed robots?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Zip

God damn the judges for this olympic pisses me off. I think I'm the only one who watches boxing but the shit that's going makes me go bananas. Not only in boxing but even in wrestling, what the fuck is going on. People getting points for nothing, getting warnings for wrong things gah.

Refereeing in the Olympics is always more or less a joke. In sports like boxing and wrestling in particular, where every decision can be vital, it's hard to understand why they can't hire proper people. The 'Ara' scandal is the only big scandal of the games so far this year though I think? Apart from perhaps some of the Chinese female gymnasts being under the age limit. Apparently it's impossible for the IOC to find out how old they really are (!)

But hey, at least things aren't as bad as back in '88...

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by The Dopefish

Phelps' performance will go down in (at the very least, American) history as the greatest athletic performance ever.

Seriously, try to look beyond the hype here. Phelps has been, in every way, the best overall swimmer in the world for years. That he would win five individual golds here was expected. I think what he did in Athens was far more impressive (four individual golds and one bronze).


And the opening ceremony is just getting more and more embarrassing for every day that passes:

Originally Posted by Ethnic children at opening ceremony 'were fake'

Children from China's dominant Han population were used in a key part of the Olympics opening ceremony, not youngsters from all 56 ethnic groups as claimed, an official has said.

The 56 children who carried out the Chinese flag in a moment meant to showcase national harmony were all from the Han majority, an official with the dance troupe that they belonged to told the Asian Wall Street Journal.

The troupe is made up exclusively of children from the Han ethnic group, which accounts for more than 90 percent of China's more than 1.3 billion people, according to the paper.

Official Chinese television shows and other performances often feature the Han Chinese representing minority groups.

However Olympic organisers said directly that the children were from all 56 official ethnic groups.

"Fifty-six children from 56 Chinese ethnic groups cluster around the Chinese national flag, representing the 56 ethnic groups," read the media guide for the opening ceremony distributed on the night.

Ethnic children at opening ceremony 'were fake'


It also seems like the piano performance by Lang Lang might have been prerecorded: Epoch Times - Fake Piano Played at Opening Ceremony?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by El Ray Fernando

Johnson's 200m record is gone only question remains is by how much.

As good as Phelps has been that truly was the performance of the games. He squashed Powell and Gay.

About 19.32, I'm not as sure as you, but for sure we've never seen as good a 200 m runner as Bolt since Johnson, and I'm sure he has the potential to beat it.

And I'd say that Powell "squashed" himself, as usual when it comes to a big race. Not sure what happened to Gay? I was surprised not to see him in the finals.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by El Ray Fernando

Anybody see Angel Matos kick the referee in the face in taekwondo??? He landed it straight in the middle a real shiner.

He got disqualified for taking too long to get up after an injury and proceeded to bitch culminating in him kicking the referee in the face and punching another official. He has now been given a lifetime ban and probably will face criminal charges.

Since the referee was Swedish there was a bit about it on the tv earlier. Apparently he was able to somewhat dodge the kick and came away with only a broken lip. Prior both the trainer and the Cuban guy had threatened the referee, saying that they would kill him, basically. It's nice, at least, to see that proper judgment was handed down, and that both were given a lifetime ban.

There was also a serious boxing scandal today with a Romanian official bringing forth accusations of rigged matches and the like during a press conference. I'm sure sure what it was really about, but the Chinese officials were VERY eager to put a lid on things. There are, I believe, three Chinese boxers in the five remaining finals to be decided tomorrow...

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?