[Tournament] 2008 Olympic Games discussion thread

So how about that opening ceremony, huh? Absolutely amazing spectacle, but I guess that's what enough money and people (15,000?!) can get you. Was particularly impressed by the giant footstep fireworks, though I suppose the effect was probably lost on anyone not watching on TV.

Looks like an exciting two weeks of competition lay ahead. I'm especially pleased by that everything's broadcasting in HD, which looks brilliant. When you can see the individual pores on athletes... yeah, that's crazy.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

If you wait to watch NBC's prime time coverage (8 PM to midnight) then yeah, you aren't going to be catching stuff as soon as it happens. You could always try watching live streams online.

And how about that 4x100 freestyle relay, eh? I have a feeling we'll be seeing lots of images of Phelps' victorious WOOOOO as the Games go on.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Kimchi

Why do we send half baked athletes and expect them to win? Jesus Christ, government should give them more support if they expect them to win.

Don't they get a cash incentive for a victory, like $20k for a gold medal?

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

NBC's tape delayed broadcasts (I'm on PST as well) are great, but only if you a) don't care much about being "spoilered" and/or b) manage to maintain total information blackout before you watch the broadcast.

I was on the road listening to the radio when the sports guy was like, "Phelps is 2 minutes from starting the 200m freestyle finals" and then a couple minutes later, "There's another gold for Phelps" and I was... "oh." Oh well.

What I really hate about tape delay is when local stations broadcast results before the events even air. I still have a bad taste in my mouth from the 2002 Winter Olympics when Inside Edition held an interview with Tara Lipinski going "HEY YOU WON GREAT" before her showdown with Michelle Kwan even aired.

But hey, internet streams etc.

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

Originally Posted by Zephyrin

Kosuke screamed when he won the Men's 100m Breaststroke.

What's wrong with getting excited about winning?

Interesting article in the newspaper today:

Quote:

Victory dance of fist pumps, puffed-out chests runs deep
Los Angeles Times

Chimps do it. Gorillas do it. Michael Phelps does it, too.

The exuberant dance of victory - arms thrust toward the sky and chests puffed out at a defeated opponent - turns out to be an instinctive trait of all primates ... humans included, according to new research released Monday.

Scientists from the University of British Columbia and San Francisco State University looked at thousands of photographs of judo matches during the 2004 Summer Olympics and Paralympic games in Athens, Greece, for such classic in-your-face victory moves as clenched fists, thrown back heads and outstretched arms.

The images of the 140 blind and sighted athletes from 37 countries revealed that blind Paralympic athletes struck the same triumphant stance as sighted Olympic athletes. Because the blind athletes could not have learned the victory dance by watching others, the scientists concluded that the behavior was innate.

So there you go. When Phelps is whooping over a dominating performance in a race, he's not being arrogant but normal. Dude's an amazing athlete anyway, he's earned his cheering.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Speaking of Phelps, did anyone catch that report about what his daily calorie intake is? I was absolutely staggered.

Quote:

OLYMPIC GOLDEN BOY PHELPS EATS 12,000 CALORIES A DAY - New York Post

Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelet. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks packing 1,000 calories.

Dinner: One pound of pasta. An entire pizza. More energy drinks.

I have to wonder how much this guy spends on food in a week.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Don't remember the source, but I believe his typical routine (at least during the Olympics thus far) has involved him swimming around 5 miles daily from the warm-up/practice/cool down.

Also read that, despite all his activity, he apparently seems to have trouble keeping weight on. If you can eat that much and still lose weight, you've gotta be moving around like a maniac.

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Dunno why people like knocking on Phelps. Swimming is a sport where it's "easy" to rack up a lot of medals compared to other sports, true. It also lacks the drama of team sports or more glamorous activities (gymnastics, T&F, etc), but anyone has to admit that watching Phelps being able to dominate the field is an incredible feat. Heck, just being able to maintain his schedule is intense.

It'd be much easier to hate on Phelps if he were a dick, but he's not even that. Very good-natured guy.

I will say this, though: Somewhere out there, there's an orthodontist who would really love to work on Phelps.

Originally Posted by Capo

Participants must have at least one foot on the ground at all times.

That's pretty much it.

There's also something about the supporting leg having to be straight the entire time it's on the ground, hence the mad hip swaying. Or something.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Man, I adore our top swimmers. Phelps sucks at giving interviews, but he's such just such a happy guy you can't help but feel good anyway. It's a shame Coughlin and Torres couldn't grab gold in the final relay, but they're such great sportsmans. I especially like how Torres keeps chatting it up with the opponents (who are all like half her age) both pre- and post-race. What was it she said? "In the pool we're opponents but outside the pool we're all friends." Great stuff.

Bolt in the 100m was insane. Never seen anyone run a world record time so easily. I wonder what he'll be like in 2012 if he has someone who can push him hard.

Also caught the end of the women's marathon. Completely staggering how they can maintain that kind of pace for two hours, but it must be a positively awesome experience to enter the stadium on the final stretch.

Really despising NBC's broadcast delay and constant commercial breaks. I stay up past midnight quite often, but sometimes I just want to catch the most anticipated events a bit earlier, thanks. Also getting really tired of seeing the Exxon Mobil commericals, though I'm totally impressed by the United Airlines ones every time.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

It's official: Bolt is an insane sprinter. I hope he's got some seriously tough competition in 2012, since he can break world records without even looking like he's being pushed too much. Also, 2 DQs in the same race by the 2nd and 3rd place winners? Crazy stuff, but a nice break for the 4th and 5th place finishers.

Watched a bit of diving, and those Chinese divers are crazy. Every single time they jump off the platform it's amazing to watch how much more refined they seem to be above all the other divers. Hope the American and Canadian divers can push them.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Sousuke

Did anyone see Matthew Mitchum [the Aussie guy] when he won the 10m platform dive? That was fucking epic. What an emotional moment.

[It was funny too, one of the girls that hugged him was like "YOU JUST WON THE OLYMPICS", ]

Heck yeah I saw that. My jaw literally dropped when he did his dive. Absolutely fantastic work from that guy, though he did get lucky the Chinese diver botched his last dive. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, though (he was even a bit... flamboyant).

This probably sounds sadistic, but I like seeing athletes shed a tear or two if they manage to pull off a win. To me, it really shows how much they've invested in their competition if they show a bit of emotion like that. Wildly enthusiastic gesturing suffices most of the time, but it doesn't pack as much a punch.

Originally Posted by Muzza

the best reaction of the Olympics was by far Sally McLellan winning silver in the 100m hurdles. (Seriously, best interview ever )

Awesome. What a sweet interview! Never seen someone so totally overwhelmed by what they've just accomplished. It's nice that they let her ramble on there; NBC would've cut her off at least halfway through.

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

So it seems in 2012 what we have to look forward to are double decker buses, umbrellas, and future dominatrices. Good show, London!

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