London Olympics 2012

Funkenpants wrote:
davet010 wrote:

Ceremony is worth watching - hey, I had to sit through the whole thing, at least you might be able to fast-forward it.

IMAGE(http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/content/2012/7-13-12-ralph-lauren-uniforms/13133556-1-eng-US/7-13-12-Ralph-Lauren-uniforms_full_600.jpg)

Of course, it might have helped if someone had told them which way round a beret is worn. Someone on Twitter described it as "France's revenge for 'freedom fries'"

Nice giant logo on the pocket, too. Are our athletes representing the u.s. or the nation of Ralph Lauren?

LOL man those are ugly.

jowner wrote:
Funkenpants wrote:
davet010 wrote:

Ceremony is worth watching - hey, I had to sit through the whole thing, at least you might be able to fast-forward it.

IMAGE(http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/content/2012/7-13-12-ralph-lauren-uniforms/13133556-1-eng-US/7-13-12-Ralph-Lauren-uniforms_full_600.jpg)

Of course, it might have helped if someone had told them which way round a beret is worn. Someone on Twitter described it as "France's revenge for 'freedom fries'"

Nice giant logo on the pocket, too. Are our athletes representing the u.s. or the nation of Ralph Lauren?

LOL man those are ugly.

The nation of Ralph Lauren made in China.

Kobe made it look good somehow.

Could be worse. Could have golden pit-stain cloth.

Like sports video games, the Olympics hold no interest for me.

A glut of events will saturate the airwaves and all the fans and patriots will look up and shout "Watch the games!" ... and I'll look down and whisper "No."

[spoiler]Except hockey. I'll watch hockey. Or rugby.

It seems to be cool to hate the Olympics now, but I still love them. The personal interest stories and corporate stuff get on my nerves occasionally, but the competition is still great to watch.

Those opening ceremonies were unexpectedly amazing.

At the point where James Bond and HER FREAKIN' MAJESTY THE QUEEN barnstormed Tower Bridge in a helicopter to the tune of The Dambusters they could have dropped the mic, but it still continued to get more awesome.

Other highlights: Managing to protest the Tory dismantling of the NHS, using their own money, then rub their noses in it in front of a viewing audience of 4 billion people.

Having the teams march out to "Rez"

It was such a patriotic, loving, un-jingoistic, honest and accurate celebration of Britain it made me proud to live here.

billt721 wrote:

It seems to be cool to hate the Olympics now, but I still love them. The personal interest stories and corporate stuff get on my nerves occasionally, but the competition is still great to watch.

This is pretty much how I feel. IMHO there's a feeling of human solidarity that I just don't see in other big international competitions. It's one of the reasons I enjoy it far more than the World Cup, though in fairness I do like to see my home USA actually win on occassion.

At the point where James Bond and HER FREAKIN' MAJESTY THE QUEEN barnstormed Tower Bridge in a helicopter to the tune of The Dambusters they could have dropped the mic, but it still continued to get more awesome.

Other highlights: Managing to protest the Tory dismantling of the NHS, using their own money, then rub their noses in it in front of a viewing audience of 4 billion people.

Daniel Craig and the queen were awesome. Interesting - as a "Yank" (though being born south of the Mason Dixon line that term doesn't really apply) I totally missed the dig about the national health services.

May I also say as a lifelong reader and wannabe writer that it was awesome to see English literature so nicely celebrated? You just wouldn't see that in an American celebration - real Ahhmericuns don't read.

jdzappa wrote:

real Ahhmericuns don't read.

Are you trying to tag yourself?

Maq wrote:

It was such a patriotic, loving, un-jingoistic, honest and accurate celebration of Britain it made me proud to live here.

QFT. I was absolutely glued to the coverage last night. Danny Boyle had better get a knighthood.

I thought they were going to fumble and not include Pink Floyd. They had a montage that strangely included Planet of the Apes and Wall-E, but no Pink Floyd. And then they finished with Floyd.

I was wondering why there was no Doctor Who reference but apparently there was and NBC cut it out. They also cut out the memorial for the victims of the 2005 terrorist attack but then Costas wouldn't shut up about them not having anything about Munich.

I wish there was a network that just employed cameramen.

Maq wrote:

Those opening ceremonies were unexpectedly amazing.

At the point where James Bond and HER FREAKIN' MAJESTY THE QUEEN barnstormed Tower Bridge in a helicopter to the tune of The Dambusters they could have dropped the mic, but it still continued to get more awesome.

Other highlights: Managing to protest the Tory dismantling of the NHS, using their own money, then rub their noses in it in front of a viewing audience of 4 billion people.

Having the teams march out to "Rez"

It was such a patriotic, loving, un-jingoistic, honest and accurate celebration of Britain it made me proud to live here.

Spot on - I ended up sitting through the whole thing, even loved the procession of the athletes and flags. Also appreciated that they didn't get David Beckham to do anything other than be a delivery boy, and also that the lighting of the Olympic flame was done by 7 of tomorrow's athletes, not someone from yesterday or today. I just wish that they'd not gotten Muhammed Ali involved - not because he doesn't deserve to be, but because he is such a shell of the person he was.

Final word, I think, to the Times columnist.

Columnist Simon Barnes said "London turned down the option to celebrate giants and supermen and power and might and chose instead to celebrate people".

iaintgotnopants wrote:

I was wondering why there was no Doctor Who reference but apparently there was and NBC cut it out. They also cut out the memorial for the victims of the 2005 terrorist attack but then Costas wouldn't shut up about them not having anything about Munich.

I wish there was a network that just employed cameramen.

They cut out the 7/7 tribute? My God. What possible justification could there be for that? It was the day after the bid was approved, and survivors and family were in the crowd. I know the scale was not comparable to 9/11 in terms of life lost, but it was the worst terror attack on UK soil for a long time.

Munich was memorialised in the official BBC commentary, when the Israeli team came out.

The BBC had an option to watch without commentary, which was a really good idea. The commentators kept spoiling what was going to happen next.

davet010 wrote:

I just wish that they'd not gotten Muhammed Ali involved - not because he doesn't deserve to be, but because he is such a shell of the person he was.

I shed a tear when I saw him. It's a role that he has played before, and it seems wrong to exclude him because he is so ill, but it made me very sad to see him like that, with his companion begging him to wave. He didn't have a clue where he was.

And if ever a sentence or two could sum up a ceremony...

"And many jokes there were in a ceremony that was at once comical but thoughtful - a portrait of a country that, with the eyes of the world upon it, has the confidence to laugh at itself.

If our international guests are left with the impression that Britain is contemplative and daft, self-deprecating and clever, organised and whimsical, controlled and rebellious - then the ceremony has done its job."

Who didn't laugh at James Bond picking up Her Maj at the Palace (nice Brazilian kids nod to Rio 2016), zipping along the Thames and skydiving out

spider_j wrote:

The BBC had an option to watch without commentary, which was a really good idea. The commentators kept spoiling what was going to happen next.

We were on that like a shot. It was either that or hold a pillow over Trevor Nelson's face until the twitching stopped.

He bothered me less than Huw Edwards, who seemed hell-bent on letting every secret out of the bag! Nelson is annoying, but Ewards is supposed to be a professional.

spider_j wrote:

He bothered me less than Huw Edwards, who seemed hell-bent on letting every secret out of the bag! Nelson is annoying, but Ewards is supposed to be a professional.

I never hear anything Huw says because as soon as he starts speaking my wife and I start up with the hilariously stereotyped Welsh accents and fall over laughing.

Hello boyos! It's Huw Jones Jones Jones Davy Jonsey Hyphen Jones here and I'm well Welsh!

Hm, one of NBC Olympics headlines is "shocker, Great Britain beats china in gymnastics qualifying." But it's not really a shocker is it? The host team always gets a leg up in the judged sports. Just like China did 4 years ago.

That was one bit of commentary that was useful last night. They said the host nation usually sees its medal count go up by 50% from the previous Olympics. I'm sure some of that is due to the automatic qualification in some of the team sports, but a lot of it is due to the favorable judging in other sports.

It also looks like NBC are being jerks again with their primetime stuff. The Swimming finals that actually happen around 2-3pm here have no link for watching online, nor is it on any of the 6 or so channels covering stuff at the time it's actually happening. Tape delay for prime time advertising, very sickening.

I get most of my event watching on Canadian channels or other internet sources. Heck, for the longest time, my mom and I would watch the opening ceremonies on CBC because they didn't cut out anything and streamed all the time.

Anyway, events I'm following are football, rowing, and tennis. Might catch up on archery and fencing.

Gutted for Cavendish but when only the Brits are trying to chance down a group of over 30 riders which include classic riders and time trailers, it was always going to be a big ask so soon after the Tour.
What I don't understand is the total negitivity of the Germans, Grepal has beaten Cav in a straight up sprint this year, yet they refused to help until it was way too late.
Also the Aussies decided it was better than GB lost than they have a shot at the medal, oh well at least they will be happy.

The opening last night was amazing, Danny Boyle nailed it. The first 20 mins or so with the Industrial Revolution was outstanding, also getting in digs at the Tories over the NHS and British Film industry. And how the flame was lit, was brilliant.

Anyway, going to enjoy these Olympics and I have even got tickets. I'm off to the Olympics!

P.S Jerusalem should be the our national anthem.

Stele wrote:

Tape delay for prime time advertising, very sickening. :mad:

They paid a lot of money to televise the games. I can't begrudge them holding back on some of the most popular events to build a prime time audience. I see streaming as the place for all those sports you never got to see in the prime time coverage.

Stele wrote:

Hm, one of NBC Olympics headlines is "shocker, Great Britain beats china in gymnastics qualifying." But it's not really a shocker is it?

Not really since China's 12 year olds from last time are now 16.

Anyone know where I can watch the opening ceremony online?

US women had a bit of a scare in basketball, but then went on a tear in the 4th quarter to win by 20. Good to see former Louisville Cardinal Angel McCaughtry out there. She had a great game in her Olympic debut.

Not to be contrary, but I and my entire family all thought the opening ceremonies were laughably bad. The videos, the sad attempt to be relevant with the 'love story', the glowering queen. NBC's Macy's Day Parade style coverage didn't help any. Different strokes, I guess.

But, yay, women's USA soccer!

Gold! Gold to Australia!

/Norman May

I found the opening ceremonies to be utterly confusing and bizarre; I turned them off. Then again, I always think opening ceremonies are dumb.

I watched table tennis, then a bunch of fencing. I would watch the little sports all day long, they're just fun.

We all enjoyed the Opening Ceremonies at the Aristophan household. I thought it was all tickety boo!

IMAGE(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/302321_10151129854051145_1360439385_n.jpg)

Awesome and stylish.

So Phelps failed to medal in swimming today. First time in 18? races.

Of course we can't actually see that in America for another 2+ hours. No replay or feed on the web site, but there's a big ol' article on the front page telling it anyway. So why not just let us see the damn video NBC?

Argh, sorry to gripe about the coverage but this is just dumb.

Enjoyed watching some US volleyball wins this afternoon, both indoors and on the beach.