Turin/Torino Olympics 2006!

Curubethion · 02-10-2006, 10:30 PM

Okay, this is the one thread for all of your Olympics discussion. My first thought: that ski-jumper that they had all of the people make in the Opening Ceremony was really, really cool.

Meriadoc Brandybuck · 02-11-2006, 01:43 AM

The Opening Ceremony had a guy who called himself the "Lord of the Ring". Nice.

trolls' bane · 02-11-2006, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curubethion

Okay, this is the one thread for all of your Olympics discussion. My first thought: that ski-jumper that they had all of the people make in the Opening Ceremony was really, really cool.

Oh no. Is it that time of year already!? I was just getting over the tortures of Football season.

**Nurvingiel** · 02-11-2006, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trolls' bane

Oh no. Is it that time of year already!? I was just getting over the tortures of Football season.

Then my friend, I believe this comic is for you: Penny Arcade.

I have mixed feelings about the Olympics. I mean, us Vancouverites are hosting the next Winter Olympics (2010) and I want them to go well in Torino and for us. I love sports, and I love watching sports. The Olympics are exciting because we get to see world class amateur athletes play in an extremely challenging competition.
Best of all, I get to watch women's hockey.

BUT. I'm not going to let this ruin the sports for me, but this is a bit "but" (and I cannot lie). The Olympics are corrupt. They have become exceedingly commercial within the last 20 years. The organisation has taken on a life of its own, and it is no longer solely about the athletes.

Corruption though, is the real problem. Beijing has been awarded the 2008 Olympics, and so far, 400'000 citizens of Beijing have been displaced to make room for Olympic facilities. A non-corrupt Olympics committee never would have given the Chinese government (distinction made because I have no problem with China as a country) the Olympics.

Only my deep love of sport keeps me from being thouroughlly disgusted with the whole affair. But let's look at the sports. Why are some sports in the Olympics and others not? Only a few sports like the pentathalon and track and field aren't arbitrary. It makes sense to include sports like swimming and cycling and hey, I see soccer is in there too. But why isn't rugby an Olympic sport? Because it already has a world-wide competition? So does soccer.

Why is men's hockey the only sport that allows professional athletes in the Olympics? This wreaks havoc on the NHL season once every four years, not that I have any sympathy. (I love hockey, but a few things not related to actual hockey playing tick me off.) Men's hockey already has a world-wide amateur competition, the World Junior Hockey Championships, so why is it in the Olympics?

I'm not saying these sports don't deserve to be in the Olympics, but I am saying, why these sports and not others? I can give one reason: marketing. While soccer (Olympic sport) and rugby (not) are both not "good" televised sports (not enough time for ad breaks), soccer will draw millions of viewers, and rugby will not.

edit: Did anyone else think Turin Turambar?

trolls' bane · 02-11-2006, 03:20 PM

LOL!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nurvingiel

edit: Did anyone else think Turin Turambar?

Of course I did!

Spock · 02-11-2006, 06:45 PM

I'm a bit put off by Michelle Kwan. She wasn't up to the trials, then goes and gets a medical bye and now says she isn't feeling 100% and may not compete. After five world championships, she should have just stayed home. It's sad the competitiveness drives logic out of the mind. She should have stayed home and gotten totally better. Of course, I love to see her skate though

trolls' bane · 02-11-2006, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spock

I'm a bit put off by Michelle Kwan. She wasn't up to the trials, then goes and gets a medical bye and now says she isn't feeling 100% and may not compete. After five world championships, she should have just stayed home. It's sad the competitiveness drives logic out of the mind. She should have stayed home and gotten totally better. Of course, I love to see her skate though

Who?

Last Child of Ungoliant · 02-18-2006, 07:22 PM

i haven't been payin attention to the limpics, i hate sport

trolls' bane · 02-20-2006, 08:57 PM

Too true, Pippin.

***HOBBIT*** · 02-20-2006, 09:56 PM

Can you make your signature smaller. A lot smaller?

trolls' bane · 02-20-2006, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOBBIT

Can you make your signature smaller. A lot smaller?

Mine?
Aww, and it's within the limit! Okay.

rohirrim TR · 02-21-2006, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOBBIT

Can you make your signature smaller. A lot smaller?

thats no small sig you have yourself...

***HOBBIT*** · 02-21-2006, 12:21 PM

oh? its pretty normal sized.

Women's Figure Skating tonight. Well I guess its going on now - but it isn't broadcast until tonight.

Go Sasha Cohen :P And USA.

***Jonathan*** · 02-23-2006, 05:27 PM

The medals have just kept on coming. This has turned out to be Sweden's best Olympic games ever and there are still a few medals left for Sweden to fight for

As of today we have 5 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals.

02-10-2006, 10:30 PM	#1
Curubethion Fenway Ranger, Lord of Red Sox Nation Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: College! Posts: 1,976	Turin/Torino Olympics 2006! Okay, this is the one thread for all of your Olympics discussion. My first thought: that ski-jumper that they had all of the people make in the Opening Ceremony was really, really cool. __________________ Adventure...betrayal...heroism... Atharon: where heroes are born. My wife once said to me—when I'd been writing for ten or fifteen years—that I could always go back to being a nuclear engineer. And I said to her, 'Harriet, would you let someone who quit his job to go write fantasy anywhere near your nuclear reactor? I wouldn't!' (Robert Jordan)

02-11-2006, 01:43 AM	#2
Meriadoc Brandybuck Magnificent Master of Buckland Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Buckland, U.S.A. Posts: 1,138	The Opening Ceremony had a guy who called himself the "Lord of the Ring". Nice. __________________ But it is the way of my people to use light words at such times and say less than they mean. We fear to say to much. It robs us of the right words when a jest is out of place. -Meriadoc Brandybuck Is there anything I can do that wouldn't inconvenience me?.-Adrian Monk Hogan: What's a definate factor that we can count on? Newkirk: We don't know what we're doing. Do you wanna split a pineapple? -Shawn Spencer

02-11-2006, 06:45 PM	#6
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	I'm a bit put off by Michelle Kwan. She wasn't up to the trials, then goes and gets a medical bye and now says she isn't feeling 100% and may not compete. After five world championships, she should have just stayed home. It's sad the competitiveness drives logic out of the mind. She should have stayed home and gotten totally better. Of course, I love to see her skate though __________________ Vizzini: "HE DIDN'T FALL?! INCONCEIVABLE!!" Inigo: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

02-20-2006, 08:57 PM	#9
trolls' bane Entmoot Secretary of the Treasury Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Campsite-by-Giraffe Posts: 5,408	Too true, Pippin. __________________ KI6PFA Amateur Radio Operator

02-20-2006, 09:56 PM	#10
*HOBBIT* Saviour of Entmoot Admiral Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: NC/NJ (no longer Same place as bmilder.) Posts: 61,986	Can you make your signature smaller. A lot smaller? __________________ President Emeritus (2000-2004) Private message (or email) me if you need any assistance. I am here to help! "I'm up to here with cool, ok? I'm so amazingly cool you could keep a side of meat in me for a month. I am so hip I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis" - Zaphod Beeblebrox Latest Blog Post: Just Quit Facebook? No One Cares!

02-18-2006, 07:22 PM	#8
Last Child of Ungoliant The Intermittent One Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: here and there Posts: 4,671	i haven't been payin attention to the limpics, i hate sport

02-21-2006, 12:21 PM	#13
*HOBBIT* Saviour of Entmoot Admiral Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: NC/NJ (no longer Same place as bmilder.) Posts: 61,986	oh? its pretty normal sized. Women's Figure Skating tonight. Well I guess its going on now - but it isn't broadcast until tonight. Go Sasha Cohen :P And USA. __________________ President Emeritus (2000-2004) Private message (or email) me if you need any assistance. I am here to help! "I'm up to here with cool, ok? I'm so amazingly cool you could keep a side of meat in me for a month. I am so hip I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis" - Zaphod Beeblebrox Latest Blog Post: Just Quit Facebook? No One Cares!

02-23-2006, 05:27 PM	#14
*Jonathan* Entmoot Attorney-General, Equilibrating the Scales of Justice, Administrator ♎ Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 3,891	The medals have just kept on coming. This has turned out to be Sweden's best Olympic games ever and there are still a few medals left for Sweden to fight for As of today we have 5 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals. __________________ An unwritten post is a delightful universe of infinite possibilities. Set down one word, however, and it immediately becomes earthbound. Set down one sentence and it’s halfway to being just like every other bloody entry that’s ever been written. ☻

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