The official Athens 2004 olympic games thread

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In about two hours the official opening of the 2004 olympics is about to start (with the music score of the dutch DJ Tiesto BTW). In light of that and the coming sports the following weeks I opened this thread.

My eyes will especially be on the 200m freestyle swimming where Pieter van den hoogenband, Ian Thorpe and Mark Spitz will battle for the gold like Titans.

So post your favourites, predictions and general olympic banter here!

[ August 14, 2004, 20:20: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

 

Is it just me, or is there not as much hype surrounding the Olympics as there used to be?

 

Maybe McDonalds dropped their sponsoring...

 

Perhaps this post isn't what someone would be expecting from me but...

I didn't want the games in the first place for various reasons and I still don't want them but the only thing that I can do is to sit and wait the end of games in order life here to be normal again.

Why I didn't want the games and why I still have a negative opinion about them? First of all because I don't believe to all the BS that they represent the "ancient immortal athletic spirit" and the "healthy competition of amateur athletes". The only thing that the games represent are the sponsors and the people who earn money from them, nothing else.

I didn't want the games because as a taxpayer I have to pay for them for the next 25 years. The cost was very high even in the initial plan and now it has become higher due to delays, changes of plans and WTC. In case you don't know it the cost of the security is three times higher than the Sidney olympics. Also, lot of money were spent in facilities that will be completely useless after end of the games, and all these money could be spent somewhere that it would be more usefull like education or health (I wonder what the hell are we going to do the studiums of hockey, softball etc). In addition to the cost of the games add and the cost of the mainteance of the facilities after the end of the game.

I didn't want the games because the only people who are going to benefit from the games are the 5 families who control the construction industry here. Did you know the the husband of the president of "Athens 2004 Organization" owns the major steel industry and ofcourse he was the main supplier of steel for the olympic facilities and the other related constructions? Although the thing that really drove me crazy was the call for volunteers. People, who were paid with thousands of euros for the preparation of the games, were asking from the rest of us to come and work for free.

I didn't want the games because now Athens is a city under police and military rule. Don't go there, don't drive here, you aren't allowed to park there, this is exactly the everyday life here since the beginning of August. Also, add 2 zepelins and an unknown number of helicopters, which are flying all over the city spying everything plus 1500 security cameras and you have an orwellian city. The sad thing is that even if the zepellins and the helicopters will be here just for the duration of the games, the security cameras will remain and they'll just rename them to traffic cameras or something similar.

End of rant. Perhaps I'll continue later.

 

I couldn't care less about the olympics.

A serious waste of money it is for sure, and a royal pain in the *ss it is too, from what I hear from BOC.

I never seem to enjoy the games. Seperate contests (The Tour, WC football) are far more interesting sports-wise IMHO.

 

Yeah, I lost my enthusiasm for Olympics back in 2000. I think it's because I stopped watching TV regularly and so CBC doesn't draw me towards the Olympics. Plus we all get older and interests change.

I don't have any particular event in mind if I watch though. I don't even know who our medal hopefuls are anymore. But if I had to pick a sport, it would be perhaps table tennis or tennis... something that I play often myself where I might learn something. We'll see if that gets broadcasted.

 

The olympics are cool. Oh and I thought Mark Spitz quit swimming in the seventies? I think you meant Michael Phelps.

Sweden has a few gold hopes but as usual I am sure all of them will choke or get injured or something.

I do agree though that the interest doesnt seem to be as hyped as normally although it is there.

[ August 13, 2004, 21:00: Message edited by: joacqin ]

 

The teams are marching to the arena right now, coming from the Eurosport Live. It's like whoah: over 200 teams at it has taken thus far almost an hour to introduce about 80 of them. Laos just walking in.

Sure is a BIG event

 

@joaquin

Yeah they were comparing the two swimmers yesterday, my bad.

What's with this negative attitude to the olympics? I didn't hear this with the Euro2004 where the sponsoring was twice as bad. The olympics are cool and who cares what they represent, it's about sportive accomplishments. I thought the olympics would be way more supportive here on SP than the Euro2004?

 

I don't know about the sponsoring in Euro, what I know is that in olympics sponsors can do whatever they want to. You are not even allowed to enter the facilities if you wear a shirt with the trademark of companies which are competitors of the sponsors. As for the sportive accomplishments you must be joking. Sportive accomblishments by who? By men and women, who each one of them has more chemicals running in their veins than all the junkies I know (and I know many junkies)?

 

You're right about the drugs, BOC. It's about which country has the best chemists, who can make a good drug that can't be detected, who can take the most and still beat the drug test...It's going to be fun anyway, at least to me.

 

Well I enjoy the olimpics but when it comes to sports in general football rates spots 1-50 for me. I am just mildly interested in other sports. It can be fun but I am not a fanatic as I am when it comes to football.

 

Not too many people in England actually give a **** about the Olympics nowadays tbh. It's just full of cheating druggies lets be honest.

 

It has been full of cheating druggies, it is now finally things are being done about that. The eighties were cheating galore and every single winner there were pumped full of god knows what. I actually think it is becoming cleaner, a lot cleaner. The cheaters are caught nowadays, perhaps not all but many. Heh, actually Bush II has made a real effort when it comes to this. He instigated a real crack down on doping in the US something which has never been done before.

 

I was watching the Archery competition this morning, as the qualification to the Olympics, and sport my butt! Those damn things have GPS coordination systems, stabilizers, laser locks, coffee machines and whatnots, the arrows even have the same guidance system as the Tomahawk missiles.
The only thing the sporters have to do is to pull the string and woosh! 180!

The biggest prestation has already been made, getting the roof on the stadium in time in greek style That's worth a golden medal.

 

I only watch the 100/200/400metres sprint. I gamble on it with my sisters/dad and all. Race! Race! I'm always excited when that's on. The rest licks balls IMO. I can't believe people visit the stadium. The races take 10 sec's each, then we have to play the waiting game.

Guess I'm just not a fanatic when it comes to sports. Even football. I like footy games though, and all games sports, except button-mashers.

 

May the best performance enhancing drug win!

 

New update: an Iranean wrestler may have withdrawn from the Olympics because he had to wrestle an Israeli, and the country's belief is taht Israel "does not exist."

Way to ruin the spirit of the Olympics.

 

Love the olympics...hate the commercials every four minutes.

 

I find that I don't care about the Olympics for 4 years but once they come around, I'm rivetted to them. Well done to Greece, that opening ceremony was spectacular. Bring on the games, I can't wait now. Sports Illustrated predicted that New Zealand would get 5 gold medals. I'd be surprised if we got that many, but we'll have to wait and see.