Official 2008 Olympics Thread (FINAL:USA most medals, China most golds)

The Chinese government has their problems, hell yeah they do, a lot of countries do, but can't we admire what they accomplished without bringing that trash in here? Jesus Christ.

They put on an amazing show, kudos China.
 
I have to agree with Greetard. You can't look at the Games while ignoring the Chinese government's extremely heavy crackdown on dissidents and protesters. They have their citizens on lockdown if they're not in lockstep with the propaganda. Go ask the Tibetans what their opinion of the Games is. Chinese internet access is laughable, it's more of an intranet than anything else. Foreign reporters and journalists only had as much access to the area and people as government officials would allow them. The Olympics is actually an excellent time to bring Chinese criticism to the forefront since a worldwide spotlight is shining directly on them.
 
[quote name='neocisco']I have to agree with Greetard. You can't look at the Games while ignoring the Chinese government's extremely heavy crackdown on dissidents and protesters. They have their citizens on lockdown if they're not in lockstep with the propaganda. Go ask the Tibetans what their opinion of the Games is. Chinese internet access is laughable, it's more of an intranet than anything else. Foreign reporters and journalists only had as much access to the area and people as government officials would allow them. The Olympics is actually an excellent time to bring Chinese criticism to the forefront since a worldwide spotlight is shining directly on them.[/QUOTE]

Ok, but what the fuck does this retarded shit have anything to do with how the opening and ending ceremony went? Exactly NOTHING. It will be DECADES before anyone even tops this choreography.
 
NBC played the closing ceremony over again, in full. I stayed up an extra 45 minutes for the 30 seconds of extremely hot violin chick next to Beckham. 2:30 am now.


It was worth it.
 
[quote name='Koggit']NBC played the closing ceremony over again, in full. I stayed up an extra 45 minutes for the 30 seconds of extremely hot violin chick next to Beckham. 2:30 am now.


It was worth it.[/QUOTE]
Yeah seriously who was that? I agree with neocisco and Greetard though.
 
Thought I would share this article.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/be...ug=cr-somalirunners082408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Think its a good message and should be more what the Olympics are about. We are so focused nowadays on the science of the Olympics and the negative politics such as the terrorist attacks and Chinas human right records....we forget that the Olympics can be a time for nations to come together and reach out to each other. Its sad that no one realizes this and uses it as a time to reach out to smaller warring countries like this.
 
Geez. I mean they put up the floating "flower" thing during the ceremonies, there's fireworks going off, huge dance numbers, and then Costas says "We'll be back for more."

For more?

Wtf, China. What in the hell else could you possibly have done at that point?

Criminy. What a show. Except for the London Bus part. Preemptive look at hard-act-to-follow! I think they've literally got to start planning the show today to match that stuff.

Oh well. A fantastic Olympics. I don't even remember much from the previous two except that one had really low ratings because they were airing them at some weird time. Kind of makes me want to go to the London opening ceremonies just to finally be able to say I'd gone to one. Do people buy tickets to those? Or is the public not allowed in? I never understood that.

Anyway great fun. Lots of great stories to tell and remember and learn.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Thought I would share this article.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/be...ug=cr-somalirunners082408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Think its a good message and should be more what the Olympics are about. We are so focused nowadays on the science of the Olympics and the negative politics such as the terrorist attacks and Chinas human right records....we forget that the Olympics can be a time for nations to come together and reach out to each other. Its sad that no one realizes this and uses it as a time to reach out to smaller warring countries like this.[/quote]

what a beautiful story. it made my day.

anyway, i thought the olympics were superb, the chinese did an amazing job.

18 months and counting down to the Vancouver Winter Olympics
 
Was it just me or did everyone think the Mayor of London looked like a big buffoon during the handoff of the Olympic flag? Ridiculously unkempt, dishelveled and rumpled next to the elegant and poised Chinese Premier and IOC Chairman that passed him the Olympics flag. London has no prayer to match what China did I'm afraid.
 
As long as the competition is good, I couldn't care less about the ceremonies. I think I watched 10 minutes or so of each before I got bored and flipped the channel. Nice choreography, fireworks etc., but just boring as shit to watch on TV.
 
[quote name='keithp']Was it just me or did everyone think the Mayor of London looked like a big buffoon during the handoff of the Olympic flag? Ridiculously unkempt, dishelveled and rumpled next to the elegant and poised Chinese Premier and IOC Chairman that passed him the Olympics flag. London has no prayer to match what China did I'm afraid.[/QUOTE]

I thought he looked like a long lost Kennedy relative, spliced with a few bits of Jimmy Carter.

He looked like he couldn't wait to get back home and watch the telly.
 
Does anybody know if there is a place online to watch the ceremony? Had to miss it because I had to go to bed insanely early.

Loved the Olympics, hated NBC.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']As long as the competition is good, I couldn't care less about the ceremonies. I think I watched 10 minutes or so of each before I got bored and flipped the channel. Nice choreography, fireworks etc., but just boring as shit to watch on TV.[/QUOTE]

It's not just the ceremonies... brand new, large, amazing facilities... immaculate landscaping... hell, 100s of volunteers scraping gum off of a 50 meter stretch in the middle of a 2 hour marathon? You think London's gonna do that?

While I agree that the games are good regardless of host, just from the amazing Olympians, fact is China played a huge part in why these 2008 games kicked so much ass.
 
[quote name='gokou36']Ok, but what the fuck does this retarded shit have anything to do with how the opening and ending ceremony went? Exactly NOTHING. It will be DECADES before anyone even tops this choreography.[/quote]

The topic's about the Olympic Games as a whole, not just the ceremonies. Do us a solid and brush up on your reading comprehension, eh slick?
 
[quote name='keithp']Was it just me or did everyone think the Mayor of London looked like a big buffoon during the handoff of the Olympic flag? Ridiculously unkempt, dishelveled and rumpled next to the elegant and poised Chinese Premier and IOC Chairman that passed him the Olympics flag. London has no prayer to match what China did I'm afraid.[/quote]

Yep. The problem is that the mayor's predecessor was the one who was responsible for bringing the games to London. All the other guy had to do was show up in Beijing, and I didn't feel he did a great job at even doing that. (sorry in advance, if I sound overly critical) As much distaste I have for China's government, I gotta say they do look sharp.
 
Missed most of the ceremonies, but I second the sentiment most people here have noted: What the fuck was that London? Here I am with the beautiful orchestration and artistic elements of China's opening and closing ceremonies. Then they cut to Michael Phelps walking down a runway to be interviewed by some Maury Povich, Oprah Winfrey, Ryan Seacrest half-breed. Then they top it off with jets flying over Buckingham trailing red, white and blue smoke, as the announcer excitedly reminds viewers that "OMG, jets are flying over Buckingham with colored smoke". Epic!

Certainly I wasn't expecting a full-on show by London there, but what I saw was a huge drop off from China's majesty that was the opening and closing ceremonies. I missed this violin chick as well, so that may have tempered my views of it to be lukewarm, if not cold. Until I see a pic or video my thoughts stand.

BTW, OP. It's medal. I think Jackson's Junk Yard Depot off of I-58 wins the award for most metals.
 
[quote name='keithp']Was it just me or did everyone think the Mayor of London looked like a big buffoon during the handoff of the Olympic flag? Ridiculously unkempt, dishelveled and rumpled next to the elegant and poised Chinese Premier and IOC Chairman that passed him the Olympics flag. London has no prayer to match what China did I'm afraid.[/QUOTE]

That was Boris Johnson. He's famous for that so no one should be surprised.
 
[quote name='Koggit']It's not just the ceremonies... brand new, large, amazing facilities... immaculate landscaping... hell, 100s of "volunteers" scraping gum off of a 50 meter stretch in the middle of a 2 hour marathon? You think London's gonna do that?

While I agree that the games are good regardless of host, just from the amazing Olympians, fact is communism played a huge part in why these 2008 games kicked so much ass.[/quote]

Fixed.
 
[quote name='Greetard']The topic's about the Olympic Games as a whole, not just the ceremonies. Do us a solid and brush up on your reading comprehension, eh slick?[/QUOTE]

Really? All I see is you whining about how China's Government is so bad. In fact, none of your 3 posts are ABOUT the competition. Keep crying please~

I hope to god that NBC never gets to show the Olympics ever again. Why the fuck do they do these stupid interviews when they should be showing either live coverage or replays? Cutting parts here and there, I wonder if their diving commentary is even live.
 
[quote name='crunchb3rry']I only like a thing or two from the opening and closing ceremonies. 90% of it was pretentious ego stroking.[/QUOTE]

Most of the pieces were about unity & change... how is that pretentious? I thought they were great, both in spectacle and message.
 
so these olympics were the most watched television program in history, let alone the most watched olympics ever.

so why did so many people watch? from the opening ceremony i was watching every day until midnight or later. i've never watched the olympics like i did this time around in such volume.

it's kind of strange. was it the primetime coverage? curiosity of china? michael phelps?
 
[quote name='Koggit']Most of the pieces were about unity & change... how is that pretentious? I thought they were great, both in spectacle and message.[/quote]

Which is laughably (unless your Tibetan) ironic considering the host country.
 
[quote name='neocisco']Which is laughably (unless your Tibetan) ironic considering the host country.[/QUOTE]

Not really, it isn't -- at all.


You hate communism, we get it. I ignored your first post for a reason. Moving on...
 
[quote name='gokou36']Really? All I see is you whining about how China's Government is so bad. In fact, none of your 3 posts are ABOUT the competition. Keep crying please~

I hope to god that NBC never gets to show the Olympics ever again. Why the fuck do they do these stupid interviews when they should be showing either live coverage or replays? Cutting parts here and there, I wonder if their diving commentary is even live.[/quote]

Because the government and the games go hand in hand. You can't justify the ends when the means were so fucked. The competition was great, I watched almost every night, but that was for the athletes. I'm not going to praise the Chinese like every other idiot for putting up some pretty lights and loud music after seeing what they did to put them up in the first place.

And again, Koggit, ignorantly taking a legitimate issue and brushing it off as hate speech. Yeah, real worldly. Doesn't matter how shit happened as long as it makes things on the boob-tube look good? Class-A.
 
[quote name='Access_Denied']Nobody mentioned that Jimmy Paige did the vocals to Stairway to Heaven. :([/QUOTE]

Probably because he didn't do the vocals and the song he played was "Whole Lotta Love" not "Stairway to Heaven". :roll:
 
[quote name='rickonker']Yeah seriously who was that? I agree with neocisco and Greetard though.[/QUOTE]

I actually downloaded the ceremony (1.5gb) just for her. I got some screengrabs...

grab22176.jpg


grab22135.jpg


grab22074.jpg


grab21988.jpg


grab21959.jpg


:drool:

I've always had a thing for violin chicks, even when they aren't in hot pants.
 
[quote name='Koggit']I actually downloaded the ceremony (1.5gb) just for her. I got some screengrabs...

:drool:

I've always had a thing for violin chicks, even when they aren't in hot pants.[/quote]

Great pictures. It nice to see handle a woman such a large piece of wood near her mouth while stroking it back and forth. That and it appears she enjoyed doing so.
 
[quote name='gokou36']Really? All I see is you whining about how China's Government is so bad. In fact, none of your 3 posts are ABOUT the competition. Keep crying please~

I hope to god that NBC never gets to show the Olympics ever again. Why the fuck do they do these stupid interviews when they should be showing either live coverage or replays? Cutting parts here and there, I wonder if their diving commentary is even live.[/quote]

So legitimate human rights concerns about the Chinese government qualifies as "retarded shit, whining, and crying?"

It doesn't surprise me how well the Olympics did ratings-wise. This one stood out with superstar athletes whose performances were spread throughout the entire duration of show.
 
Legitimate human rights concerns are retarded, whining, crying shit when interjected into discussions where it has no place. It's a topic I'd love to discuss (and one I've studied extensively) but this isn't the place. Start a thread in vs if you have any important points to make.

It's akin to if America had hosted the games, done a fantastic job, and discussion about the games resulted in nothing but petty bickering about the war and shady lobbyist deals. There's a time and place for criticism of China, but it's not here.
 
[quote name='keithp']Probably because he didn't do the vocals and the song he played was "Whole Lotta Love" not "Stairway to Heaven". :roll:[/quote]

Shows what I know. I just heard about though, I didn't actually watch it. But now I know. :wave:
 
[quote name='Koggit']I actually downloaded the ceremony (1.5gb) just for her. I got some screengrabs...
:drool:

I've always had a thing for violin chicks, even when they aren't in hot pants.[/quote]

You don't have to have a thing for violin chicks to appreciate that. :drool:
 
If some of us want to discuss Chinese communism in relation to the Olympics hosted by China we can and we will. If you don't agree with an opposing opinion to yours, guess what? You can do that. But trying to tell me where and when I'll discuss it? Try again. By the way, when you use phrases like "retarded, whining, crying shit" it robs you of all credibility.
 
[quote name='neocisco']"retarded, whining, crying shit"[/QUOTE]

That was paraphrased from DQT, who paraphrased gokou36. Try to keep up.
 
Say what you want about China, they are the world's next superpower and will soon eclipse the U.S.. Gonna have to learn to live with 'em.
 
[quote name='Koggit']Legitimate human rights concerns are retarded, whining, crying shit when interjected into discussions where it has no place. It's a topic I'd love to discuss (and one I've studied extensively) but this isn't the place. Start a thread in vs if you have any important points to make.

It's akin to if America had hosted the games, done a fantastic job, and discussion about the games resulted in nothing but petty bickering about the war and shady lobbyist deals. There's a time and place for criticism of China, but it's not here.[/QUOTE]

You know, I agree with you that this is not the thread for criticizing China, but you of all people should not talk about being off-topic in threads.
 
[quote name='DQT']So legitimate human rights concerns about the Chinese government qualifies as "retarded shit, whining, and crying?"

It doesn't surprise me how well the Olympics did ratings-wise. This one stood out with superstar athletes whose performances were spread throughout the entire duration of show.[/QUOTE]

Yes, because like Koggit said, there is a POLITICS FORUM. If you want to talk about how the Chinese Government screwed you over, go to that forum and post away. There is no need for that shit in here.

If anyone thinks I am defending the Chinese Government, they are idiots. I hate communist but that doesn't mean that I should cry about the good work that these people put into the show.
 
You guys keep on trying to separate the injustices done to their poor from the topic of the Olympics, when I'm trying to highlight the injustices done to their poor because of the Olympics. The Iraq war would have no bearing on the Olympics if it were held in the U.S.- we wouldn't bulldoze poor neighborhoods and force people to work endless hours at less than minimum wage because of it. That's a terrible analogy, especially for someone who (OMG!!) studied human rights extensively.
 
[quote name='Koggit']That was paraphrased from DQT, who paraphrased gokou36. Try to keep up.[/quote]

Learn to use quotes then. They're a useful tool. There's a difference between paraphrasing and quoting. A good example would be my last post.
 
[quote name='Greetard']You guys keep on trying to separate the injustices done to their poor from the topic of the Olympics, when I'm trying to highlight the injustices done to their poor because of the Olympics. The Iraq war would have no bearing on the Olympics if it were held in the U.S.- we wouldn't bulldoze poor neighborhoods and force people to work endless hours at less than minimum wage because of it. That's a terrible analogy, especially for someone who (OMG!!) studied human rights extensively.[/QUOTE]

Hello, they were talking about the ceremony show. Do you want me to go back to quote them and yourself on why this subject even existed?
 
[quote name='neocisco']Learn to use quotes then. They're a useful tool. There's a difference between paraphrasing and quoting. A good example would be my last post.[/QUOTE]

Quotation marks are for quotes, and I didn't quote anything.
 
[quote name='gokou36']Hello, they were talking about the ceremony show. Do you want me to go back to quote them and yourself on why this subject even existed?[/quote]

I have a hard time swallowing your alleged "seriousness." If you can't get the fact that this is a general discussion of the Olympics, then I really don't know what to say. I feel sorry for you.

I quoted Koggit on his statement about the ceremonies not to chime in on their impressiveness, but to bring light to another issue. About the Olympics. Which belongs in this thread. Designated to the Olympics.

It doesn't fuckin' matter what they were talking about before. This is an entirely different animal- one that can co-exist with the ceremony talk.

I'm done responding to you. It's a waste of time.
 
Neocisco, I agree with your fundamental viewpoints on the Chinese government, but to insinuate that they somehow coerced their volunteers is silly. I'm sure a lot of it is nationalistic sentiment. Plus it's the Olympics! If the Olympics came to my hometown, I would volunteer in a heartbeat.
 
[quote name='Greetard']I have a hard time swallowing your alleged "seriousness." If you can't get the fact that this is a general discussion of the Olympics, then I really don't know what to say. I feel sorry for you.

I quoted Koggit on his statement about the ceremonies not to chime in on their impressiveness, but to bring light to another issue. About the Olympics. Which belongs in this thread. Designated to the Olympics.

It doesn't fuckin' matter what they were talking about before. This is an entirely different animal- one that can co-exist with the ceremony talk.

I'm done responding to you. It's a waste of time.[/QUOTE]


Sure it does matter what they were talking about. You are the one that came in here to cry about the Chinese Government for no reason.


[quote name='DQT']Plus it's the Olympics! If the Olympics came to my hometown, I would volunteer in a heartbeat.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this. You show your patriotism by volunteering, not because of being forced or doing it for money.
 
[quote name='DQT']Neocisco, I agree with your fundamental viewpoints on the Chinese government, but to insinuate that they somehow coerced their volunteers is silly. I'm sure a lot of it is nationalistic sentiment. Plus it's the Olympics! If the Olympics came to my hometown, I would volunteer in a heartbeat.[/quote]

To clarify, I didn't mean to insinuate that everyone was coerced. I'm sure there were legitimate volunteers, probably even the majority of them. But judging by the past actions of the government I'm confident there were "strong suggestions" and incentives for some of them.
 
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