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Anyone spooled up for the summer Olympics?


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Only thing I'm really interested in is trying to decide which organization is more corrupt and dysfunctional - FIFA or the IOC. Leaning towards FIFA but it's gonna be a close call.

Looking forward to the Russian "Athletes" showing their stuff. And a bit of Football.

On a serious note - I hope security is tight, these are some crazy times we are living in.

Edited by 11bee
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Looking forward to everything except the opening ceremony. It's too.... Flashy? It just seems like artificial hype.

FIFA and IOC only look extremely corrupt because they've been caught and outed. The NFL, NBA, NHL, Bundesliga, EPL, La Liga, etc. all are corrupt in their own way on their own levels. Hell even college sports like football and basketball. But the public love them, they make money for the media, so it's going to be a long time before we actually know how corrupt they really are and in what ways.

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You know what I firmly believe killed off a lot of the public's interest? Remember how it used to be every four years was an Olympic year, meaning winter and summer games in the same year? Felt special then. 4 years in between.

Well, ever since they started staggering it, the result is every two years is an Olympic year, alternating summer and winter. Meaning every other year is an Olympic year. Meaning it's hardly very rare or special anymore.

My $.02 but I really do think that's a big part of the general apathy.

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Couldn't care less about the summer Olympics myself.

:cheers:

EDIT: And Bob Costas and most of the NBC Olympic talking heads drive me bonkers anyways.

Edited by Don
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I'll admit to being excited about the return of rugby to the Olympics. Only time I can stand to watch soccer. Running events (longer ones) are interesting. But, I'll end up watching most everything because my wife wants to.

Cheers,

Dave

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Looking forward to everything except the opening ceremony. It's too.... Flashy? It just seems like artificial hype.

Hey...it's Brazil, could be loaded with hot chicks wearing next to nothing :)

That aside...I'm a hockey fan, I prefer the Winter Games.

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Hey...it's Brazil, could be loaded with hot chicks wearing next to nothing :)/>

That aside...I'm a hockey fan, I prefer the Winter Games.

HOCKEY!!!!!!! and bobsled/luge/skeleton/skijump crashes

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Hey...it's Brazil, could be loaded with hot chicks wearing next to nothing :)/>

More likely just little turds trying to steal your phone and jewelery

I love watching the summer olympics, but glad it'll be on TV and not from Rio. Also happy our daughter who is doing somw work for the AOC is holding the fort back in Sydney and not travelling with the rest of them.

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Not even a little bit. The only olympic "sport" I watch (if I happen to catch it on) is women's figure skating.

I have my reasons. :P/>

Ken

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I'll admit to being excited about the return of rugby to the Olympics. Only time I can stand to watch soccer. Running events (longer ones) are interesting. But, I'll end up watching most everything because my wife wants to.

Cheers,

Dave

The Olympics TV demographic has skewed firmly in the female demographic for a while now. Olympic weightlifting is on at like 2AM lol. gymnastics, namely womens seems to be the top dog.

Betcha when people were thinking about bring home a disease from Brazil it was hoped to be something more than zeka from a mosquito

Used to be Olympics were given to countries that had "made it" now they are being given to places that have not, and the Olympics are supposed to catapult them into the upper spheres. Luckily for us we all know the score, especially after the fifa scandal

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Used to be Olympics were given to countries that had "made it" now they are being given to places that have not, and the Olympics are supposed to catapult them into the upper spheres.

So Japan, Brazil, China, the UK, Australia and the US are places that have 'not made it'? Of the last ten Summer Olympic Games only Greece could be argued to be an outsider (and that was really given special dispensation because it was the 100th anniversary of the first modern Games), the rest are all consistently in the top 15 economies in the world. Even with the Winter Olympics - which are considerably cheaper to run than the Summer Games - the only countries who have held them since the end of World War Two and are outliers from the top ten economies are Norway, Austria and Yugoslavia.

Don't get me wrong, there is the distinct whiff of corruption around the IOC. But it's not like Brazil is the same as holding the Olympics in South Sudan.

Edited by vince14
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Not even a little bit. The only olympic "sport" I watch (if I happen to catch it on) is women's figure skating.

I have my reasons. :P/>/>

Ken

The first winter Olympics I remember bored me to death as a kid in the 80's until that Russian figure skater showed up. Been watching ever since.

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So Japan, Brazil, China, the UK, Australia and the US are places that have 'not made it'? Of the last ten Summer Olympic Games only Greece could be argued to be an outsider (and that was really given special dispensation because it was the 100th anniversary of the first modern Games), the rest are all consistently in the top 15 economies in the world. Even with the Winter Olympics - which are considerably cheaper to run than the Summer Games - the only countries who have held them since the end of World War Two and are outliers from the top ten economies are Norway, Austria and Yugoslavia.

Don't get me wrong, there is the distinct whiff of corruption around the IOC. But it's not like Brazil is the same as holding the Olympics in South Sudan.

I'm also confusing and lumping in the world cup in there

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I hate to admit to this but I'm going to be watching out of sheer morbid curiosity, sort of like a train wreck. I'm curious to see if attacks will be made during the event. I seriously hope that nothing happens and no harm comes to the athletes, but it would be interesting to see, as was mentioned earlier, if we're going to have another Munich on our hands.

Eric

Edited by echolmberg
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Only thing I'm really interested in is trying to decide which organization is more corrupt and dysfunctional - FIFA or the IOC. Leaning towards FIFA but it's gonna be a close call.

Looking forward to the Russian "Athletes" showing their stuff. And a bit of Football.

On a serious note - I hope security is tight, these are some crazy times we are living in.

thinking about the Political clown show, all I need to remember is that preseason football starts in about two weeks. Base ball season is well into it right now.

gary

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only Greece could be argued to be an outsider (and that was really given special dispensation because it was the 100th anniversary of the first modern Games

Not quite... The 100th anniversary games were in Atlanta in 1996 (1st modern Olympics were held in Athens in 1896). The last Athens games were held in 2004.

Edited by Crazy Snap Captain
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Personally I think the Olympic Games movement has lost it's gloss for a few reason:

1) Perceived (or real) corruption within the IOC

2) Over-commercialization that has led to stupid rules like Olympic Charter by-law 40 <<Link>>

3) Massive cost and number of white elephants left to rot after the Olympics are over (See Barcelona, Athens, Tokyo et al)

A potential solution could be to have a standard home for the summer Olympics (as the winter games are usually way cheaper to run). The standard home should be alternating between Athens, Greece (home of the Olympics) and Paris, France (home of Pierre de Coubertin, father of the idea of reestablishing the Olympic movement). The IOC should use all commercial revenues to maintain and run the facilities. Europe is also ideal in terms of time zones (between Asia and the Americas). This would p!ss off a lot of countries in terms of the perceived commercial revenues that flow in from hosting the games (it's not that much more than the cost associated), but I believe would bring the games back to being about sport and not about money. That's my opinion at least...

Edited by Crazy Snap Captain
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