London Olympics

[Ecurb Noselrub]

Ecurb Noselrub, personally I thought the States had the best outfit. It did look militaristic but it represented the prevailing ideology of American sports persons perfectly. Its better to be interesting and the US government are undoubtedly warmongers but that's not what I took from the costume even though it was slightly out of odds with the Olympic spirit, to me it said we mean business.

That's an interesting perspective.  So far, it looks like the Chinese are the ones who mean business. They have so much diverse talent.  But then again, they have 1.3 billion people, so they ought to be able to find the best.

[Sandra Craft]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW5abat5NEU

That link isn't working in the US, and the one I found earlier that did work isn't working now.  Which is a shame, because it raised so many interesting ideas in my mind. 

For one, I wonder if, like many of us, Her Majesty had long harbored a secret wish to be a Bond girl and realized that this was probably her only chance? 

And did the producers, elated that the Queen agreed to this sketch, go so far as to ask her to put on a parachute and perch in the open door of the helicopter before they snuck in the stunt double to actually jump out? 

Would she have been game for this until the British security force had a collective coronary and forbade it?  So many interesting possibilities.

[OldGit]

Give the poor old biddy credit - she's 86!  She seems to have a good sporting spirit, though, so maybe she'd have liked a go before she was crowned.

[Tank]

From The Onion

[Asmodean]

I watched a specklet of beach volleyball just so I have something to talk to one person I know about, a bit of tennis just to have a topic of conversation with another and some bow shooting since I sort of do that meself... If somewhat more poorly.

[OldGit]

... and some bow shooting since I sort of do that meself ...

Wow!  You're an archer, too?  I used to shoot a lot, and coach it at a school.  Mrs Git and I still have our bows and kit in the attic.

As for watching beach volleyball ... yes, yes, we know

[Siz]

Well done to the GB Gymnansts for their impressive Bronze.

We're still hoping to pick up some of the newly released tickets. Last night we were offered some womens gymnastics finals tickets at £450 EACH. Inclusive my arse!

There are some others available though - fencing and wrestling. Anyone ever seen fencing? I'm sure it's very skilled, but hardly a spectator sport - especially from the up-in-the-gods seats that we'd still have to pay £60 each for.

I just wanna cry at the injustice of it.

[OldGit]

Ah, the noble Olympic ideal!  It's like christian love.

[Crow]

Well done to the GB Gymnansts for their impressive Bronze.

We're still hoping to pick up some of the newly released tickets. Last night we were offered some womens gymnastics finals tickets at £450 EACH. Inclusive my arse!

There are some others available though - fencing and wrestling. Anyone ever seen fencing? I'm sure it's very skilled, but hardly a spectator sport - especially from the up-in-the-gods seats that we'd still have to pay £60 each for.

I just wanna cry at the injustice of it.

I love fencing (more doing than spectating) but the crowd is always good at fencing events because its usually full of diehard fans.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

One of the royals, Zara Phillips, Princess Anne's daughter and 14th in line to the throne (or something), won a silver medal in an equestrian event.  So the royals not only fight in the military, they win Olympic medals. Not bad.

[TheWalkingContradiction]

Actually, many royals have participated in the Olympics--and won medals--in the 20th and 21st centuries: http://www.topendsports.com/events/summer/highlights/royals.htm

I agree that the Bond sequence was magnificent.  However, I am afraid that I did not enjoy the opening ceremony at all (save for the parade of nations, which I always love).  In particular, the rock section went on for too long--but I admit this could be my own idiosyncrasy since I like only some rock and prefer music from before my 1965 birth.

The thing that made me smile was the thought of the Queen, who had been insulted when pop music (Elton John's "Candle in the Wind") was used to honor Princess Diana, forced to sit through neverending rock.  Too delicious.

Some random thoughts...

I think Jacques Rogge and his cronies were wrong to deny Israel a moment of silence during the opening ceremony.  We must never forget that Israeli athletes were murdered in the 1972 Munich Olympics, on the soil of the country that spawned the Holocaust.   

When I was a kid, my family and I, though watching the games on TV, always stood up and applauded for the Lebanese team during the Opening Ceremonies.  At the time, Lebanon was still in Civil War, and it took a lot of guts for the Lebanese athletes to attend.  This year, I mentally honored the Syrian athletes because of the mass killings in that country as it tries to do what Egypt, Libya, and Tunisa have aleady done.  I also mentally honored the Rwandan and Bosnian teams.

The Olympics are very important as an event that brings people from all countries, all creeds and all walks of life together.  Yes, they are too commercial, but the idea of something greater than the destruction of politics and war exists through them.  I'll never forgive Jimmy Carter for forgetting this in 1980 and denying passports to American athletes so that they were forced to boycott the Moscow Olympics along with him.

For years, journalists have been reporting how neither the current Olympics nor the upcoming 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are benefitting the masses in the designated London and Rio Olympic neighborhoods.

What are your thoughts on all this?

[Asmodean]

As for watching beach volleyball ... yes, yes, we know

Ah, but as it happens, the participants were men. Norwegians, in fact. It was more research than fun...

[Crow]

As for watching beach volleyball ... yes, yes, we know

Ah, but as it happens, the participants were men. Norwegians, in fact. It was more research than fun...

You headhunting again?

[Siz]

Throwing badminton games? Haha, so excellent that this didnt go unpunished.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/aug/01/london-2012-badminton-disqualified-olympics?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT758I2

[Ecurb Noselrub]

I'll never forgive Jimmy Carter for forgetting this in 1980 and denying passports to American athletes so that they were forced to boycott the Moscow Olympics along with him.

Yes, and then the Russians returned the favor. I disagreed with his decision then and still do. That destroyed a lot of dreams and accomplished nothing.