Timewaster's Guide Archive
General => Everything Else => Topic started by: 42 on August 15, 2004, 07:51:34 PM
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Well, someone has to start a thread on this. Feel free to rant and rave about the Olympics, whether you adore them or hate them.
For my part, I'm very dissapointed. Though I liked the very post-modern and slightly surreal opening ceremonies. The real problem is that the US is just sucking so far. The Olympics are all about showing US superiority and so far we're behind China and *blink* Australia. We'll at least we're ahead the Russians. Course, it's early, I'm still hoping that the US will pull ahead and all will be right with the world.
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The olympics are great. I loved the opening ceremonies with those statue people.
It's about showing US superiority? Oh my word.
For me the olympics are about rooting for the people with underdog-like stories on one end or on the other end seeing people dominate and get world records (no matter what country they're from).
It USED to be about the USA vs. the evil empire USSR, but that's just not important anymore.
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Still puerto Rico shouldnt be allowed to compete as a seperate country. Thats like Alabama sending its own team to the olympics.
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Puerto Ricans are US nationals, not US citizens. Pretty sure Alabamans are citizens.
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Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth within the United States acquired by the U.S. in the 1898 Spanish American War. It does not have representation in the U.S. Congress, is not fully subject to U.S. income taxes, and operates in government and business spheres primarily in Spanish. Its political parties differ from the Republican and Democratic parties found on the mainland. Its citizens are also U.S. citizens, however, it is in most respects treated legally as a U.S. State, it is subject to the authority of the federal courts, and it is within the national defense perimeter of the United States. It has is own elected government similar to that of a state government in the United States, but with somewhat greater authority over local affairs in practice
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Of course the aussies are doing well. They are a nation of sport maniacs.
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I take offence at tha..
Oh, hang on, you're right. it's a bit sad that the highest achievement in our country is to be able to skillfully kick a ball.
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My mistake. I believe what I said still applies to American Samoa...
Well anyway then, I don't really know why it has its own olympic team. Must be something to do with that high degree of autonomy thing.
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I say we revoke their citizenship... ;D
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yeah! And make 'em speak English!
then we can make them compete against the New York team in synchronized street gang dancing! Because, y'know, everyone's scared of a dancing street gang. though, admitedly, not for the reasons you're typically scared of a street gang.
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As in, "When you're a Jet, you're a Jet, all the way from your first cigarette to your last dyin' day..."?
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just stay coolie cool boy.
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Every Puerto Rican's a lousy chicken, as they say.
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The annoying thing about Puerto Rico beating the US is that a lot of the Puerto Rico players were all under consideration for the US team. They are mostly NBA players. It's just so self defeating.
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and that was kind of my point.
It'd be like sending a team of basketball players from NC State to the Olympics...
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I'm not sure why Puerto Rico is allowed to put up their own team, other than the fact that they have their own government. American Samoa and Guam also fit into that category. Personally, I have no problem with it. If Puerto Rico was a state I could see comparing it to Alabama or North Carolina, but it's not. And it doesn't look like it's going to be a state any time soon--Puerto Ricans voted several times to remain part of a commonwealth and avoid statehood.
But that's not what my point is...
My point is that the Puerto Rico game is not all that different from any other Olympic basketball game, with respect to the NBA. Puerto Rico is certainly not the only team with NBA players. Argentina, for example, has five NBAers (P.R. only had four). Australia has two. Spain has three. Even little old Serbia has EIGHT (though some are ex-NBA now.)
The truth is that the NBA is changing--bringing in a lot of foreigners who maintain a dual citizenship. The European basketball leagues are getting bigger. When you view the NBA, you can no longer think of it as a bunch of Americans. So the fact that Puerto Rico had a lot of NBA players is NOT self-defeating. It's just a sign that the world is getting better at basketball.
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The US should just grant statehood to any country that beats them in the Olympics. Then the US would never lose. ;D
Actually, one of the things I like about the Olympics is getting to see sports I would never get to watch normally. Not that I'm a big sports watcher. Course maybe that's because there isn't that much selection to choose from.
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I think that the Olympics could be spiced up a bit by putting in some of those American Gladiator events. That'd be sweet.
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When I was in Japan there was this show called Sasuke Challenge that had some awesome American Gladiator-like stuff. Well, I guess not really, since it was basically just obstacle course stuff against a clock...didn't have to fight any gladiators, but it was still really cool.
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I always thought combining sports would be cool,...
Discus Vs Javalin "Its a head to head battle to the death"
Skeet and High Jump
"He jumps and thats a beautiful shot" "Yeah he really nailed him that time Chuck"
Judo vs Fencing
"its raw skill versus 36 inches of toledo steel"
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Seriously, what about Paintball? I mean, they have Air Rifles, so paintball isn't that big of a stretch.
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I think paintball could have some security issues at the olympics. Giving the Iranian team and the Isreali team both guns and telling them to go hunt each other down. I don't think that the olympics are meant to imitate life that much.
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Athletes are only allowed to whack at each other with swords then? Or punch each other in the face? Or kick each other?
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My point is that paintball resembles military action, A LOT. Fencing, boxing and judo do not.
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I'll concede that, but that doesn't mean it wouldnt be neat.
Here's a neat idea for a sport, though: Swimming races, except the swimmers all have blindfolds, and there are no lane dividers. Just imagining it makes me laugh out loud.
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Combine your ideas, HoM! Give'em paintball guns too. They have to swim from one end of the pool to the other, blindfolded, and anyone they manage to shoot is disqualified.
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So more like blind water polo with guns?
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Marco!
Polo!
<bang, bang, bang, bang bang>
Marco!
heh, the fun never stops.
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Tonight's gymnastics final was an incredible television event. NBC ROCKED that coverage (and the 2 Americans played right into their hands).
By the way, the Modern Pentathlon (http://www.modern-pentathlon.com/) is an Olympic event that sounds sorta like some of the things suggested in this thread.
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actually coverage today was way above par...
I was happy with the white water slalom as well, and really enjoyed beach volleyball....
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What did you think of tonight's unprecedented drama, where Nemov scored a 9.725 on the high bar and the crowd booed for 10 minutes until they changed the score (to a 9.775 which was, announcer Bart Connor agreed, still too low)?
I was astounded. And extremely entertained.
I would have booed too.
Personally I think they should change the scoring to be like diving scores, where the scores are totaled and then multiplied by a degree of difficulty. Earlier on the vault there were a ton of identical scores (which Bart Connor was amazed at, clearly superior or inferior routines being given the same scores) that had to be broken by annoying tiebreaks.
Also the whole "no more perfect 10s" thing sucks; that one dude tonight perfectly landed that vault he's been doing all week, the triple somersault half twist, an absolutely crazy vault, and they grudgingly gave it a 9.900. (Too bad he flubbed the landing on his next (much easier) vault and ended with the bronze.)
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I think any time that the outcome of a sport is determined by judges, you're going to have trouble. Nemov totally deserved the silver (there's no arguing that the Italian shouldn't have won gold), but Nemov got the shaft.
Still, I don't believe in changing medals. It's like any other sport -- refs make bad calls all the time that affect the outcome of the game. Look at football: refs probably only call 1/5 or less of the holding calls. But that's just part of the game. The results aren't ever overturned.
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since I know you're all still wondering about Australia beating the pants off North America, don't worry, Dinosaur Comics has the answer (http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/bruce2.png)
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So team GB (as they are called) took home 29 medals. Best since the LA Olympics apparently.
USA took home 103. Australia 49. We hate you all.
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Its good to be an upstart colonist! :D