Discussion 2008 Summer Olympics (Beijing)

[kaliayev]

Best scene of the olympics so far: (could be a little nsfw)

http://i38.tinypic.com/ipbimb.jpg

nastia looks a little jealous of her former compatriots there.

does anyone know who the hell was yelping during the women's 100m hurdle finals?

 

[KnuckleheadedNinja]

YEAH BABY. Nigeria whopped that ass. We going all the way baby. UP NIGERIA.

Also the final is a rematch of the 96' olympic final. UP NIGERIA.

 

[Kyrie Eleison]

Whoa, when did this happen? Is this just a clever angle from the cameraman or a lesbian athlete?

Hmm.. says you're a girl and you think this is the most interesting thing about the olympics eh =p

That's after Ksenia Semenova's performance on uneven bars if I'm not mistaken. Well the kiss wasn't a passionate one, so I guess it's something normal in Russia.

Words of wisdom: lesbians are the treasure of mankind (just my personal opinion).

 

[vintagemistakes]

what the f**k....The U.S. softball team lost!?

hmm... maybe the U.S. team decided to throw the game on purpose since the IOC has decided that softball would no longer be an Olympic sport, primarily based on the fact that the U.S. was so unbeatable/dominant....

 

[predsfan]

I am in utter disbelief at the moment. Race walking is an Olympic event. That's right, you heard me, you can a get a medal for being the best walker in the world . Ugh, some events are just ridiculous, but I think this might be the most ridiculous one.

Although, I guess that makes me ridiculous, b/c for some reason I have been sitting here watching it for 20 minutes .

 

[yoniekai]

you know what's ridiculous? BMX. why is that an olympic sport? well it is athletic, but the major factor is the bike and the tune-up that you're using, not your athleticism

 

[Kyrie Eleison]

Yep some events are ridiculous. Though simple bike race is allowed so it's fine to have t BMX or triathlon competitions. And apparently need a lot of hard work hence every biker is doping.

 

[kaliayev]

heh, i find the shooting events to be the most ridiculous. let's give people olympic medals for shooting things with their guns. where's the athleticism in that and why aren't these people being employed as assassins (well, except the air pistol competitors)?

 

[LB56]

A guy from my hometown actually won the gold in trap shooting.

 

[goldb]

realli? but kaliayev is right...i think it's ridiculous to encourage people to be good at shooting...there's nothing olympic in being able to shoot

 

[miyi]

nastia looks a little jealous of her former compatriots there.

you can tell Nastia wanted to get in on the action, lol


and lol @ walk-racing (or is it speed-walking?). I agree, probably the most ridiculous event, by far.

Synchronized diving is also kinda whack. But that's just me.


Does anyone follow volleyball? I kinda expected both USA men and women beach volleyball to win gold, but I wasn't expecting both TEAM USA indoor men and women volleyball, to be in the gold medal contention...that's just crazy!

Especially last night when I was watching Team USA vs. Team Russia (men's volleyball) battle it out up until the fifth set. Initially USA took the first two sets, but Russia stuck it out and took the next two, convincingly. And the fifth set tie breaker was just so intense, it went down to the wire....I haven't felt such adrenaline rush watching a sport, since.....maybe when I was watching Reggie Bush's USC lost to Vince Young's Texas Longhorns at the Rose Bowl back in '06.

I have to say, besides swimming and gymnastics, Volleyball is perhaps the third, if not the MOST exciting sport in this summer olympics.

basketball is fun too, except...well, it's obvious who will win the gold.

Not the same in volleyball. USA will face formidable competition, against Brazil, for the gold, so it won't be a cakewalk.

 

[LB56]

realli? but kaliayev is right...i think it's ridiculous to encourage people to be good at shooting...there's nothing olympic in being able to shoot

Well he's an Army Ranger, and he trains snipers at Ft. Benning, so it's no small wonder that he was able to win the the gold. I have to respectfully disagree with you the sport of shooting not being in the spirit of the Olympics. It takes years of practice, a steady hand, and a very cool head in order to shoot as well as the Olympians. If you say shooting isn't a sport because it involves using a weapon, then fencing, archery, and biathlon should be removed from the Olympics under the same rationale. I can what you're saying, but I respectfully disagree.

 

[kaliayev]

i can see the merit of the biathlon a lot more than the summer shooting competitions. it's actually like a field training exercise, while the competitors in the shooting events are pretty stationary during the event. if they had to run around a lot before shooting the targets, i'd be happier with it. as it is, they only need to aim at something and stay still. since your friend is a member of the rangers and probably went through a ridiculous amount of training, i'm sure he's an incredibly capable soldier. however, i'd rather he received a medal from the government for his ability than from the olympics.

this will probably sound bad to you, but i do think archery and fencing have slightly more merit, at least in terms of being recognized in the olympics. archery requires a lot of upper body strength (it's a lot harder to steady your aim with a bow than with a gun) and fencing requires a great deal of agility and dexterity while the individuals are competing. in addition, bows and swords are both antiquated means of fighting wars so there's a certain elegance to them. heh, maybe when they incorporate firing missiles into the olympics, i'll feel more comfortable about the summer shooting competitions. until then, i won't think they belong.

 

[LB56]

I can see how you think that, but I go shooting with my brother-in-law about every other weekend, and I can tell you it's not as easy as it looks. Also in most trap shooting competitions (stationary target) you aren't just trying to hit all the targets, but you are also trying to hit all the targets as fast as possible. I don't know. My stance on this may just be a result of my redneck upbringing

Oh yeah, and the gentleman in question isn't my friend. I didn't even know he was from my hometown until I read about it on ESPN.com. Us country fokes a livin' out in the county don't have much t' do with thems snooty types that live in town.

 

[miyi]

I have to agree with LB56...

Just a little history....the Olympic tradition was derived from the ancient Greeks. The Olympic games has always been about competing. One of the most valued of the Greek cultural tradition is what they called, "arete" -- loosely translated, it means, "virtue" (See here), or "personal excellence" (also see here).

It involves proving who is better, or tougher, not just physically (as kaliayev alluded to when he mentioned the word "athleticism"), but also mentally.

I've studied a lot of eastern philosophy, and so I can tell you in great detail, although I won't do so here, that mental toughness depends a lot on physical toughness, as well. They are interconnected. Your mind cannot function as effectively if your physical body is not in the best of shape, and vice versa.

So, shooting might on the surface, seem just all about being mentally tough, because your shooting stationary.

But in order to be a good shooter to begin with, requires practice, and that part is physical.

It's not as if you study to become a shooter, as we study for chemistry exams. To acquire the skill, I bet, requires some sort of physical training.

We can go through a list of so many sports that are fundamentally violent, i.e. boxing, wrestling. But when done in the spirit of a "friendly competition", you take away much of the unwanted violent aspect, and it becomes simply a matter of who is physically, and mentally tougher, to prove one's "arete".

The same is true with shooting, and so I think it's fair to say, that it suitably qualifies as an Olympic sport.


And besides, the ancient Greeks were violent people, to begin with, so I'm sure they would have been excellent gun toting assassins.


In other news.....Usain Bolt! man, this guy is a beast!

He's being mentioned in the same category as legendary greats, such as Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, and deservingly so. He's like the Michael Phelps equivalent of track and field.

 

[Hollow Kurono]

Gold!USA with the gold,Im happy but not for the USA but for Melo and a couple of other players on the team,I knew they were gonna win,gold!

 

[yoniekai]

no it was WADE COUNTY VS. SPAIN

 

[Hollow Kurono]

Yeah Wade was tearin up the entire olypmics and he was injured the entire season,never was at 100%,but that has changed.

 

[miyi]

I was getting nervous I thought Spain was going to catch up and tie. and yeah, Wade is looking very good...hopefully his Heats is revived as a playoff caliber team next season.

where is this so called "redeem team" rank? better than the '92 Dream team?

I think it's close. I still say the Dream team was slightly better.

Can't wait for men's volleyball.

 

[LB56]

The '92 team dominated against far inferior competition, but the '08 Redeem Team played against international teams that had rosters stocked with NBA level talent. Despite the "equality" of the skill level, the '08 team was still able to dominate their opponents in most instances. I think this a good description: the '92 Dream Team was the best group of individuals the USA has ever put on a basketball court, but the Redeem Team is the best team the USA has ever put together. This gold medal was team effort, not just Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Larry Bird wearing the same colored jersey as one another.