MikeO Posted July 21, 2021 Report Share Posted July 21, 2021 Well it's finally begun in the middle of a covid state of emergency with no fans allowed and no socialising for the competitors, seems ridiculous it's happening to me. Just watched "Goldrush" on the iPlayer which charts our (GB&NI) progress from 36th in the medal table in Atlanta '96 to 3rd in London 2012 and the crowds are so much a part of the theatre, it's all going to feel hollow and pretty meaningless this time around I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted July 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2021 Ladies football team off to a decent start, and the USA spanked by Sweden, didn't see that coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjazzbassist Posted July 21, 2021 Report Share Posted July 21, 2021 1 hour ago, MikeO said: Ladies football team off to a decent start, and the USA spanked by Sweden, didn't see that coming. Sweden is their bogey team, knocked them out of the last Olympics. We did manage to beat them in the World Cup, but for some reason in the Olympics we lose to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Btay Posted July 21, 2021 Report Share Posted July 21, 2021 16 hours ago, MikeO said: Well it's finally begun in the middle of a covid state of emergency with no fans allowed and no socialising for the competitors, seems ridiculous it's happening to me. Just watched "Goldrush" on the iPlayer which charts our (GB&NI) progress from 36th in the medal table in Atlanta '96 to 3rd in London 2012 and the crowds are so much a part of the theatre, it's all going to feel hollow and pretty meaningless this time around I think. Yeah I understand what you are saying however my cousin is over there for the Australian women’s hockey team and I couldn’t be happier for her. I just hope it’s a safe environment but I would have been devastated for her not to get an opportunity to represent her country. MikeO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romey 1878 Posted July 22, 2021 Report Share Posted July 22, 2021 https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/21/tokyo-2020-olympics-social-media-teams-banned-from-showing-athletes-taking-the-knee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted July 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2021 8 hours ago, Btay said: Yeah I understand what you are saying however my cousin is over there for the Australian women’s hockey team and I couldn’t be happier for her. I just hope it’s a safe environment but I would have been devastated for her not to get an opportunity to represent her country. Understand that completely and really hope your cousin brings home a silver....after losing to GB in the final Romey 1878 and Btay 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Btay Posted July 22, 2021 Report Share Posted July 22, 2021 10 hours ago, MikeO said: Understand that completely and really hope your cousin brings home a silver....after losing to GB in the final Haha I think it will be between Nz and Aus. Both my parents are from NZ ( I was born in Aus as where my cousins ) We were watching it live and I caught my dad getting cheering on Nz in the gold medal match of the commonwealth games against Australia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted July 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2021 43 minutes ago, Btay said: Haha I think it will be between Nz and Aus. Both my parents are from NZ ( I was born in Aus as where my cousins ) We were watching it live and I caught my dad getting cheering on Nz in the gold medal match of the commonwealth games against Australia Going back many years to the 1975 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, my form master/English teacher at school was the GB goalkeeper. He never told anyone at the school, well certainly none of the kids anyway, about it; but saw this guy on TV behind a mask with his crazy hair and distinctive gait we all knew. Richard "Dickie" Barker he was called, after his secret was out we derailed many a lesson by asking about his hockey exploits. On the Olymics surely the Netherlands and Germany a big threat as ever, and looking at the rankings Argentina seem strong as well. Btay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Btay Posted July 22, 2021 Report Share Posted July 22, 2021 24 minutes ago, MikeO said: Going back many years to the 1975 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, my form master/English teacher at school was the GB goalkeeper. He never told anyone at the school, well certainly none of the kids anyway, about it; but saw this guy on TV behind a mask with his crazy hair and distinctive gait we all knew. Richard "Dickie" Barker he was called, after his secret was out we derailed many a lesson by asking about his hockey exploits. On the Olymics surely the Netherlands and Germany a big threat as ever, and looking at the rankings Argentina seem strong as well. Hahah that’s brilliant!! Yeah I don’t follow it closely enough to really know the teams outside of the commonwealth! Just hope she gets a medal of some sort! MikeO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romey 1878 Posted July 23, 2021 Report Share Posted July 23, 2021 23 hours ago, Romey 1878 said: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/21/tokyo-2020-olympics-social-media-teams-banned-from-showing-athletes-taking-the-knee https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/22/tokyo-2020-u-turn-allows-social-media-teams-to-show-athletes-taking-the-knee Didn't take long. MikeO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted July 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2021 The Olympics have been a massive event in my life since 1968, just always loved every moment. Feeling very underwhelmed today, just hope events get me back on track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunlopp9987 Posted July 27, 2021 Report Share Posted July 27, 2021 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/27/sports/olympics/russia-wins-gold-medal-gymnastics.html Simone Biles drops out due to her mental health. Heartbreaking to see, but I also hope this can shine a light on and open up more of a dialogue on mental health and the pressures and strains that are put on people in the spotlight. We have a tendency to forget that they're human, and the only way we'd expect them not to perform at their very best is if something is physically wrong with them. Mental health is just as important as physical health, no matter who you are or what you do for a living. Romey 1878 and MikeO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted July 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2021 13 minutes ago, dunlopp9987 said: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/27/sports/olympics/russia-wins-gold-medal-gymnastics.html Simone Biles drops out due to her mental health. Heartbreaking to see, but I also hope this can shine a light on and open up more of a dialogue on mental health and the pressures and strains that are put on people in the spotlight. We have a tendency to forget that they're human, and the only way we'd expect them not to perform at their very best is if something is physically wrong with them. Mental health is just as important as physical health, no matter who you are or what you do for a living. Real shame, heard she'd pulled out because of a health issue but didn't realise it was mental, hope she gets the support she needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hafnia Posted July 27, 2021 Report Share Posted July 27, 2021 On 23/07/2021 at 22:07, MikeO said: The Olympics have been a massive event in my life since 1968, just always loved every moment. Feeling very underwhelmed today, just hope events get me back on track. I recall the 84 Olympics, I was 8. Loved it, Daly Thompson, jet pack, Zola Budd, I also recall V the TV series being on telly. Such happy memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted July 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2021 17 minutes ago, Hafnia said: I recall the 84 Olympics, I was 8. Loved it, Daly Thompson, jet pack, Zola Budd, I also recall V the TV series being on telly. Such happy memories. Same age for me, I was eight for Mexico '68; only remember the athletics really (my dad's big thing), David Hemery winning 400m hurdles gold was a highlight. Athens 2004 was the year after dad died and my mum decided she wanted to go, she was never a big sports fan really so I think it was about experiencing it for him. Needed someone to go with her but sadly I had five kids between eight and eighteen so not an option, my single younger brother got to go; absolutely no expense spared so they saw some amazing stuff. Not that I'm remotely jealous. Hafnia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted July 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2021 Stayed up way past my bedtime but was hooked in by the triathlon mixed relay, cracking gold medal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palfy Posted July 31, 2021 Report Share Posted July 31, 2021 12 minutes ago, MikeO said: Stayed up way past my bedtime but was hooked in by the triathlon mixed relay, cracking gold medal. And me why is sport so addictive time for bedtime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted August 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2021 Nice moment this, two guys finish with identical records in the high jump... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/58048827 pete0 and Palfy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted August 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 On 21/07/2021 at 12:54, markjazzbassist said: Sweden is their bogey team, knocked them out of the last Olympics. We did manage to beat them in the World Cup, but for some reason in the Olympics we lose to them. Knocked out by Canada I see, bit of a shock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjazzbassist Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 21 minutes ago, MikeO said: Knocked out by Canada I see, bit of a shock. Total shock, I wouldn’t be surprised if they fire their manager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Steve Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 9 hours ago, MikeO said: Knocked out by Canada I see, bit of a shock. Canada will be loving this. One of the US team bemoaned about having lost to Canada - Canada! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Steve Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 The Olympics coverage in the US is always terrible. They only broadcast events where the US is participating, usually only events they're winning. I remember the days of watching the Olympics in Britain where everything is covered. That breadth of events is completely lost in the US, which is such a shame. Last night, for example, it was the US winning at beach basketball volleyball on all channels. There were plenty of more interesting events going on, but they were totally ignored. markjazzbassist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted August 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 27 minutes ago, Cornish Steve said: The Olympics coverage in the US is always terrible. They only broadcast events where the US is participating, usually only events they're winning. I remember the days of watching the Olympics in Britain where everything is covered. That breadth of events is completely lost in the US, which is such a shame. Last night, for example, it was the US winning at beach basketball, on all channels. There were plenty of more interesting events going on, but they were totally ignored. Point taken Steve but I don't think beach basketball is actually a thing; ball bouncing off sand? Not happening. Cornish Steve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Steve Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 33 minutes ago, MikeO said: Point taken Steve but I don't think beach basketball is actually a thing; ball bouncing off sand? Not happening. Er... beach volleyball. Sorry about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjazzbassist Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 2 hours ago, Cornish Steve said: The Olympics coverage in the US is always terrible. They only broadcast events where the US is participating, usually only events they're winning. I remember the days of watching the Olympics in Britain where everything is covered. That breadth of events is completely lost in the US, which is such a shame. Last night, for example, it was the US winning at beach basketball volleyball on all channels. There were plenty of more interesting events going on, but they were totally ignored. Yeah and it’s on the delay so you see the results online but you can’t watch till at night when they given you an abridged version. Don’t worry though, plenty of ads to quell that capitalist spirit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palfy Posted August 3, 2021 Report Share Posted August 3, 2021 6 hours ago, markjazzbassist said: Yeah and it’s on the delay so you see the results online but you can’t watch till at night when they given you an abridged version. Don’t worry though, plenty of ads to quell that capitalist spirit! You think you’ve got it bad, well one of our presenters has been chastised in public by an ex MP for not pronouncing her Gs correctly, she works for the BBC which really isn’t good enough and not very British at all I would like to say in my best Bertie Wooster accent, “ I say old boy won’t you please fuck off there’s a good chap” markjazzbassist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted August 7, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 Loving all (as far as I can see) US media outlets changing the rules on how the medal table works so they can still be top, despite....er...not being top markjazzbassist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailey Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 I caught a little bit of the womens marathon last night so when I went for one of my mid-length runs of 5 miles this morning, I thought I would try and run one of the miles towards the end as hard as I could to see how it would compare. With any running event I think it is hard to appreciate how quickly they are actually running. So with my quickest "all out" mile extrapolated across the marathon distance the winner of the womens marathon would have beaten me by over an hour. In fact down to about 20th would have beaten me by over an hour. I have no idea how they can keep that pace for so long! MikeO, dunlopp9987 and Romey 1878 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjazzbassist Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 3 hours ago, MikeO said: Loving all (as far as I can see) US media outlets changing the rules on how the medal table works so they can still be top, despite....er...not being top Mike that has driven me nuts for decades now. I have always said 3 for gold, 2 for silver, 1 for bronze and make a scoring system. but the uS just counts total medals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete0 Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 9 minutes ago, markjazzbassist said: Mike that has driven me nuts for decades now. I have always said 3 for gold, 2 for silver, 1 for bronze and make a scoring system. but the uS just counts total medals. Just most golds. No athlete would swap a gold for a silver and 2 bronze. MikeO and Palfy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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