Any other Americans (US) cringe while watching the Olympics?

[leonid]

I think the best part of the Olympics was the opening ceremony.  That was so good, they could go on a world tour, and just call it the "Ozzie Show."  That fireblowing part was something.  Very well done as a whole.

I was happy when Wilkenson won gold for women's diving.  That was cool.  Was bummed when the young Romanian women lost her gold for all-around gymnastics, because she took sudafeds.  What really stunk was when James Carter ran really well on his final heat for the 400m run, and as he approached the finish gestured back to the other athletes to catch up.  Thankfully, he placed 4th in the final.  The event that scared me the most was synchronized swimming.  Was like an Olympics goes bauhaus nightmare.

[Dowding]

RAM - olympic football is crap - no country puts a decent team in, and noone cares who wins or loses in it.

As for all the yellow cards and red cards you claim - football is a physical game (or at least it is in England). Come watch a Sheffield derby between Sheffield Wednesday (my team) and Sheffield United. By full time, you probably would have sent both teams off! I'm sick of watching poofy foreign 'stars' role around in agony everytime someone so much as invades their airspace. International football is ruined because of over-sensitive referees.

As for most foreign players in England: Overpaid, over-rated and over-here. Very few give anything to their English clubs, except a huge wage bill at the end of the month. They keep our promising English players out of the team, and then pi$$ off, slagging off English 'culture' into the bargain, as if they are intellectual sophisticates. Scum.

Ooops, off topic a bit there.

As for the American athletes most behaved like athletes from any country. But some had their heads firmly up their own arses - that relay team for instance, they were just taking the pi$$.

Most athletes seem normal people - except they have supreme discipline and single-mindedness. I can only admire them.

[RAM]

 

Originally posted by Dowding:
RAM - olympic football is crap - no country puts a decent team in, and noone cares who wins or loses in it.

Spanish olympic football team is the same that was Europeand and World sub-21 champion.

If you dont think that it makes Spain a "decent" team then ask yourself why does England sucks as it does in selection football matches.

About "oversensitive" players, oh ,yeah I am sure that Toni Velamazan thinks he overreacted showing his pain when he got a dislocated shoulder after a very hard tackle (he fell in a very bad position). Uh, yeah, sure, oversensitive.  

And Tamudo will think just the same with a fisure in the "tibia" (dont know this bone's name in english) after a criminal tackle by the cameroonese number 5 (a truly assasin). I am sure that he can agree with you in that he is an oversensitive 21 year old star...SHEESH!    

none of both tackles got a yellow card, and they were terrific criminal ones. So dont tell me that football is a men's game. I've played football (left wing in national junior leagues), and I can tell you that there are people willing to break your leg if you try to dribble them.

Football is a men's game. But not an ASSASIN'S game. Remember it.


[This message has been edited by RAM (edited 10-04-2000).]

[Dowding]

 

...(he fell in a very bad position).

Exactly - just because a player gets injured falling, doesn't mean he was fouled.

Broken bones also don't mean a foul has been committed - I've played uni. football and seen people receive some nasty injuries from perfectly legitimate tackles.

I say again - it is a physical game. Just look at English football in the 70s, if you think players today are dirty. You would probably arrest Souness et al for assault, based on what you have said.

 

If you dont think that it makes Spain a "decent" team then ask yourself why does England sucks as it does in selection football matches.

It's not Spain's first XI playing at the olympic is it? That's my point - that no-one cares about olympic football. Club managers won't release players for it, for a start.

BTW - England does not have a side in the olympics because we are represented as Great Britain and Northern Island (I don't even know we entered it). We probably would have a decent side if the clubs allowed people to play - Giggs etc, who can't play for England because they are Welsh, Scottish or Northern Irish.

Also, the word 'tibia' is latin (I think), and is used in English as well.

[This message has been edited by Dowding (edited 10-04-2000).]

[funked]

Soccer players are rutabagas.  Period.  Even the English ones.  Play like a MAN.

[RAM]

 

Originally posted by Dowding:
 Exactly - just because a player gets injured falling, doesn't mean he was fouled.

Depends. But in Velamazan's injury the defender had ALL the responsability (he did a VERY hard tackle).

Same in Tamudo's case. An assasin tackle with an injury done.

Weren't accidents. Were results of violent play.

And I wont dig into the number 5's agression on Jose Mari (he righly HIT him), because it is too much...

[Igloo]

Gymnastics and Diving are defantly sports.  I classify a sport as an event that, for your partcipation, requires you to be in top physical shape.

Baseball is a game, not a sport. Gymnastics is a sport, even if I don't enjoy watching it.

I find these Olympics were awesome.  In Canada we had 4 channels covering, plus the american NBC.  Olympics 24 hrs a day for 2 weeks, it was awesome!

Football/Soccer is not a popsicle sport, no equipment.  American Football is a popsicle sport compared to Rugby or Hockey.  It's slow too.

CFL rocks though.

[Baddawg]

Deja Vu Next Olympics try to catch CBC's coverage of it. While proudly Canadian its coverage is broader in scope. Taking in consideration that all Broadcasters are limited in what the Host feeds them.

[Toad]

This must be the new, International version of "My sport's wang is bigger than your sport's wang". Probably make a great TV game show somewhere....

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ--Olympics?--ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Then ratings numbers in the US pretty clearly show the level of interest here.

Just another thing about us that is different.  

[AKDejaVu]

 

Deja Vu Next Olympics try to catch CBC's coverage of it. While proudly Canadian its coverage is broader in scope. Taking in consideration that all Broadcasters are limited in what the Host feeds them.

I would have loved that Baddawg... but the option was not available on my satelite system.

It is amazing that I couldn't really overcome my loathing for the coverage enough to really enjoy the Olympics.  I wonder if NBC has any idea how lame it really was?

AKDejaVu

BTW.. notice how easy it is to get the Euro's going on "football" rants

[BUG_EAF322]

I'm proud off my little country with only 15 miljon habitants.
We where placed 8 with 25 medals

we kicked the american baseball team  
unbelievable

And i liked the american whining about
Inge de Bruin sorry folks she just too good
 

I saw some american runners making a big show before they run what do they think ?

My girlfriend is black and she laughed at them too.

It's not a movie it's a game.

[Igloo]

Bug, are you from Japan?  I think the Japanese beat the American baseball team.  

Yes, it is funny watching some american athletes "strut" their stuff and show their true colours.  You see it so often though, you just expect it and it doesn't suprise you when they do that.  

------------------
Squadron Leader, Igloo.
C/O RCAF 411 Squadron - County of York

"Problems cannot be solved with the same awareness that created them" - Albert Einstein[/i]

[This message has been edited by Igloo (edited 10-04-2000).]

[funked]

Oly-who?

[Dowding]

The English football (it's not soccer by the way - I hate that word) league is the most physical in Europe (and maybe the world). Most English players are pretty hard, especially those who were around in the late 80s (Adams, Pierce, Wise) - it's the continental stars that have turned a lot of the young English players into whining rutabagas, who are not worthy of being called English.

Go watch a Sunday league game (amateur) if you ever visit the UK - that shows how tough a game it can be.

Football was never designed to be hands-on physical, unlike rugby or its derivatives, though. I had alot of friends who played rugby at uni - very rough game, I value my face too much to play it at any level above secondary school   . Good to watch though.

I'm not a fan of American sports - although ice hockey is ok (but that's Canadian, right?   ).

I enjoyed the olympics - mainly because GB got the most gold medals since 1920. And we kicked everyone's bellybutton at rowing, my favourite sport. We should be up there with France and Germany (given our population) in the medals tables - if only the athletes could be given more money, and have decent facilities. Sydney was a great setting for the games, and avoided the commercialism that spoiled Atlanta, IMO.

Anyone for cricket? Now there's a sport.

[This message has been edited by Dowding (edited 10-04-2000).]

[Toad]

 

Originally posted by Igloo:
Yes, it is funny watching some american athletes "strut" their stuff and show their true colours.  You see it so often though, you just expect it and it doesn't suprise you when they do that.    

Troll, troll, troll.....

Maybe try a diving lure instead of the topwater?

Say, Iggy, what beer do you drink while you fish? You a Moosehead or a LaBatt's?

 

Don't ya just HATE it when Yanks don't care what YOU think about them?  

It's simply because whenever we feel sad and blue and things look hopeless we just remember that at least we're not Canadians!