ckn Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Normally in the time running up to the start of the Olympics I get quite excited at the thought of the games but this time I'm not. Maybe it's the persistent bad publicity about the athletes, the venues, the organisation and the potential for the games to be disrupted in so many ways. I was listening to the radio on the way home to a description of the main canoeing and sailing patch of water being seriously polluted with obvious and untreated human excrement. I just can't get excited about it and the timezone difference means I'll probably not bother with more than a night or two of events after 11pm. "When in deadly danger, when beset by doubt; run in little circles, wave your arms and shout" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Evans Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 I was very VERY sceptical about 2012. I thought it would turn out to be like a school sports day..... As it happens london absolutely nailed it.... on every conceivable level. It was unbelievably fantastic and i just don't think owt will top it. The tome differences will definitely affect my enjoyment of the Rio games "I love our club, absolutely love it". (Overton, M 2007) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedford Roughyed Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Having the Olympics in the wrong timezone is great when you are on nights. This olympics has bigger issues than most, Russia, Justin Gatlin, inter-sex athletes, the venues, the water, zika, golf, more drugs, etc. Apart from all that it will be great! With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerjon Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Looking forward to the volleyball, hockey and handball. Ambivalent about thd rest. Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Decimus Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 I oddly never really look forward to the Olympics but end up loving it. A Widnesian in Ireland blog What is the best system for Super League? An honest appraisal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Future is League Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 I can say 100% i won't be watching any of the Olympic's due to what has happened of late regarding drugs. In my mind i can't be sure if the athletes that win medals are drug free or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 I find the Olympics can be a lot of the time good background sport, in that I don't really follow it but when its on I always cheer on any Team GB athlete. As for Rio specifically, I think as we saw in the last World Cup hosted in Brazil,the games will be probably good without being spectacular. I think we took for granted how well run and without hiccups London 2012 was sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob8 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Getting older takes a shine off it. I have seen loads of them now, so it is less interesting. "You clearly have never met Bob8 then, he's like a veritable Bryan Ferry of RL." - Johnoco 19 Jul 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 I'm looking forward to it. It is the Olympics, after all. The drug problem in various sports has been backed up by heavier sanctions (at least against Russia) than ever before. Of course, we can never be 100% sure about how clean any athlete is, but that goes for all sports, Olympic or not. It almost certainly won't be as good for GB as 2012, but we knew that already. If there's no GB contender, I can always find someone or some team to get behind. But there will be loads of top-class sport and plenty of great achievements, and I will, as usual, get sucked into the minutiae of sports that I rarely get to see at any other time. I'll be up late many nights, watching the Games. Except the Golf, naturally. There has never been a convincing excuse for Golf. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 I can't wait for the Rugby Sevens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 I can't wait for the Rugby Sevens Even that will be better than the Golf. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckn Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 One post and one reaction deleted. I won't let this thread go that way. "When in deadly danger, when beset by doubt; run in little circles, wave your arms and shout" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedford Roughyed Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 One post and one reaction deleted. I won't let this thread go that way. Nods head and walks back. With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiltshire Rhino Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Especially looking forward to the Track Cycling and hoping Mark Cavendish can finally win gold. 2014 Challenged Cup Winner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff9of13 Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 I oddly never really look forward to the Olympics but end up loving it. I'm like that, not too bothered now but know I'll end up watching hour after hour of it. It's usually the "smaller" sports that get my attention; I'm not too fussed about athletics. "it is a well known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerjon Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Anyway, in Honest Brits news, Lizzie Armitstead will now compete despite missing three tests. Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedford Roughyed Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Anyway, in Honest Brits news, Lizzie Armitstead will now compete despite missing three tests. I think you will find that is plucky brit lizzie, not some iffy dodgy total cheat Russian. With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Evans Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 I know what you mean.... but to be fair to Liz this was a balls up with UKad equally at fault.... One test was completed less than 24 hrs after the initial test was requested. One test she missed cos of a family emmergency .... she accepts that but the first test the tester simply didnt look for her.... failed to take reasonable steps to locate the athlete.... likecask the hotel reception ffs.... Still.... a russian with a similar profile would face calls for corporal punnishment! "I love our club, absolutely love it". (Overton, M 2007) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmduck Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Looking forward to the volleyball, hockey and handball. Ambivalent about thd rest. In nearly 62 years I've never heard anyone say that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Toppy Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 There was a piece on the North West news last night about swimmer Fran Halsall. She grew up as Leicester Tigers fan but since she's been going out with John Wilkin she said she's now swapped to watching League instead. St.Helens - The Home of record breaking Rugby Champions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 There was a piece on the North West news last night about swimmer Fran Halsall. She grew up as Leicester Tigers fan but since she's been going out with John Wilkin she said she's now swapped to watching League instead. Dodgy likes all round then "Freedom without socialism is privilege and injustice, socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality" - Mikhail Bakunin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drake Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Normally in the time running up to the start of the Olympics I get quite excited at the thought of the games but this time I'm not. Maybe it's the persistent bad publicity about the athletes, the venues, the organisation and the potential for the games to be disrupted in so many ways. I was listening to the radio on the way home to a description of the main canoeing and sailing patch of water being seriously polluted with obvious and untreated human excrement. I just can't get excited about it and the timezone difference means I'll probably not bother with more than a night or two of events after 11pm. It's easy to forget how grumpy a lot of people were before London 2012, fearing it was all going to be a bit rubbish, but that all changed after (and because of) the opening ceremony. Now we look back on London 2012 with such fondness and the warm glow of a job well done, it's hard to imagine how Rio 2016 could live up to it. For us in the UK, it can't, because it won't be 'our' Games, we're not as invested in it emotionally (or financially! ) and we haven't had things like the torch relay to involve us and hype us up in advance so I think that's probably why it all feels a bit flat in the build up. It's a case of 'after the Lord Mayor's Show' for us. The problems are always the same before any Olympics (including London 2012), last minute panics about safety, infrastructure, organisation, doping, ticket sales etc, and they make better copy for the media than telling everyone how amazing it's all going to be once it gets underway. I'm looking forward to the Olympics, but not as much as 4 years ago, because it's not in the UK and I'll only be watching it on the telly, mostly recorded highlights rather than live too, but I still think it's something wonderful that happens every four years, all (or most of) the countries of the world coming together in one place for a fortnight to compete at a wide and varied assortment of sports. I'll admit, it's the only time I pay any attention to most of the sports involved, but I know I'll enjoy the collective global, mostly positive experience once it starts. And these days Team GB have pretty decent chances of success all over the place, which adds to the interest. It was much harder enjoying the Olympics back in the days when we had to wait for Steve Redgrave to save the nation's blushes. I hope it goes well, I hope it goes safely for everyone and I'll watch as much of it as I can. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 On another site I use, I checked out the archive for the pre-Olympics posts in 2012, and there were plenty of doomsayers, as well as people saying they just weren't interested in Olympic sports apart from Football. Then, as I went a few pages onwards, everyone (bar one stubborn curmudgeon) was converted and really got into it. There were lots of news stories before the Delhi Commonwealth Games and the Athens Olympics along the same lines as what we are reading pre-Rio. Yes, there will be things that go wrong, but there will be plenty more that goes right. The time difference isn't actually too bad for UK audiences. I also have a Fire TV Stick this time around, so I can access all the different feeds on my TV instead of it taking up my computer screen. It also means I can avoid the Golf. BTW, there's an 'Imagine' programme available on the iPlayer about the London opening ceremony which is worth watching. It brings back some good memories. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Evans Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 I was a real sceptic in 2012. The torch relay heightened public expectation and my pessimism for the games. Then the opening ceremony..... hairs on the back of the neck time....the nhs...the industrial heritage and Billy Casper..absolutely magnificent.... But then cames the games. Warmly recieved almost unilaterally.... by all nationalities.... by all age groups. Those who went were awestruck. Then came the medals... one after another.. Seemingly yorksire taking on the world "I love our club, absolutely love it". (Overton, M 2007) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 I was a real sceptic in 2012. The torch relay heightened public expectation and my pessimism for the games. Then the opening ceremony..... hairs on the back of the neck time....the nhs...the industrial heritage and Billy Casper..absolutely magnificent.... But then cames the games. Warmly recieved almost unilaterally.... by all nationalities.... by all age groups. Those who went were awestruck. Then came the medals... one after another.. Seemingly yorksire taking on the world It was absolutely fabulous.... Then the Paralympics was also a triumph, with Channel 4's excellent coverage. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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