How Closely are you following the Olympics?

[WI_DEM]

[eyesroll]

1. It's on in the background...

I'm having a hard time really caring either way.

[Fenris]

2. I had the opening ceremonies on while I was packing one night.

That's about it.

[Hawkeye-X]

3. Watching bball atm

:D

[richmwill]

4. There's an Olympics this year?

There's your answer right there.

[name not needed]

5. I watched the opening ceremonies and beach volleyball. Nothing more.

I forgot about swimming, boxing and basketball.

[supernova]

6. I'm watching every night

on NBC. I wish they would carry some events during the day in real time like ABC used to, but oh well.

I try not to listen to news during the day so I can enjoy the evening program.

[bigwillq]

7. Very closely

I like the Olympics and have watched as much as possible.

[arbusto_baboso]

8. Just can't get excited about it this time 'round.

But when you set as high a standard to meet as the Sydney games, anything that comes after will be a disappointment.

[bigwillq]

14. I am watching it closely but

these Games just don't seem as special as some Games in the past. Maybe when the track and field starts I'll get more excited. I am enjoying the swimming and the softball though.

[arbusto_baboso]

18. Maybe it's the empty stands you can see in background?

After all, if no one cares enough to actually attend the events, how can we be expected to get excited watching them?

[bigwillq]

19. I'm very surprised that there are so few people there

Has interest really fallen off that fast in four years?

Or do people just not want to travel especially with all the terror threats.


It seems like no one has the Olympic spirit anymore and frankly I think it's just sad.

Yes, the Olympics have gone more commerical than ever especially with all these pro athletes allowed to compete now. I guess people are just too preoccupied with other things. Mainly, how to survive another day.

[DS1]

9. It's my own opinion that the Olympics no longer has a shred of credibility

It's been completly bastardized for the television viewing massive.

Ping pong? Water polo? Even shooting? (and I had a great time competitive shooting in my past)

Screw that. Stop encouraging them.

[VelmaD]

13. A little history lesson...

some of the sports you named have been in the olympic since well before the invention of television. Shooting has been an olympic sport since the beginning in 1896. Water Polo was added to the program at the second olympics in 1900.

Granted, table tennis wasn't added til 1988. But still, you need to pick better examples.

[DS1]

15. I was making two seperate points, but thanks for the lesson

I'm not even sure if ~any~ team sports should be allowed, especially ones with active coaches - said polo, basketball, etc.

Shooting depends more on the quality of the weapon than would a relay race with identical batons.

Again, these are my opinions, if you like the Olympics then by all means..

[VelmaD]

16. I'm thinking at the level they shoot in the olympics...

weapon quality isn't really an issue.

I'm all in favor of team sports. There really isn't anything in the olympic program I'd get rid of at this point. Every sport has it's positive qualities and I watch pretty much all of them. I'm kind of a sports nut. :) And I LOVE judged sports...if only for the fun of spending years arguing about who "should" have won.

You're point is well taken though about how the games have been changed for TV...specifically I blame CBS and NBC. ABC's coverage of the games was quite good when I was younger. CBS's coverage of the Winter games has gotten progressively worse over the years. (I have proof - I have video of every olympic skating broadcast since 1984 and the number of skaters shown by CBS has decreased every year they've had the games.) But NBC's coverage of the Summer games is WORSE. If I could have one human being killed with no consequences to myself...it would be Al Trautwig.

[southpaw]

10. X-games are way better!

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

11. they've lost their luster since going to a biannual format

when they happened every four years, it had the feel of an event, but when they happen every other year, i just get sick of them

[bigwillq]

21. I have to agree with you on that one

but I still am watching as much as possible.

[tom_paine]

12. They lost me in the 90s, with their "Human Interest" format

The Olympics meets Oprah.

Saccharine and empty and false, even when the stories were true.

The packaging and nonsense outweighed any empathy I might have had with the Olympians.

Emblematic of the insanity that has lead to the "Farenheit 451" that is Imperial Amerika.

No, I have no desire to subject myself to that nonsense.

2 hours of saccharine psycho-engineered bullshit is far too high a price to pay for 5 minutes of actual sport.

[DS1]

17. Cue lone athlete in wheat fields in three, two,

:eyes:

[borat sagdiyev]

20. very closely

What else is there to watch?