Sochi Olympics Discussion Thread

pdxKingsFan

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#121
#121
re: Bode, this is all I can say. Bode brought it up first. A second question was ok. The third question really pushed the line but at that point Bode was broken and said all that can be said. So when she then follows that up with "I noticed you were looking towards the sky and..." WTF was she thinking? That was so far beyond stupid words can't describe. She knew she crossed the line too, which is why before she could even finish she apologized. Which is why NBC should have cut out the interview before the third question. And then the way the studio hosts play it off like "wow, powerful and emotional stuff there" ugh. At that point the only way it could have got any more disrespectful was running a piece on his younger child.
 
Glenn

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#122
#122
pdxKingsFan said:
We have a pretty rich history in long track skating. Who knows what went wrong this year. As fun as it would be to blame under armour I doubt that is the case.

Curling, well we've always pretty much sucked. One thing I noticed is our teams seem quite a bit older, especially on the female side where many teams are dominated by 20 somethings (very attractive 20 somethings, I might add). But why are our guys (and gals) shot %s in the 30s and 40s when others are 80+? We're like the Jamaican Bobsled team of curling except way less cool.
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In curling don't they pick the teams as a team as opposed to individually? It may be a financial deal as it would be difficult to get four of the greatest together to practice whatever they practice.

Which brings up a side issue that one of our skaters was on food stamps while she was practicing for the Olympics. There is not an endless supply of money for these athletes; even those who qualify for the Olympics.
 
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Mr. S£im Citrus

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#123
#123
pdxKingsFan said:
We have a pretty rich history in long track skating. Who knows what went wrong this year. As fun as it would be to blame under armour I doubt that is the case.
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That, essentially, is what I was getting at. He haven't always been bad at long track skating: we've always been bad at curling.

I suppose I should have parsed the question thusly: are there any other Olympic sports in which we have such a long history of being noncompetitive? The women's team, in particular: not only have we never medaled, we've never even been in the running. It's, basically, the only women's team sport we don't dominate.
 
Glenn

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#124
#124
Mr. S£im Citrus said:
That, essentially, is what I was getting at. He haven't always been bad at long track skating: we've always been bad at curling.

I suppose I should have parsed the question thusly: are there any other Olympic sports in which we have such a long history of being noncompetitive? The women's team, in particular: not only have we never medaled, we've never even been in the running. It's, basically, the only women's team sport we don't dominate.
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Our women's cross country skiing team isn't so hot either. That's quibbling. There are winter sports that I doubt have any popularity at all in the US like the biathlon for instance. Maybe 10 guys give it a shot (pun intended) in the US.
 
pdxKingsFan

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#125
#125
We don't typically medal in the nordic ski events but we aren't exactly awful either. It's just that there are multiple athletes competing in events that several nations dominate exclusively. Still we might have one top 10 and a few 10-20s in a field of 40+.

Curling, is well. jeez, it doesn't require a special climate or geography. It doesn't require elite athleticism (which could explain it). It is something we should be able to be great at with little effort outside of sinking the $$$ in. And even though you can say its a small sport that we aren't going to sink money into I doubt the other nations are flooding it either. And its certainly achieved more than just cult status, and along with ice hockey it actually gets more TV time than everything including figure skating, even if it is on the cable networks.
 
Telemachus

Telemachus

Starter
#126
#126
Mr. S£im Citrus said:
That, essentially, is what I was getting at. He haven't always been bad at long track skating: we've always been bad at curling.

I suppose I should have parsed the question thusly: are there any other Olympic sports in which we have such a long history of being noncompetitive? The women's team, in particular: not only have we never medaled, we've never even been in the running. It's, basically, the only women's team sport we don't dominate.
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We've never been all that good at biathlon or ski jumping, and usually aren't all that good at the luge either.
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#133
#133
Glenn said:
BTW, the whole world except Bode was upset with the interview.
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At the risk of continuing to abuse the deceased equine, I firmly believe Bode WAS upset with the interview but just showed an incredible amount of class in not furthering that part of the discussion. Just imagine - from now until eternity his memories of what should have been one of the most joyous times of his life will be intermingled with a flashback to a moment of emotion so raw that it literally took him to his knees.
 
pdxKingsFan

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#135
#135
I like it too. I like the BMW sleds and the annoying Cadillac commercial that tells me I need to work harder and then I yell back at the screen "Then how come we're using German sleds and they take August off?"

I know that in reality the sleds are designed by BMW NA. But it's still funny.
 
Glenn

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#136
#136
As of now, the Dutch have won 21 of the 30 skating medals. Really???? o_O Hans Brinker would be proud. Hans should trade his silver skates to gold.
 
Mr. S£im Citrus

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#137
#137
So, it's come to my attention that (at least, in most countries), curling teams aren't necessarily the best curlers in that country. But rather, the singular regional curling team that wins a national tournament. Team Canada, for example, is apparently actually Team Manitoba. And, even then, not really: like, they aren't necessarily the best four curlers in Manitoba, they just happen to be the team that won the Manitoba Provincial tournament, and then went on to represent Manitoba in the Tournament of Hearts (which I presume to be the Canadian national championship of curling), and won that, too.

I find it to be an intriguing concept, and wonder whether other countries do that for other sports, as well. It would be like if, instead of sending the Redeem Team to Beijing in 2008, we'd sent the Boston Celtics. Of course, if we'd sent the Pistons in 2004, instead of the collection of prima donnas (and Duncan) that went, we probably would have won that gold, too.
 
Glenn

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#138
#138
Mr. S£im Citrus said:
So, it's come to my attention that (at least, in most countries), curling teams aren't necessarily the best curlers in that country. But rather, the singular regional curling team that wins a national tournament. Team Canada, for example, is apparently actually Team Manitoba. And, even then, not really: like, they aren't necessarily the best four curlers in Manitoba, they just happen to be the team that won the Manitoba Provincial tournament, and then went on to represent Manitoba in the Tournament of Hearts (which I presume to be the Canadian national championship of curling), and won that, too.

I find it to be an intriguing concept, and wonder whether other countries do that for other sports, as well. It would be like if, instead of sending the Redeem Team to Beijing in 2008, we'd sent the Boston Celtics. Of course, if we'd sent the Pistons in 2004, instead of the collection of prima donnas (and Duncan) that went, we probably would have won that gold, too.
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I think this is the way it is in USA, also.
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#139
#139
Glenn said:
I think this is the way it is in USA, also.
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In the wee hours of the morning the other night, they had a feature about the US team. I believe you're right, but I could not swear to it. I vaguely recall hearing something about no money for traveling to assemble a truly national team for curling because of a lack of national organization.

I think things may change after these Olympics, however. Curling seems to have caught the nation's fancy, drawing better ratings in some instances than a lot of the other events.
 
Spike

Spike

Subsidiary Intermediary
Staff member
#140
#140
Ashley Wagner has pulled me into figure skating. Maybe it was the Pink Floyd routine. Maybe it's the fact that she doesn't pretend to be a Disney princess. It's likely both.

BTW, I'd like to point out that man cards are non-retractable during the Olympics, as nationalism takes precedence.
 
Mr. S£im Citrus

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#142
#142
I shall attempt to make this reasonably spoiler-free.

That commentator made an interesting point: unlike most individual Olympic events, in team sports, you actually have to lose to get a silver medal. Like, in Weightlifting, you can win the silver. In the High Jump, or the Pole Vault, or the Balance Beam, or Giant Slalom, or even the Bobsleigh, you can win the silver.

In Basketball, or Volleyball, or Water Polo, or Hockey, however, you can't win silver; you can only lose gold. I can't imagine how devastating it must be to give over your entire life to competing in a sport, only to lose the biggest (and, in some cases, last) game of your career, on the biggest stage you will ever compete on, especially when there are such expectations being placed upon you.
 
pdxKingsFan

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#143
#143
Uhhhh, I think I know what you are talking about I left for an appointment with 5 minutes to go. Holy effballs.

yup. wow. :(
 
Glenn

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#144
#144
Wish I hadn't come here. I forgot the women's finals was today and is DVR'd. It's my fault.

Warroad has a lot of players that were in the Olympics and half were from the same family. No family member is named Oshie. There is a story behind Henry Boucha (1972) who is Native American. He went on to play in the NFL back in the era where all NFLers were Canadian. Certainly not American. He played 60 minutes a game for Warroad. He would play an offensive shift and then 2 defensive shifts. Remarkable athlete.

I'm in a major bad mood and may check out while people have their little pissy discussions.
 
Mr. S£im Citrus

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#146
#146
Speaking of damn, I don't typically watch figure skating but, after hearing some of the buzz earlier today, I decided to tune into the replay in Prime Time. Man... someone got their beak wet behind that ****, is all I'm gonna say.
 
Mad D

Mad D

Starter
#147
#147
Mr. S£im Citrus said:
Speaking of damn, I don't typically watch figure skating but, after hearing some of the buzz earlier today, I decided to tune into the replay in Prime Time. Man... someone got their beak wet behind that ****, is all I'm gonna say.
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With the backstage camera I felt like I was watching pro wrestling. Too bad the lady is purple and black had to go out like that.
 
pdxKingsFan

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#148
#148
USA Hockey has sent me from gutted to embarrassed over the past 48 hours. Through the first 4 games there was little doubt about who the best team in the tournament was and now they leave without a medal. First time I've ever turned off our national team.
 
Mad D

Mad D

Starter
#149
#149
Korea's logo for 2018. My first thoughts were it's not so great minimalism and I hope it was a placeholder. The building and Sun make the characters that are Pyeong Chang so it does have a strong amount a symbolism behind it.

Then I saw the system attached to it.




It has a quirky commercial appeal to it. The logo on it's own is still weak though but I can see what they were going for and it's going to work out great, especially when animated.
 
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