Olympic fans post here

[Dewey Torres]

All,

I have always been a huge fan of the Olympics (summer or winter) and I am opening this off topic thread for folks to post US Olympic comments... good or bad!

I, for one, can't wait for 8-80-08!

Any comments on the trials are welcome as well!

http://www.nbcolympics.com/

Dewey

[Peter Stahl]

Personally I wouldn't miss them. It's just like professional sports, the biggest richest countries get the most medals. Now that professional athletes can compete I dislike it even more. Also with Network TV you have to watch the events they want to show. Just my opinion, not trying to start a argument.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Also with Network TV you have to watch the events they want to show.

This isn't the case for the non-Olympic weeks? Given that I can give up about 3 hrs/night, I like the fact that they give us the Reader's digest version and skip over the sports that really are kinda boring to sit and watch.

[Bob Rufener]

I used to really enjoy watching the olympics. I started getting a bad taste about it when Jimmy Carter did not allow US athletes to attend the Moscow games. It really politicized the games. I really felt sorry for the athletes who were denied their possibly one shot at participating. It has, like so many things, become all about the money. In so many cases, it is not about the team achievement. It's more about me and what I'm going to get as a result of participating. I have a tendency to root for the underdog in many events. Even though I like to see US competitors do well, I really like to see athletes from small countries do well too.

[Lee Schierer]

I like watching the events, I can't stand the talking heads constantly saying that the US contender will likely win the gold and then changing their story after they don't and the too numerous "up close and personal" interviews on every contestant they can get in front of a camera.

I say more sports, less fluff.

[Dewey Torres]

I like watching the events, I can't stand the talking heads constantly saying that the US contender will likely win the gold and then changing their story after they don't and the too numerous "up close and personal" interviews on every contestant they can get in front of a camera.

I say more sports, less fluff.

They do seem to find a story on all of them. Some of the stories are great and some so-so. I bet they could find one on me if I went. Everyone has a story.

I still love the Olympics though.

Dewey

[Joe Pelonio]

I like watching the events, I can't stand the talking heads constantly saying that the US contender will likely win the gold and then changing their story after they don't and the too numerous "up close and personal" interviews on every contestant they can get in front of a camera.

I say more sports, less fluff.

I agree, and that's why we started watching it on CBC out of Vancouver, BC.
Much more sports, and the interviews/stories on athletes are more evenly spread among countries and they are shorter. I remember when we bought our first brand new color TV (19") back in the '70s it was timed for watching the Olympics.

[Lee Schierer]

I bet they could find one on me if I went. Everyone has a story.

You could be the first Command Senior Chief to compete. That ought to be good for at least 15 minutes of air time! What event would you enter?

[Lee DeRaud]

I pretty much lost interest in the Olympics when (1) they dropped just about all pretense of the athletes being amateurs and (2) they turned womens' gymnastics into borderline kiddie-porn.

Seriously, when did you last see an actual grown woman competing in Olympic gymnastics? And who thought it was a good idea to turn the NBA All-Star Game into a round-robin tournament?

At this point (paraphrasing Mark Cuban), the whole thing has nothing to do with athleticism and national pride, and everything to do with selling shoes.

[Dewey Torres]

You could be the first Command Senior Chief to compete. That ought to be good for at least 15 minutes of air time! What event would you enter?

Well, since they don't have competitions for woodworking, the mastery of the 8 minute mile, real estate investing, Naval leadership, Electronic Warfare, or humming bird watching... I am unfortunately a wash.

Dewey

[Dewey Torres]

All,
I thought there would be more FANS (you know ... people who actually like the Olympics)

All comments are welcome of course, I just had no idea the Olympics had rubbed so many the wrong way

Dewey

[Joe Pelonio]

All,
I thought there would be more FANS (you know ... people who actually like the Olympics)

All comments are welcome of course, I just had no idea the Olympics had rubbed so many the wrong way

Dewey

Maybe it's this particular group, more than the general population, that's not into the Olympics. But, here the Seattle area decided not to try for a future Olympic host bid, due mainly to not only lack of corporate interest but also opposition from residents, especially commuters already suffering from nasty traffic. Recently I have heard people talk about watching this year because it's in China and it could be like watching a train wreck, with the many potential problems.

[Greg Cuetara]

I for one Love the Olympic spirit. I love watching the games both Summer and Winter. It is cool to see US competitors do good but overall I like watching the competition and seeing people step it up during the big competition. There are a lot of sports in the olympics other than basketball. I do wish the coverage was a bit more towards all the sports and not only women's gymnastics and swimming in the summer and skating in the winter. I like watching kayaking and some of the other obscure sports which you can never see other than the olympics.

I am in a conundrum right now though because my dvr is loaded with new yankee workshop and woodworks but I want to make room for the olympics.

Keep the spirit up. The olympics shouldn't be political it should be about the athletes and the competition. No matter what other's make it out to be I try to remember what it is supposed to be about.

Greg

[Dewey Torres]

I for one Love the Olympic spirit. I love watching the games both Summer and Winter. It is cool to see US competitors do good but overall I like watching the competition and seeing people step it up during the big competition.

No matter what other's make it out to be I try to remember what it is supposed to be about.

Greg

Alright Greg!!! Now were talking

Will Micheal Phelps be the most decorated Olympian?

Dewey

[John Schreiber]

One of the things I liked most about the Olympics was that it was a community event. Everyone watched and could talk about it the next day. In that way, it banded the country together and we felt like we were all on the same team.

I think I remember that during the last Olympics, American Idol got better ratings.

At our house, we have almost stopped watching TV. We just decided that it added more bad things to our life than good things. We still watch Illini Basketball and if there are tornadoes, we watch the weather maps and I had thought that we would probably watch the Olympics. At this point, I don't think we will though.