The olympics. Yay.

[Cowabungaa]

I'm more of a Winter Olympics or X-Games kind of guy. The summer olympics has too many technical disciplines for me to get excited about it. And I had my fill of games like tennis and football. BMX might be cool though.

I'm more interested in the people running really fast

I never got the appeal of those disciplines. Yes, they run. That's, well, basically all. One of those technical disciplines that's probably mighty rewarding for yourself but as an onlooker? It's not like I can actually see someone is, say, 0.1's of a second faster than normal until someone actually tells me.

Unlike other racing sports like boardercross or motor sports or something, where there's action and all kinds of crazy shit.

 

[Soviet Steve]

Well, it's gonna be hell to travel round London, and it's made finding a house in the Olympic area really bloody hard.

However, I'm looking forward to the events I'm gonna see, and it's certainly made Stratford one hell of a load nicer.

EDIT: Also, whoever decided on that logo should be ashamed. It makes me laugh every time I look at it.
http://www.itemsofpotentialinterest.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/london2012-lisa1.jpg

I see Lisa Simpson giving head to homer.

OT I hate the Olympics, bloody waste of time and resources. Also DAT LOGO ;-;

 

[Gunrunner]

I don't really hate them entirely, but living in London and hearing nothing but "OMG OLYMPICS" for the past 7 years since they were announced has gotten stale. Currently however watching the men's Olympic football..Japan just beat Spain.

 

[Susan Arendt]

But the spirit of the Olympics is one of coming together and competing on a level playing field

...and then being thrown out posting for racist Tweets, or walking out because someone mistakenly introduced you under the flag of a country you hate, or getting sent home for attempting to cheat (honestly, I'm surprised there have only been 9 confirmed drug cheats so far!), or taking the opportunity to score petty revenge points by complaining about how shoddy the English accomodation is, or...

What's your point? That's a handful of people out of thousands of athletes. So because a few people are less than admirable, the entire Games is worthless? I disagree.

 

[t3hmaniac]

Ambivalence. While the spirit and enthusiasm of those who really like sport (and school kids) is heartwarming, the amount of bull surrounding the whole thing has left a sour taste in my mouth.

 

[SonicWaffle]

But the spirit of the Olympics is one of coming together and competing on a level playing field

...and then being thrown out posting for racist Tweets, or walking out because someone mistakenly introduced you under the flag of a country you hate, or getting sent home for attempting to cheat (honestly, I'm surprised there have only been 9 confirmed drug cheats so far!), or taking the opportunity to score petty revenge points by complaining about how shoddy the English accomodation is, or...

What's your point? That's a handful of people out of thousands of athletes. So because a few people are less than admirable, the entire Games is worthless? I disagree.

No, my point is that all the talk of the Games as some noble, boundary-crossing exercise where people of all nations come to compete honestly together is horseshit.

We've had cheaters already, and you can bet your boots there will be more. We've had tension between countries who are supposedly only here in out of a sense of friendly competition, including a walkout after someone confused the flags of the two Koreas. We've had a team steadfastedly coached not to mention the civil war going on in their homeland, presumably under duress. At least half of the news stories centred around the Olympics are about what it's costing the country (a lot), the potential economic benefit to the country (very little), how it will improve the "British brand" (it won't).

It's a political spectacle, and a big game of one-upmanship. Why else is the Argentine leader staying home? Why else is Romney trying to edge in on things, acting as if he were already president and coming for a state visit? Why have we refused entry to the head of the Syrian team? Why was international pressure applied to Saudi Arabia to allow women to compete? The government hasn't even bothered to hide it; they've been open about the fact that Cameron and his cronies see this as just one big networking event, and openly brag about gathering the most world leaders together of any Olympics.

The actual sport is pretty much incidental by this point. If you enjoy the sporting portion of the games, good for you, and I sincerely hope you have fun. That doesn't mean the Olympics is about the sport any more than Batman is about his dead parents; those things are just platforms for things to happen on.

 

[Cabisco]

I have the typical British view on the whole affair, I'm simply waiting to see how much of this we fuck up and how hilarious the results are.

The First fuck up is already in:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-18991619

I'll put a fiver on it pissing it down during the opening ceremony and the flame going out.

I'm exactly the same, it's just going to be one big train wreck isnt it...

So far, or soon to come we have:

Showing the South Korean flag instead of the North one

It's going to piss down in the opening ceremony

Said ceremony is taking place to late for a lot of the athletes to even take part in.

Having to draft in 1000's of soldiers because one week before the games we find out we havent got nearly enough security personnel.

And we paid someone £19 MILLION FOR THIS!?!?!?!?!

We shouldnt be allowed to host things, its just humiliating.

I'm all for the Olympics, I think its an amazing thing, i just dont think WE should host it...

Oh god I had forgotten about all that! Lets hope we get another Tottenham riot to spice things up, hopefully with someone stealing that giant blood red helter skelter for scrap metal. It'll be more epic this time as we recently weaponised the area with missiles.

It's that or during the opening Boris Johnson falls into the flame in a gollum like fashion fighting with David Beckham.

Sorry to be all doom and gloom, I'm sure in other countries the olympics is magical, but these are the British Isles and we have a different way of doing things.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Of course as someone who doesn't like sports, I'm apathetic.

But I'm personally more appalled by the corporate hegemony going on in London.

It could be good for local businesses, or rather, it would be if fucking Coca-Cola and McDonalds (companies that REALLY NEED THE ADVERTISING, OBVIOUSLY) weren't laying down minefields around them that explode with on the spot fines into the thousands for trying to capitalise on the occasion.

Y'know, but it's okay if they do it because they're 'sponsors'.

Bollocks.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Is there any part of the Olympics I care about?

Spoiler: Fuck yeah, there is!

Horses being fucking awesome.

 

[Darth Sea Bass]

I'll be glad when it's all over i could give a shit about sports in general and the Olympics in particular!

The economy is in the shitter Millions can't find work so instead of Sorting out the problems two succesive goverments have thrown an obscene amount of money at something that most likely won't have any lasting positive effects.

 

[RedLister]

Of course as someone who doesn't like sports, I'm apathetic.

But I'm personally more appalled by the corporate hegemony going on in London.

It could be good for local businesses, or rather, it would be if fucking Coca-Cola and McDonalds (companies that REALLY NEED THE ADVERTISING, OBVIOUSLY) weren't laying down minefields around them that explode with on the spot fines into the thousands for trying to capitalise on the occasion.

Y'know, but it's okay if they do it because they're 'sponsors'.

Bollocks.

This! local business in london are going to be crippled by the massive list of "DO NOTS!" at the olympics and then theres the transport system which don't cope on a normal day how the hell will it cope when we suddenly all got to stand aside to let them pampered elite get to where there going means more lost business since most people won't even bother trying to fight around it to do things like shopping.

They should work around us! not the other away around!

Also its all on london. It isn't the british olympics its just the London Olympics. Other towns have mainly been given the finger. Seems only the rich elite will benefit from this. Not the standard Londoner or anyone else who happens not to live in london thats for sure.

Finally there is the whole close protection UK (ferm responible for leaving unpaid workfare slaves sleeping under a bridge during the jubilee with no shelter or even working toilets) getting some contracts olympic related.
Also the dirty G4S mercenaries failing to deliver the proper security and then still demanding they get the 57million when they haven't properly delivered. (G4S also responible for child abuse in there prisons and heavy handed deportations which have resulted in deaths)

Yeah im being a miserble C*** about it all. I would be fine about it if it would actually benefit the normal person and not just Cameron and he's well off rich elite friends.

 

[CounterReproductive]

I see a lot of money that has been spent, correction, a VAST amount of money that has been spent in a time of massive financial strife and struggle. Then I see the projected turnover from the olympics and the potential investment opportunities.. and its not even a drop in the ocean, and I think, Why is everyone so fucking stupid.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

I don't care about sports, I don't like sports, I've never played in sports, and 99% of the time I couldn't care less about anything related to sports.

The 1% that changes is the Olympics. I love them. I watch them every possible moment, I follow what's going on with the athletes, I care about their struggles, I love that the international community feels like a community for a whole slew of days together around them. I invest myself in the Olympics because of what they represent and because these athletes (unlike the pros in my country by and large) are passionate about what they do, have striven to be where they are, and the amount of human emotions coming together is beautiful. I cheer for all the countries, for all the athletes - it isn't just about what my country's people are doing, it is something better than that. I see it as something that represents what humanity could be like if we weren't like what we are together.

I would love to go to them one day.

 

[Vhite]

Its only time Im able to watch sports on TV. It can be fun but I don't really follow it.

 

[Dimitriov]

As a Canadian I know that these are just the fake Olympics anyway. The real ones are still two years away.

What's that? I can see about 50 different competitions of people running... and that's it?

Wow. Way to make Speed Skating look interesting


*Goes back to ignoring sports until hockey season starts*

 

[Plinglebob]

I enjoy the Olympics. Interestingly enough I enjoy watching the "more obscure (here in the US anyway)" sports, even though the US team usually isn't in contention. I'll cheer on the U.S. but stay for the finals of say... team handball for example (if we even qualified.) I just like the obscure, different sports.

This is why I like the Olympics. I hate Football, Golf and a lot of other sports that are shown on TV, but 2 weeks every 4 years I get to watch something I know about and enjoy (swimming, Fencing, Hockey) or something I'd never be able to watch normally (diving, gymnastics). I'm also not sure whether people complain about it so much just because we're British and moaning is a national pastime (along with drinking tea and talking about the weather) or because all the newspapers and journalists are in London and pissed they have to get up earlier to get to work.

 

[GLo Jones]

I think this accurately represents my expectations. Hooray, or something.

 

[Alssadar]

I'm going to watch the opening, have an opinion based on that, and then return to the Internet and my vidya games. *Shrug*

 

[Supertegwyn]

I love sport, and I love the Olympics.

Roll on Friday!