Olympic fans post here

[Greg Cuetara]

Will Micheal Phelps be the most decorated Olympian?

He will sure make a run for it and make it interesting. What is your favorite sport? I would love to see the sailing if it is on. Have you seen the venues over there? They have made some great places. Greg

[Dewey Torres]

My fav would prob be track and field. I will say that there are none I don't like watching. I, like you, enjoy watching the obscure events. Sailing and sculling are very cool.

Dewey

[Mike McCann]

I love watching the summer Olympics. Watched the swim trials this weekend with my 4 yr old daughter on TV. SHe is just learning to swim and thought it was great. It was amazing watching the 41 year old lady win two events to go to her 4th Olynmpics. She is unbelievable.

[Glenn Clabo]

I'm a fan of idea of the olympics and I've actually known a few olympians.

One lady, Sharon Hansen-Lowery, was in the 1996 Olympics in the heptathlon. She was friend of my wife, Barb, who was dealing with breast cancer during that time. At my wifes funeral she said something I never will forget..."For some reason people look up to athletes as heros...we are no hero's... Barb, and women like her are my heros..."

Yes there are some amazing people who compete and uphold the true meaning of the Olympics. Those are the ones who I route for.

[Dewey Torres]

I love watching the summer Olympics. Watched the swim trials this weekend with my 4 yr old daughter on TV. SHe is just learning to swim and thought it was great. It was amazing watching the 41 year old lady win two events to go to her 4th Olynmpics. She is unbelievable.

Yes Dara Torres... no relation

[Dewey Torres]

I'm a fan of idea of the olympics and I've actually known a few olympians.

One lady, Sharon Hansen-Lowery, was in the 1996 Olympics in the heptathlon. She was friend of my wife, Barb, who was dealing with breast cancer during that time. At my wifes funeral she said something I never will forget..."For some reason people look up to athletes as heros...we are no hero's... Barb, and women like her are my heros..."

Yes there are some amazing people who compete and uphold the true meaning of the Olympics. Those are the ones who I route for.

Alright Glenn... very cool DO you have any idea how rare it is to actually know one of them?

Dewey

[Alfred Cole]

[quote=Peter Stahl;885295] the biggest richest countries get the most medals.

Hope you blokes will excuse me about medals when I say we are hoping to get a few. I'm from Australia. It's that big blob down under with not many people and lots of kangaroos that George W keeps mixing up with Austria.

Jerry

War does not decide who is right. War only decides who is left

[James G. Jones]

I'm a huge fan of the Olympics, summer and winter. We will watch as much as we possibly can every time they come around. My 7 yr old has even started asking when they will be on again. I watch the usual mainstream sports, but what I really love are those events you only see every 4 years - like pole vault, or bobsledding. I have some magical memories of the Olympics, the biggest of which would have to be the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980 at Lake Placid. Awe inspiring stuff. I'm with you Dewey, bring it on.

[Peter Stahl]

[QUOTE=Alfred Cole;888325]

the biggest richest countries get the most medals.

Hope you blokes will excuse me about medals when I say we are hoping to get a few. I'm from Australia. It's that big blob down under with not many people and lots of kangaroos that George W keeps mixing up with Austria.

Jerry

War does not decide who is right. War only decides who is left

Alfred,

Lots of great athletes from down under. It's one place many Americans would visit if it weren't so far away.

[Pat Germain]

I vividly remember watching my first Olympics when it was in Munich, Germany. I thought it was way cool: the parades, the award ceremonies, the ABC guys in their gold, polyester jackets. Then the regular coverage stopped and turned to guerillas taking over one of the athlete dorms. As I recall, I had just seen Planet of the Apes at the drive-in and this whole thing "guerilla" thing had me a bit scared.

Anyway, there are still some great Olympic moments, but I'm disappointed in the TV coverage over the years. It's 25 minutes of background stories then 25 seconds of actual competition; on tape delay. It's like a bunch of executives are more interested in creating cereal box models than simply showing athletes at their best. I still like watching events where there aren't any judges who decide who wins.

Since there's never been an Olympics in China before, I have high hopes for 2008.

[Greg Cuetara]

A bit over 3 days before the Olympics start. Now I just need to find a good schedule of events and when they will be playing. Not sure I will get anything done for the 2 weeks of the Olympics....definately won't get into the shop so I best get finishing some pens before friday.

If anyone knows of where a good TV schedule is please let me know or post it here.
Thanks,
Greg

[Dewey Torres]

If anyone knows of where a good TV schedule is please let me know or post it here.
Thanks,
Greg

Greg,
Follow my NBC link at the top of this thread. There is a TV/Online listings tab that will ask you what your zip code and cable provider are. Once you type that in, it will list all the events and every channel that they are on w/your provider... not just NBC which is way cool

[Chris Kennedy]

I think a lot of people are burned on the Olympics due to the coverage. I find a lot of it to be so America-centric and having little to do with the actual competition that it is hard to take. I cannot stand it when they cover a medal ceremony when they didn't cover the event.

I used to live in Michigan, where we could get the CBC, and I have to agree -- it was far superior coverage. You saw more and different sports, not just ones that were the love of the American corporate sponsors. Personally, I can do without so much gymnastics and basketball.

Personally, I want to see how the Aussies do in the swimming (can't help it -- my parents are Aussies). They've always been a swimming powerhouse. And I always cheer when I see an Aussie competing.

Oh, and for those who might feel cynical about all the big countries getting all the medals -- recompute the medal counts per capita. It is actually really interesting. The big countries don't do nearly so well, and New Zealand starts to really haul a__ (gotta watch out for those Kiwis).

Hopefully there will be some good events televised.

Cheers,

Chris

[Greg Cuetara]

Greg,
Follow my NBC link at the top of this thread. There is a TV/Online listings tab that will ask you what your zip code and cable provider are. Once you type that in, it will list all the events and every channel that they are on w/your provider... not just NBC which is way cool

Dewey,
Thanks. Guess I didn't see that online but I have not done much looking yet. Thanks for the info.
Greg

[Dewey Torres]

I think a lot of people are burned on the Olympics due to the coverage. I find a lot of it to be so America-centric

I would have to agree that this is part of why folks are ticked off. Some have already posted to this thread and stated complaints about the coverage. I left the tempo of this thread (good or BAD) to the fans, or in this case not so much fans. The response thus far has been more negative than positive which I hope will change after they get underway on Friday. (maybe not... and that's fine too)

As for the quote above, I know from experience that you set yourself up for failure trying to please everyone. If you shoot for 70% and get it be very happy because in most cases the other 3 out of ten will find something to complain about. American's want to see those events and there is only so much air time so they go with the ratings which are a true reflection of what we American's want to see. The big networks didn't get where they are today without saturating us with tons of commercials and following the ratings. (Thank God, TIVO helps with the commercials)

I, personally, wouldn't mind watching Badminton and Handball, but when pitted against cycling and fencing for example, I know what the networks will tend to air. This is my first Olympics where I am not deployed and I have TIVO so I may be able to catch some of the offbeat sports at odd times in the day and I am looking forward to it.

I don't hate it when other countries rake in Medals. I do hope we beat out China though! As for the Aussies, I hope they do well also!