July 27th is the big day for the London Summer Olympics. It's sure to be a good show for those watching and a nightmare for anyone trying to live in London over the next month. Focus: Any predictions? Alt. Focus: Favourite moments from Olympics past. Personally, my biggest highlight is not of an actual event, but rather watching Muhammed Ali light the torch at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Games:
Alt. Focus: I was obsessed with gymnastics when the 1996 Summer Games came around. It's still my favorite sport to watch, by far. No one can deny that this was pretty amazing: I actually tear up when I watch it.
I predict that black people will dominate. This is a very bold prediction, considering that two years ago I predicted that white people would dominate.
Oscar Pistorius will be competing during the relay event. It's pretty cool that a double amputee can be competitive with all the best runners in the world. What would really be great is if they would allow the para-athletes to march during the opening ceremonies with the 'regular' Olympic athletes.
The games are sorely missing events that I consider pivotal: - Extreme Connect Four. - Pole Dancing. - Dominatrix Endurance. The girls from Kink.com would sweep. - How far can you roll a morbidly obese American uphill. Think Sisyphus and the boulder. Very Greek. - Competitive Eating. Gold Medal for eating 3 feet of Tacos Al Pastor gets you on a Wheaties box. - Russian Roulette. DI DI MAO! The Vietnamese will sweep. They have a ringer:
Alt. Focus: My favorite Olympic moment was seeing the U.S. hockey team win the gold medal in 1980 in Lake Placid. I was with my mom at Sears in Indianapolis and I went upstairs to watch the end of the game on TV. They had already beaten all odds by defeating the USSR in the most important game, but had to beat Finland in order to win the gold.
Summer games are 'meh' in my books. I'm a Winter Games kinda gal. And my "favourite" moments (or, those that are imprinted most firmly in my memory)? The proud... The resilient... And the heart wrenching...
Focus: Matt Emmons won't choke his last shot like he did in 2008 and will bring home gold again (prone and 3P rifle). I'm just hoping the shooting events won't be on in the middle of the night. Alt-Focus: Gardner vs. Karelin's final match in the 2000 Olympics. Aleksandr Karelin was a Soviet wrestler (more like monster athlete) and was undefeated for on the mat for 13 years (hadn't given up a single point to opponents for six years) until an guy from Wyoming named Rulon Gardner beat his ass in the gold medal match. I'm gonna spare ya non-wrestling fans the video but it was an incredible upset and massive, massive victory for Gardner.
Jesus could you Canadians at least pretend summer exists once in a while? Sheesh. My favorite? Munich '72. Just kidding, I have to say that watching Usaine Bolt run is fucking mesmerizing.
I predict it will be yet another advertising fest of disgusting proportions, while the feats of most athletes are ignored. The ones who aren't ignored will all be named Michael Phelps.
I actually remember the '72 Olympics vividly. Watching Mark Spitz win an unprecedented (at the time) 7 gold medals and shattering numerous world records was incredible. Watching the heartbreak of Olga Korbut failing to win the individual all around after doing so well and carrying her team to gold More important was watching the Palestinian terrorists on live television as they were stalking the Israeli athletes/coaches has been etched in my brain forever. The ending carnage of both athletes and terrorists has changed the way Olympic Village security has been managed ever since. After all these years you would think the world would change for the better...
Focus: Any predictions? I don't follow any of it closely enough to know the athletes and make any predictions. I did see part of the trials the other day where Ashton Eaton broke the World Record for the decathlon at the US Trials. So, I'll predict he wins Gold. Alt. Focus: Favourite moments from Olympics past. I know you Canadians usually do pretty well in hockey, but . . . Do you believe in miracles?! Most of you weren't even born then, but I remember jumping up and down after the US beat the Russians in 1980. Also, I rember Nadia's perfect 10 in 1976, and I remember barefoot Zola Budd tripping Mary Decker in 1984 . . . and I always thought Decker was a poor sport whiner, but my memory is a little foggy.
To me it's near impossible to answer with a definitive "no" because of the nature of the prosthetics... sounds like various courts have ruled on both sides and it depends what study you look at. I used to run a lot of 400s and sure as hell wouldn't want to be up against him on the final stretch of that race (which is where the carbon feet would shine). Either way I have a ton of respect for disabled athletes like Pistorius.
I predict Michael Phelps will only win 4 gold medals. Rumor has it he has not been putting in the effort he did last go round.
I think the Olympics would be so much enjoyable without all the endless, utterly unecessary biographies on spotlight athletes. I watch Olympics for sports, not to hear some dramatic--drenched tearjerking bio on how Joey always wanted to be the best shot-putter he could be. And then, we meet his family: His dad the former drunk who he forgives, his mom who always believed in him since his conception and the family dog who is an injured combat vet. We hear about their valiant struggles to hook up with their HGH dealers at 4 am across town and what a thrill it is to be on the world stage. Just the events, please. And with that, I'm am most looking forward to see what a show Bolt can put on this go-round. Pretty hard to top four years ago.
I couldn't agree more. When my parents immigrated to the US, they were barely able to sit through the Summer Olympics from 1996 to 2004. And not because of a lack of exciting events or athletes. Back in the Soviet Union, they loved and looked forward to the Olympics for months. It was a huge deal, bigger than any movie or television series. The difference was purely the coverage. Here, on some of the channels during prime-time, the "Olympics" consist of listening to a series of interviews narrated by an old man in a suit. The actual sports themselves? Maybe 20% of the broadcast, if you're lucky. Thus, my favorite place to watch the Olympics has become live feeds on the Internet and smaller channels (like MSNBC) broadcasting smaller events after midnight. They don't have the budget for that emotional fluff, and they're much better for it. Focus-I predict US-Spain will occur in the Olympic basketball finals and be a legendary game that comes down to the final shot. Also, while I predict Ma Long will win gold at men's table tennis singles, the qualification system is pure bullshit. At present, Chinese players are #1-#4 in the world, their defending gold medalist and multiple time world champion Ma Lin is #6, and multiple time world champion and legend Wang Liquin is #9. And yet, each country is only allowed a maximum of 3 representatives. Thus, Liquin, Lin (the defending champion!), and #3 Xu Xin (who is WAY better than any non-Chinese player in the world) are all unable to compete. Meanwhile, #408 Timothy Wong, from the USA, makes it in. (And he wouldn't even be ranked that high if he played in a stronger table tennis country like Germany or Russia, let alone Japan, South Korea, or China) I want to see the best athletes compete against one another at the Olympics, even if a bunch happen to be from one country.
I can't wait to see which country will put forth a women's team (in any sport) with a suspicious amount of facial hair. That will be the team I bet my yearly salary on. Oh, and all things gymnastics, male and female. Because the stuff those people do on rings and balance beams blows my fucking mind.