The 2008 Olympics

[dukemomLA]

Want to know if there is anyone else out there who is waiting with bated breath and excitement about 8/8/08 and beyond. I LOVE the Olympics. Any sport, any time. I'm so glad that NBC has the show -- many channels, live coverage on my computer, etc.

I can't even list my "favorite event/sport" since there are so many. (BUT...if Earl Jam, etc. want to start a Poll, that would be cool).

The trials have been awesome so far, and can't wait for more on Thursday and Friday, etc.

What a wonderful thing!!!! (Especially since baseball and golf have not been holding my interest in the past few weeks). (Although the parade in NYC prior to the All-Star game looks like fun.

Go USA!!

[blazindw]

In middle school and high school I ran track (100, 200, relays, and sometimes 400, high jump, long jump and discus), so I always enjoy the sprinting events, among others. Tyson Gay running a 9.68 at the Olympic Trials was ridiculous, and I'm looking forward to the battles between him, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell. It should be an incredible track & field competition.

I also look forward to basketball, swimming, boxing, beach volleyball and soccer.

[Lavabe]

I race-walked in high school, so I usually follow distance races. This year, I'll be be putting extra viewing attention on the following events:
1) Women's 1500m, pole vault, fencing: Duke connections (see threads on the EK Forum);
2) Soccer/football;
3) Men's 400m & 800m, 100m, 4x400 m, 1500m, women's 4 x 100m

Cycling will be interesting. Astana (Leipheimer etc...) won't be in Tour de France. Hope to see some interesting matchups there.

Australia vs. USA in swimming should be fun.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[2535Miles]

I love the Olympics, mostly sprints (track and swimming) I ran 110m and 300m hurdles, pole vaulted and occasionally subjected myself to torture in the 400m and 4x400m relay.

One of my favorite olympics moments; Derek Redmond in the Barcelona Olympics. I bawl every time I watch this video. Derek's dad waving the officials off and helping his son across the finish line? Come on.

[blazindw]

One of my favorite olympics moments; Derek Redmond in the Barcelona Olympics. I bawl every time I watch this video. Derek's dad waving the officials off and helping his son across the finish line? Come on.

Forget the Olympics...that's one of the defining moments in sports history, in my mind.

[2535Miles]

Forget the Olympics...that's one of the defining moments in sports history, in my mind.

Heck, forget sports history... that's one of the defining moments in history!

The viewing of that clip should be mandatory for every young athlete and it should be repeated at the beginning of every season. If there were a manual for being a father, that clip could be it's own chapter.

[DevilAlumna]

DukeMom, count me in as someone who loves, Loves, LOVES the Olympics. I cry at the opening ceremonies. I cry at the cheesy, overly-produced personal stories. I cry at the closing ceremonies. And in between, I watch as much actual sports coverage as they can show. Even better is getting the Canadian Broadcast coverage - it's not as cheezed out as NBC.

I'm especially looking forward to rowing and swimming, refuse to watch rhythmic gymnastics or synchronized swimming; and think that table tennis this year will be an incredible event.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I don't know why, but I've always enjoyed the winter olympics more. And on the whole, I hate winter, so go figure. I miss having both in the same year, I think having them 2 years apart just waters down the anticipation for me. I'm most looking forward to gymnastics, and basketball. I'll watch the rest, but I don't think I'll get that excited over it.

Oh yeah, the opening ceremonies, I do love that part. I'm pretty excited to see what China brings out for this year.

[dukemomLA]

I agree with previous posts. Derek R & his dad crossing the line was a special moment in history.

Since I became a Grandma last week... and with the Olympics trials and Wimbleton on my radar, I started dreaming about finding/composing a DVD of the great sports highlights that I want Greta Mei (my soon to be a sports fanatic granddaughter to experience).

Help me out here, EarlJam, etc. -- I'm thinkin' this might be a cool new thread.

I'd love to find/create a DVD of the greatest sports moments of all time.

Torvill & Dean - Bolero
Tiger Woods -- take your pick of the greatest moments
again golf -- Jack & Arnold
dive of Greg Louganis
WR of Michael Phelps
Christian L's shot
Carl Lewis
Jackie Joyner H
Eric Heiden
USA Olympic Hockey, semi vs Russia
Nadia Comeniche (sic) -- first perfect 10
J Claude Killey barreling down the slop
Nolan Ryan...anywhere any place
more other baseball memories than I can list
the NFL Hail Mary pass, the ice bowl, Joe Namath, etc.

etc. etc. etc.

As said, I'm a new grandma. She's only 10 days old, but I can't wait to put bats, clubs, balls, etc. in her hands and feet. (We've already watched many hours of USA Olympics trials in swimming and track & field, as I've explained it all to her).

If anyone knows of a DVD of "The Greatest Sports Moments of All Time," PLEASE let me know. If not, ...is there a way to get such stuff off of UTube??

Looking forward to what moments our DBR family want to contribute. (Again, I have so many, I could go on for days).

[blazindw]

I agree with previous posts. Derek R & his dad crossing the line was a special moment in history.

Since I became a Grandma last week... and with the Olympics trials and Wimbleton on my radar, I started dreaming about finding/composing a DVD of the great sports highlights that I want Greta Mei (my soon to be a sports fanatic granddaughter to experience).

Help me out here, EarlJam, etc. -- I'm thinkin' this might be a cool new thread.

I'd love to find/create a DVD of the greatest sports moments of all time.

Torvill & Dean - Bolero
Tiger Woods -- take your pick of the greatest moments
again golf -- Jack & Arnold
dive of Greg Louganis
WR of Michael Phelps
Christian L's shot
Carl Lewis
Jackie Joyner H
Eric Heiden
USA Olympic Hockey, semi vs Russia
Nadia Comeniche (sic) -- first perfect 10
J Claude Killey barreling down the slop
Nolan Ryan...anywhere any place
more other baseball memories than I can list
the NFL Hail Mary pass, the ice bowl, Joe Namath, etc.

etc. etc. etc.

As said, I'm a new grandma. She's only 10 days old, but I can't wait to put bats, clubs, balls, etc. in her hands and feet. (We've already watched many hours of USA Olympics trials in swimming and track & field, as I've explained it all to her).

If anyone knows of a DVD of "The Greatest Sports Moments of All Time," PLEASE let me know. If not, ...is there a way to get such stuff off of UTube??

Looking forward to what moments our DBR family want to contribute. (Again, I have so many, I could go on for days).

You can find just about any of those clips on Youtube. Youtube has just about everything now.

[Olympic Fan]

You can gather from my posting name how I feel about the Olympics -- usually.

But I find I can't work up any enthusiasm for what's coming in August. I'll try to watch, but I don't think I'll be able to.

Awarding the games to the most repressive regimes in the world and giving them a chance to use the games to con the world as to their "openness" is repugnant to me -- and a chilling reminder of the 1936 Games in Berlin -- which despite the revisionist history about Jesse Owens was a public relations triumph for Hitler and his gang of thugs. Reading the comments by Olympic officials now and reading what the officials in the same positions said in 1936 turns my stomach (to this day I can't think of Avery Brundage, the lying piece of $%^#@# who blocked a US boycott of the Berlin Games by touring Germany and loudly announcing that reports of discrimmination against the Jews were greatly exaggerated, without the bile rising in my throat).

I know it's not the fault of the athletes ... but especially the more I read about how NBC had kowtowed to the Chinese by promising positive coverage (which will pass through a Chinese censor) ... I think I'll pass.

[Bluedog]

I race-walked in high school, so I usually follow distance races. This year, I'll be be putting extra viewing attention on the following events:
[...]
2) Soccer/football;

Unless I missed something, soccer is not an olympic sport. This is also the last year of baseball and softball (at least for now), so enjoy them while you can!

[blazindw]

Unless I missed something, soccer is not an olympic sport. This is also the last year of baseball and softball (at least for now), so enjoy them while you can!

Soccer is an Olympic sport. The U.S. have qualified this year (They had Olympic qualifiers in March). The teams are made up of a country's U-23 squads. However, there are a few exemption spots where you can put players older than 23 on the team.

I forgot to add baseball and softball to the list...especially softball and how we usually straight dominate everyone else.

[Bluedog]

Soccer is an Olympic sport. The U.S. have qualified this year (They had Olympic qualifiers in March). The teams are made up of a country's U-23 squads. However, there are a few exemption spots where you can put players older than 23 on the team.

I forgot to add baseball and softball to the list...especially softball and how we usually straight dominate everyone else.

Ah, I stand corrected. My mistake. I guess I had assumed (stupidly) that it wasn't included since nobody makes a big deal of it, while the world cup is pretty much the Olympics of soccer and uses the same format (as in, each country has a team). So, it seemed odd to duplicate that in the two events. It seems doubly odd that they only allow 3 players over 23 on each team - I guess they're trying to preserve the amateurism of the Olympic sport, although the players can certainly be pro. This also explains why the best soccer players don't compete in the Olympics. Very interesting...

[Lavabe]

It seems doubly odd that they only allow 3 players over 23 on each team - I guess they're trying to preserve the amateurism of the Olympic sport, although the players can certainly be pro. This also explains why the best soccer players don't compete in the Olympics. Very interesting...

FWIW, Cristiano Ronaldo is 23.

[DevilAlumna]

DukeMom,

Don't forget to add Mary Lou Retton; Nancy Kerrigan; speed skater Dan Jansen finally winning the gold after so many heartbreaking races; the dominance of Bonny Blair; Cathy Freeman winning the 400 in front of a rockin' Australian crowd.

Greta is gonna have one awesome sports education!

[dukemomLA]

DevilAlumna, thanks for more highlights that I hadn't added to my original list. To others, I know all (or at least most) are available on YouTube, but I'd love to find/create a DVD to keep forever. (...hey, is this a DBR fundraiser in the making?)

To OlympicFan, I feel your pain and agree. For the Olympics to be given to China is a travesty!!!!!! But that's a (disgusting) political decision, and the athletes deserve our respect and support. The boycotts in the '80's made my blood boil! Imaging training daily for years and years, just to have your dreams crushed.

Political statements and demonstrations should be reserved to and welcomed by any athlete himself/herself. (a la Black Power fists in Mexico City) And I will (hopefully) look forward to such in Bejiing. I am disgusted and outraged when those who are NOT athletes make those decisions.

Also to another post, I also enjoy the Winter Games -- probably more than Summer. And agree that 'rhythmic gymnastics' & sync 'swimming' should bite the dust. (yuk).

[Lavabe]

dukemomLA (congrats to dukegrandmomLA) and DevilAlumna got me thinking why I like watching the Olympics. I think for me, it comes down to two words:

Bud Greenspan

His work documenting the Oympics brought to mind one Olympic performance that has me forever glued to the marathon.

Ethiopian Abebe Bikila's 1960 marathon-winning performance in Rome was stunning. Besides the Ethiopian winning in Rome aspect, besides being the first African gold medal in athletics, besides the nighttime finish, he ran the race BAREFOOT! His strategy was simply to keep the pace of the leaders until the last 4-500 meters or so. At that point, he sprinted.

In the Tokyo Games of 1964, he won the marathon wearing shoes. He had an appendectomy slightly more than a month before the race.

Bud Greenspan is a genius. I enjoyed watching his work re-telling the Olympic performances of Fanny Blankers-Koen, Wilma Rudolph, Paavo Nurmi, Al Oerter, and Jesse Owens.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[JasonEvans]

I know it is fashionable to be angry that China got the games. Personally, I hate many of the things China represents and can't believe the Olympics are being staged there.

That said, this article made me feel more than a little bit more sympathetic to China's role in the Olympic world.

Again, I am not in favor of the games being there and concur with the many reasons to oppose China's role as host, but that's a nice article about China taking a stand on the Olympics not being a political tool.

-Jason "the cynic in me says the only reason China decided to come was to test their then-developing doping program on the world stage" Evans

[bird]

I for one am hoping that the Olympics are a successful coming-out party for China, and that the world warmly receives that success.

China's chip-on-the-shoulder thing is dangerous.

I think the better analogy is not the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but that of 1964
Tokyo Olympics. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics was quite consequential to Japan's self image (and color TV industry) as it was emerging from the WWII cloud, which ended just 19 years before.