February 09, 2006

The 2006 Olympics begin Friday. The internets have already come up with the Olympic drinking games, so let's go! (News is already coming out: the Spanish Olympic team has lost their luggage, and the New Zealand team has had their luggage stolen.)

Here's some background on Torino's getting the Olympics. Here are some blogs covering the Olympics: -- This one is by a Norweigian living in Italy (who looks at the tightened security at the Danish and Norweigian Olympic camps). -- This blog is by a Canadian, and seems to be a general news filter. -- Bode by Jake is a blog by Jake Serino, a friend and all-around assistant to the American skier Bode Miller. -- Access Apolo is a blog by US speed skater Apolo Ono's dad, Yuki. The NBC site offers tutorials on each sport, including Skeleton and Curling. (Here in the US, we're pretty much stuck with the (jingoistic, far too US-centric) coverage by NBC. I'd love to see some less USA! USA! type coverage, if you can suggest some!)

posted by meredithea 18 years ago
  • Does the Olympic torch itself HAVE to be a Nike Swoosh?
  • I'll jump in and suggest CBC for coverage of the Games. Lots of Canadian coverage, but plenty of international too.
  • I actually do get the CBC on my cable system, since I live so darn far north. Thanks for the suggestion!
  • I like the winter Olympics for the simple reason that contestants are more likely to have spectacular crashes and suffer injuries than in the summer ones. Summer Olympics = boring Winter Olympics = "Oooh! That's gotta hurt!"
  • I like the Winter Olympics because the BBC has to actually concentrate on the sport because there isn't any decent British competitors anywhere at all Unfortunately, Britain won gold in Curling at the last one, so no doubt now their entire coverage will consist of that instead
  • Britain won gold in Curling Is this a subtle way to slowly reclaim their empire? New Zealand chef de mission Thomas Huppert told NZPA last night that the skiing and snowboarding teams who arrived in Turin yesterday were the victims of theft while in transit in Canada. Ya gotta watch out for those shifty Canadians! Equipment and clothing to the value of $US15,000 ($NZ22,172) was stolen, although he stressed it was almost exclusively the belongings of officials. What? officials aren't people?!?
  • I was on an intermural curling team for a semester a couple of years ago. My friends and I got interested because of all the coverage at the last Olympics. What other sport to you get to holler "Hard! HARD! Harder!" in?
  • Only one that I can think of.
  • If that qualifies as a sport, then I'm signing up for the Special Olympics this year.
  • MCT: Special Olympics? Usually they tend to alter their competition for those that are not able to participate in the more strenuous activities.
  • Yes. I am half a man.
  • I too have always felt that there should be far more Olympic events that combine something with shooting.
  • Shooting and bobsled? The guy in the back isn't doing much -- he can easily be turned into a gunner. Or, you could flip the whole thing around, and have skeet shooting at bobsleds. Moving targets and all that. Same applies for ski jumping. Fes, I think you're onto something.
  • Now that I've reached the age of declining prowess in the areas of strength, speed, agility, and endurance; I see curling as my only hope of ever winning an Olympic medal. And I've never played.
  • I'm watching the opening ceremony at the moment. Kenya has a team! Woo Kenya! I'm holding out for Turkmenistan, though. For some reason the music they're playing over the PA is "Funky Town". Ooh! Madagascar has a team for the first time! Five people that all look very English. Holy crap, I shouldn't be surprised that the Norwegian team is the size of most of the other teams put together. Apparently one competitor from Norway is expected to produce "seven litres of sweat". Woo! New Zealand! Eighteen people, all of them holding video cameras and filming the audience. So cute. Okay, is Portogallo (Spanish for Portugal) really anything to do with roosters?
  • Apparently one competitor from Norway is expected to produce "seven litres of sweat". Werner Herzog is Norwegian?
  • Okay, is Portogallo (Spanish for Portugal) really anything to do with roosters? Roosters are very Portuguese. Even more than they're French. You see all kinds of porcelain roosters in Little Portugal in Montreal. I think they're expecting them to be the next Lucky Cat.
  • Tajikistan...waiting...Turkey... Hey! Ukraine! WTF, Turkmenbashi?
  • The commentator just said there are 81 countries but only 80 flags. Any guesses who is flagless? I missed it.
  • Fucking tape delay. I want to be watching this.
  • Taiwan is forbidden from using their National Flag in the Olympics, so they use a special Chinese Taipei Olympic Flag instead. Maybe that's what the commentator was talking about?
  • I so don't want to be at work right now. I'd really rather be watching roller bladers on fire.
  • I'd rather be ordering my second round at the bar and asking the barman if he would please be so kind as to turn the volume WAY down on that Olympics foolishness.
  • also: seven liters of sweat would weigh upwards of 15 pounds. I officially call "pantload" on the Norwegian Olympic Team!
  • Heh. I'll be watching the opening ceremonies later with my boy, whom I had to bribe with promises of pizza and sexual favors to sit through the "pageantry." He hates pageantry :)
  • Why do you people make me do this?? MonkeyFilter: I'd really rather be watching roller bladers on fire.
  • The commentator just said there are 81 countries but only 80 flags. It may be that both Koreas walked out together this year for the opening ceremony. They're still competing separately, I believe, though they're in discussions to change that next time.
  • The Koreas did come out together, which was neat. And Bob Costas (who... shut up, Bob Costas!) said that they're in talks to compete together in '08. Fun. I thought that the opening ceremonies had a good cheese to coolness ratio going on.