Winter Olympics

[captain nemo1701]

Stop it! You'll make me want to watch now!!

The luge was always my favourite - especially in the 80's when they wore those painted-on shiny suits. I am reminded of an old joke by Robin Williams, originally about male ballet dancers:

Ballet: an art form where the men wear pants so tight you can tell what religion they are

I'll stop perving now.....the boss has wandered into the office. Activate cloaking device!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Bring back the days of the Greeks when they all did it in the nude!!

No, REALLY!!







...... Although maybe not the Winters - There would be nothing to see in the cold!!

 

[Tin Pot]

I had a look at the schedule on the beeb, I'll be catching the biathlon and downhill that's on out of work hours in the first week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-olympics/25763228

 

[Ganymede]

Interesting take on the dilemma facing gay athletes:

An openly gay snowboarder says she will not speak out against Russian "anti-gay laws" during the Sochi Games, to avoid jeopardising her "Olympic dream".
Australia's Belle Brockhoff also says her parents are worried for her safety.
"I'm not afraid to express my opinion after the Games, but I don't want any official to pull me aside or someone stop me at the border," she said.

and
"I want to go there because I'm not afraid of these laws and I want others that live in Russia, who are homosexuals, to see that."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-olympics/25932270

 

[Ganymede]

This is hilarious:

Bruno Banani
Country: Tonga Sport: Luge

They said: "It is of bad taste to change your name to that of a sponsor. That is too much for me. This has nothing to do with proper marketing" - Thomas Bach, now IOC president, in 2012.

Bruno Banani is a German underwear manufacturer. Bruno Banani is also a luger for Tonga. This is not a coincidence.

The circumstances are bizarre. Approached by a guerrilla marketing firm in 2008, Tongan student Fuahea Semi - then 21 years old - agreed to move to Germany, change his name to match that of the underwear giants, and learn to luge. Luge and Germany go hand in hand - no Winter Olympics has ended without a German on the podium.

As part of the marketing ploy, Semi even agreed to pretend his father had been a coconut farmer. Banani, as he became, did not make Vancouver 2010 and reporters later exposed the 'hoax' behind his name and the marketing deal. But his ambition to luge, it transpires, was quite real.

Having since reached three World Championships, Banani successfully qualified for the 2014 Games and will become Tonga's first Winter Olympian.

- From an article called "Ten Unlikely Heroes" on the beeb website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-olympics/25996446

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

This is hilarious:

Bruno Banani
Country: Tonga Sport: Luge

They said: "It is of bad taste to change your name to that of a sponsor. That is too much for me. This has nothing to do with proper marketing" - Thomas Bach, now IOC president, in 2012.

Bruno Banani is a German underwear manufacturer. Bruno Banani is also a luger for Tonga. This is not a coincidence.

The circumstances are bizarre. Approached by a guerrilla marketing firm in 2008, Tongan student Fuahea Semi - then 21 years old - agreed to move to Germany, change his name to match that of the underwear giants, and learn to luge. Luge and Germany go hand in hand - no Winter Olympics has ended without a German on the podium.

As part of the marketing ploy, Semi even agreed to pretend his father had been a coconut farmer. Banani, as he became, did not make Vancouver 2010 and reporters later exposed the 'hoax' behind his name and the marketing deal. But his ambition to luge, it transpires, was quite real.

Having since reached three World Championships, Banani successfully qualified for the 2014 Games and will become Tonga's first Winter Olympian.

- From an article called "Ten Unlikely Heroes" on the beeb website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-olympics/25996446

I'm sure Banani have seen plenty of Semis before, and they will see plenty after....



I'll get me coat, sorry.

 

[totallyfixed]

I have been competing / watching winter sports for more years than I care to admit to and yet there is one question I really, really would like an answer to, why do the ski jumpers not wear national kit? In the Nordic Combined they wear their national colours on the cross country phase but not on the jumping, anyone know?

 

[Shadow]

Absolutely no idea. Jumping is not an area in which I have much expertise. I expect the Finns to pick up the medals. This proves my lack of knowledge as I've just checked and they are not the favourites for gold.

Really looking forward to these Games, although as usual TV coverage will be very Brit-centric. No decent Eurosport coverage.

Speed skating is beautifully graceful - mad Dutch for medals; short track looks crazy - Koreans to take a handful but I hope the Hamelin family can cause some disruption; bob, luge and skeleton for sheer adrenalin - bizarre that brits are world class skeletoners; biathlon athletes are amazing specimens as are the Nordic skiers (X-country) - Norwegians must surely clean up. The 50k mass start is an amazing race. Reminds me of cycling a little - fitness, technique and tactics wrapped in a simple package - can be exhausting just to watch.

Figure skating has many attributes but I do not enjoy any 'sport' that has a predetermined winner because it is so subjective. e.g. Short of a major disaster, the US couple Davis and White will 'win' gold over the Canadians Virtue and Moir.

Curling to me is like golf (somewhat). A game you have to play to enjoy, not exactly a visual spectacle. Curling is great to play. (Golf less so!)

Favourite though is hockey. The world best team sport to watch. Off 2 wheels anyway. Sorry Dayvo and VamP, the Finns and Czechs have no chance - there are at least 4 better teams! (Finns do not have enough depth, Czechs led by an old man, but a great one nonetheless!). The one catch is that the best team will invariably win a series of games. There is only one game for the gold, so a small upset is always possible. If this happens, hope it is the Swedes, rather than Russia or US. One thing for sure though, standard of hockey should be superlative in the knockout stages, especially on the larger european ice. Which could be make the difference for Russia and Sweden, rather than Canada or US.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I have been competing / watching winter sports for more years than I care to admit to and yet there is one question I really, really would like an answer to, why do the ski jumpers not wear national kit? In the Nordic Combined they wear their national colours on the cross country phase but not on the jumping, anyone know?

Isn't dressing up in a giant condom and hurling yourself off the side of a hillside enough as it is??

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Curling to me is like golf (somewhat). A game you have to play to enjoy, not exactly a visual spectacle. Curling is great to play. (Golf less so!)

Considering most people just slag it when they usually know nothing about it, this is one of the better descriptions of it I've heard over the years!

 

[VamP]

I have been competing / watching winter sports for more years than I care to admit to and yet there is one question I really, really would like an answer to, why do the ski jumpers not wear national kit? In the Nordic Combined they wear their national colours on the cross country phase but not on the jumping, anyone know?

The jumping suits are amazingly sophisticated and expensive pieces of kit, with a huge impact on the jumper's performance. Ski jumpers are massively attached to their suits, which are made to measure, so I am guessing that this is the reason.

 

[VamP]

Sorry Dayvo and VamP, the Finns and Czechs have no chance -

That's what Gretzky said in Nagano too

The thing about the tournament structure is that it's about one match - the quarterfinals. Win that and you're (nearly) in the medals. So in that sense everyone can get lucky. I agree that the current Czech squad is not ultra hot - but they have an ace goalie, and lot's of people willing to sacrifice for the team - they may do well.

Canada favourites as always, the Russians never do well at home, Sweden are the in-the-know choice, and Switzerland the dark-horse. USA? Have they ever done well at the Olympics? Other than the glaring exception?

Considering most people just slag it when they usually know nothing about it, this is one of the better descriptions of it I've heard over the years!

All I know about curling is that in the UK, it gets way too much airtime at the expense of the more interesting sports. I vividly remember Nagano when the instant the Czechs won hockey gold - the moment when every sports fan wants to see a bit of the emotional celebration - the BEEB cut to some curling bore-fest. Unbelievable!

 

[totallyfixed]

The jumping suits are amazingly sophisticated and expensive pieces of kit, with a huge impact on the jumper's performance. Ski jumpers are massively attached to their suits, which are made to measure, so I am guessing that this is the reason.

I know, I get that but it can't be beyond the wit of man to do them in the national colours! The biathlon and x-country ski suits are also very high tech but somehow they manage it. Meanwhile I am trying to get hold of a x-country ski hat for cycling, this is proving equally frustrating.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

All I know about curling is that in the UK, it gets way too much airtime at the expense of the more interesting sports. I vividly remember Nagano when the instant the Czechs won hockey gold - the moment when every sports fan wants to see a bit of the emotional celebration - the BEEB cut to some curling bore-fest. Unbelievable!

Yebbut there were no Brits in the Hockey, this is the BBC we are talking about, you really think they will give those pesky, dirty, smelly and no doubt cheating foreigners more airtime than they deserve?? Get with it man!! Everyone knows Britain should, buy rights win EVERYTHING!!

It reminds me of when I was at the Paralympics and found the majority of people watching only gave a flying **** about what was happeing when it involved a Team GB peep. I found myself being practically the only person clapping for people in some situations. It truly was most of the most pathetically infantile things I've ever seen.

Actually, Nagano 1998 - They only started doing Curling in those games. That might also have had something to do with it.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Anyway, yes Curling might look boring until you actually do it and it all starts to make a lot more sense.

That said, for the record, even when I watch it on the telly, I often am doing something else with it on in the background, with me stopping to see the key moments. Being a Curler, you know what's good and whats not anyway so you can 'streamline' your viewing.

Unfortunately you can loose the little subtleties doing it that way.

It is best to see in person a proper tournament with the World's best though. Oh and they often serve soup, so if you like the soup you can get stuck into that instead!!


I like Snooker too, but I often view it in a similar way these days (soup optional).