You may have missed this but the thirty first Olympic Games of the modern era begin in Rio de Janeiro this week. It used to be that the Olympics were all about amateur athletes proudly representing their countries and testing themselves against talented contemporaries from other lands. Now the Olympics appear to be largely about sponsorship, TV rights, celebrity, drug taking and testing, expensive bidding procedures, building flashy facilities and riding roughshod over the arguments of local inhabitants. Oh and this time let's also throw into the mix zika infested mosquitoes...
And endless, boring, wall to wall coverage on the TV. I'm not a sport fan (Really? I hear you say.) and I am getting really fed up with the way we have been inundated with sport coverage this summer. Will it never end?:(
ReplyDeleteYou can't fool me Jenny. I know you are fanatical about synchronised swimming and the modern pentathlon.
DeleteI'm looking forward very much to the Olympics. To me it's exciting. Watching the competitors who are at the top of their fitness perform is thrilling. I will be watching constantly. I'm an Olympic Tragic...always have been. I love The Olympics.
ReplyDeleteI just hope all goes well; I hope everyone remains safe. That is what concerns me.
There are too many fools roaming around these days who get pleasure out of destroying the lives of others. They're incapable of dreaming and achieving; they're only capable of destroying. May nothing untoward interrupt the Games and those who are visiting Rio.
Watching these wonderful sportspeople who have trained for years; those who are dedicated and driven get to this point is much more pleasing than seeing and hearing about all the horrific events that go on in the world every day. They dare to dream and have the dedication to bring their dreams to fruition...and I enjoy going along with them on the ride for the two weeks of The Games.
Let's hope the next two week's are a respite from the horrors that engulf day after day...let's hope the Olympic spirit rubs off on us all.
Yes...I can hardly wait for The Olympics to begin!
In 2012 I feared that London would be targeted by terrorists but thankfully it didn't happen and The Games were a great success. I hope that we see the same in Rio. It would be nice to have a joyful distraction from all the nastiness we have seen this year.
DeleteNot my scene I'm afraid. I lost interest in many professional sports many years ago. I enjoyed being an amateur linesman (and considered taking my ref's ticket) but the professional game left me cold.
ReplyDeleteWere you - like Glen Campbell - a linesman for the county?
DeleteIf there is a picture or video in this post, I can not see it; there is just an empty frame visible for me.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Olympics, the last time I really watched them was when the games were held in L.A. in 1984 or so. My friends and I - teenage girls, all of us - were drooling over Carl Lewis.
Oh, no cartoon? I will attend to that forthwith.
DeleteI can see it now, thank you!
DeleteOh, I like the cartoon. many people and groups say that the Olympics aren't about sports any more. I don't watch them.
ReplyDeleteRumour has it here in Blogland that you represented Canada in the pole vault. Was it the Melbourne games of 1956?
DeleteI used to enjoy the olympics, even went to a few events when they were held in Sydney, but they don't do much for me these days, mostly because of the performance enhancing drugs. You really won't know who really wins for perhaps 4 maybe 8 years in the future
ReplyDeleteMaybe it would be easier if the athletes were allowed to take any drugs they want to.
DeleteI just pray it isn't a draw. I can't stand extra time.
ReplyDeleteI have seen the clay shooting the bangs make it exciting.
I thought you would be a fan of the ladies' gymnastics.
DeleteBeach Volleyball for me. How is it they never have a penalty shoot out and the camera work is rubbish. Find an appealing one and track it, ignore the rest. Try finding a nubile one in Hockey or Rugby Sevens. There is one lass in the Sevens. I can tell she is fit.
Delete"I am writing as you have a posh meal and I can't find your email address. Just remembered, it's under the book bit, too late now I've started so I will finish.
"Is that where Stirrings started? Just at the arse end of Fullwood. I was infamous for playing the flute in Stirrings and also got a free meal in Mamas Pizza whatsit on Surrey St. I don't know why they didn't invite me back I suspect it was because I took a lass who played the bassoon. It plays like a dull dozy clarinet. I liked it, I liked her, fit as a butchers bassoon player she was it was massive and looked good nestled between bare legs. Mind Mamas was full of uphill gardeners from the Crucible. Not ones to be impressed by bassoons or fit legs." I am bored and got sick of the blogger concerned asking for help and I spent hours giving him the answers. Even sent the daft old sod screen grabs he couldn't open.
I bet he taught Carney's dad. Canadians! What does one do with them? Send them packing I say.
Too much razzmatazz for me. I might watch some of the cycling.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather watch recycling.
DeleteI'm still a sucker for the Olympics. I worry about the security and facilities in Rio, and the Zika virus has kept away some good athletes. But I'll still watch Phelps and Bolt - and our own Sydney McLaughlin :-)
ReplyDeleteThe Pedestrian Writer
Thanks for calling by Chris. Order a big pizza and grab a six pack then sprawl on the sofa watching all those jocks perform on the TV screen.
DeleteWell... I enjoy watching the olympics whenever I can. The gymnastics and synchronized diving are the two summer events I try to catch especially.
ReplyDeleteBeing used to watching movies of today that are more digital than not (or so it seems), it is phenomenal to me what humans can actually do. In spite of the commercialization and scandal they are people, not computer generated images. Is that silly? I don't know. But the Olympics give me a sort of hope.
It is a shame that side issues have undermined the Olympic ideal which you are clearly alluding to.
DeleteWhat? No joke about me catching synchronized divers? ;)
DeleteNo, not even remotely excited about it all. The whole concept of the games has been lost, as you so rightly point out YP. We started to watch the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Games and switched off half way through - it seemed like a shambles to us. Don't think we'll be watching this time.
ReplyDeleteI can't bear those grand opening and closing ceremonies. I wish they would give the money involved to worthwhile charities instead.
DeleteThe original ideal was that the athletes represented themselves and not their place of birth or adoption. It really started to go wrong in 1936 when winning became a political statement.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the cartoon though :)
DeleteThanks for calling by and leaving your two penneth worth Ian.
DeleteLOL! Love the cartoon. Yeah, I'm not sorry I'm missing the Olympics. I never pay much attention to them.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! That's a surprise. With you being a Yank, I thought you'd be into the shooting events.
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