Olympic-drama!

[FaithKeeper]

So the 2012 Olympics are finally underway and the games have been exciting! Yet, there seems to be a lot of drama going on concerning the United States coverage of the games. What with NBC purposefully airing the Olympics on tape-delay to boost up the advertising revenue on prime time. Furthermore, the lack of seats taken in the audience has created an out rage among ordinary civilians who wish to sit and cheer the Olympians. I hope I am not the only one interested in the Olympics here in the forums. LOL What does everyone think about these things, and/or other things that have occurred in the Olympics?

[Erranty]

Congrats, you're the only one. I will admit the 40ft tall Voldemort in the opening ceremony was interesting though.

[nobodyknows]

I live in London and the only thing I cared about enough to go and and see was the olympic road cycling in Richmond Park.

[FaithKeeper]

@Erranty: Wasn't that just wonderful? I thought it was an amazing concept. The children falling asleep and then the "dark creatures" coming for them, with a giant Lord Voldemort puppet! And lastly, the Merry Pippins look-alikes arriving to save the children. Awesome stuff!

@NobodyKnows: Well you should be proud to be there! It is now the third time London has hosted the Olympics, so there is a great deal of historical significance in that. And don't you find it thrilling to be so close to people from all around the world? I would probably faint from the sheer emotion of it all. LOL Kidding....seriously though, you should take advantage of the occasion. You might make a new friend at the Olympics. ; )

[TheSorrow]

I live in London and the only thing I cared about enough to go and and see was the olympic road cycling in Richmond Park.

I have another friend in London and the most important things he has said regarding the olympics have been how many problems he has with public transport now (which affects his job), how he can't no longer go to certain areas for about a month or so, and something regarding japanese fanservice during the swimming events :P lol

I must admit i really enjoyed watching the opening ceremony, and since the only country that didn't show it live was USA and i'm not from there, i was able to watch it perfectly fine ;P Many people were in disagree with various things on the ceremony, saying how "poor" it was in comparison with Beijing, but personally, i enjoyed this one more than 4 years ago. Perhaps Beijing's was more visually appealing and showed "better" things, but London's was much more modern and showed things i actually know, have lived through, and could perfectly relate myself to (in contrast to traditional chinese culture, which might be so amazing but i can't say i perfectly know about it). I could see people i really know (Rowan Atkinson, J.K. Rowling, etc), identify songs that i have listened to and i enjoy (they should've had Muse though...and i mean actual Muse, not like 30 seconds of Uprising >;/ WHAT HAPPENED TO SURVIVAL ANYWAYS!?), and yeah, overall i personally enjoyed it better than just seeing cultural/historical stuff.

However, having said that, i'm not interested in the actual Olympic games. And that's because i'm not a big fan of sports overall...AT MOST, i like soccer but that's it, and i don't even like it much. And personally, i find it VERY HYPOCRITAL that everyone around here is suddenly acting like they've known about all these events all their life, suddenly showing so much interesting in gymnastics, archery, swimming, etc., while, outside of olympic games, they don't show ANY care for them and immediatly change the channel if they see an event like that on TV. And i don't want to fall into that same hypocrisy, i don't want to turn on the TV and force myself to watch an event i've never cared about it, cheer on someone i've never heard of before, just because it's such an "important" event and everyone else is watching it. And i don't mean to disrespect any athletes...i'm SURE they've put A SHITLOAD OF EFFORT for being able to reach these events, and i know it's by no means any easy to participate in an olympic event...as a mere human being to another, you could say i'm proud of them. However, important event or not, worldwide competitions or not, these are still sports events that i haven't ever liked and i don't find any interesting in watching them.

So, that's my opinion regarding the olympic games ;P

[FaithKeeper]

@TheSorrow: I am sorry for your friend. I hope that he is able to find a way to get to work on time. As far as the opening ceremony goes, I completely agree with you! Now, I am not British at all but I found myself more connected with the concepts of London's opening ceremony than Beijing's. And yes. Beijing's ceremony was unbelievable and more aesthetically pleasing. But the point is not to compare each countries ceremonies with each other - it is to appreciate every one of them for their uniqueness and historical background! Oh and I was very happy to see Arctic Monkeys perform after the introducing of the athletes from around the world. I like them so much!

Also, I see what you mean about finding it "hypocritical" of people to suddenly pay so much attention to the Olympic games. But while these events may not mean much to you I personally do think they are very important. See, the games are much more than athletic competition. It is about showing the world that people from all over can unite despite their differences and their conflicts. It is also an opportunity for them to show the world their most fitted and talented individuals of their country. And of course there is a certain type of energy involved within these occasions that manifests very rarely. And to feel that energy - is perhaps one of the most wonderful things in this world.

Don't get me wrong. I am not trying to persuade you (okay, maybe just a little bit) but ultimately what you choose to like or dislike is your choice. And I respect that. : )

[TheSorrow]

See, the games are much more than athletic competition. It is about showing the world that people from all over can unite despite their differences and their conflicts. It is also an opportunity for them to show the world their most fitted and talented individuals of their country. And of course there is a certain type of energy involved within these occasions that manifests very rarely. And to feel that energy - is perhaps one of the most wonderful things in this world.

Trust me, i understand that. I was able to "feel" that as i saw every country walking into the stadium. Seeing from the most developed and populated countries, to the smallest islands no one has heard of; from the most peaceful countries to several others facing war, crisis, huge political/economical changes that have costed thousands of lives. Seeing certain countries in the same place, countries that have fought against each other for far too long, and still keep fighting. Seeing ALL that, all those people reunited, cheerfully walking and smiling all over, standing next to each other as equals, with no differences, no racism, no egoism, just everyone in the same place in an event where all the wars and differences are gone for a moment, is truly a wonderful thing, such a wonderful thing that should happen more often than just once per 4 years. Yeah, it's really awesome, and i understand and admire that.

And so, i watch the ceremony, get so excited and content from watching such an event and feeling the amazingness of these games and all. But then, i suddenly find myself half-asleep, watching an event where some guys are shooting with a spiffy mechanical-ish bow at some target-thing far away, just looking at them come and go, with few changes in their expressions depending on their shoots, some random people applauding and cheering every few minutes, and with a random screen of numbers increasing, having no idea what it means except that whoever gets more points wins...and then i just ask myself, "What the HELL am i doing!?". And indeed, i'm just watching an event that i don't understand, with no interest of caring about it, and without gaining any entertainment or joy about the results. And sure, i might still be excited about such an event where awesome people from all over the world are reunited, i might find alot of appreciation of all the athletes who have trained so damn hard and are extremely skilled and beyond, but i can't, i just CAN'T force myself to watch an event that i don't understand and don't care about, i can't pretend to follow schedules of the events and be excited for them when i've never been interested in any of them, and i can't feign any interest just because of the importance of such olympic events. And whenever i see people doing nothing but watch these games recently, and saying things like "OMFG SO CLOSE!!!/THAT WAS AN INCREDIBLE RECOVERY!!/DAMN HE SHOULD'VE PUT MORE VERTICAL IMPULSE!!!/THAT GUY IS SO AWESOME HE'S MY HERO!!!", i can't think but anything except hipocrisy, bragging about a fake interest just because of how "popular" these games are right now, just so they can talk with other people who also exhibit such fake interest...and that if you were to invite them to watch that same event a year later (a regional swimming championship, for example), with that same guy they dubbed as a "hero" participating, they'll say about how they're not interested and they don't really like watching those things.

Again, i might admire the Olympic games (in general) alot, i might respect the athletes, and i understand that these games are more than just athletic competitions...but in the end, they ARE athletic competitions, they ARE about the most skilled people in the countries facing each other in several events to win stuff, events which i'm not interested about, and i'll NOT fake an interest to them for 2 weeks and then forget all about them for the next 4 years. That's why i'm not watching them...as much as i can love or admire the meaning and all the feelings behind these games, i'm not watching something i don't care about.
You want me to be interested in such a worldwide competition, where the best people all over the world reunite and face each other in a series of events? Evolution Championship Series. Now THAT'S something i watch everytime i can, something that i'm REALLY interested about, where i perfectly understand what's going on, where i can follow and cheer on several players because i know who they are and what they've done, where i can actually give reasonable comments and not just open my mouth in awe at things i don't even get, and where i don't need to force myself or feign any interest at all. Now THOSE are my olympic games 8D
And you know, i've ALWAYS dreamed (well, not always...but for the past 12 years at least) of seeing gaming as an official olympic event. Unlike other competitions, such like eating the most food or doing some ridiculous thing for the longest amount of time, gaming competitions are events that attract so many people all over the world every year, involve players from all over the world, and require an IMMENSE training and preparation, and i would say as much as any other olympic sport; even if it's not physical training, it's not easy or any simple...it's not easy to perfection your timing on chains, links or cancels, not any easy to learn the behavior of each character, to keep track of their hitboxes and recovery frames all the time, to gain the knowledge to do so, to be able to replicate the most perfect of combos at any possible change, to altern your combos and attacks depending on each possible situation...and not only for fighting games...it's not any easier to learn the range, mobility and damage of all your weapons in FPS games and be able to act with each one and against each one, or keep track of each one of your units and locations in RTS games, to keep track of all your enemy movements even when you can't see them or get any direct information, to have a perfect balance of offense and defense and prepare yourself for anything since the very beginning. But yeah...i guess i'll have to keep dreaming, but maybe in a couple dozens of years or centuries. And if it ever happens, and i'm still alive in some way, THEN i'll be able to watch the olympic games and be fully interested in the actual events without having to be an hypocrite. lol

[FaithKeeper]

Before I say anything, I just want to thank you for taking your time to make a very well thought out response! : D
And I appreciate your honesty. : )

However, there is something that I disagree with you on - to an extent. It is when you say that those who watch the Olympics and make such a big deal about them (one of them is me. ; ) ) are usually being hypocrites because they aren't really interested in the sports - only in the hype. But you must realize that to see any of these events and to speak about them in any manner for a brief amount of time is not "fake interest". The interest is very real, and it is there. Perhaps not for long - but it is there, and it is true for that moment! Now I assume that what you really meant was that you feel slightly bothered because these people who suddenly become so involved in the Olympic atmosphere only do so when it occurs. But when the time comes to cheer these athletes in minor challenges or cups that exist outside of the Olympics those same people are no longer supportive. And if that is case then I also agree with there. It is bothersome and maybe upsetting but you must understand that even if the interest is there for a short amount of time it is not hypocritical - it is humbling. It is humbling because these people who are so immersed in other things willingly choose to pay attention to something other than themselves and cheer for someone who is not them.

You might say that I am simply offering an overly optimistic point of view, but if you can see it the way I do I think you would see this "fake interest" in better light.

I think it would incredible to add video game competitions into the Olympic games. As you have said though, I do not think they will incorporate them into the competitions any time soon seeing as how most of the Olympics have to do with physical interaction without virtual realms. But with the rise of technological advances and with the development of virtual reality perhaps video games can become part of the Olympics some day in the future.

In the mean while, I'll check out that Evolution Championship Series you mentioned. It sounds very intriguing. : D

[Kaori]

I wonder if its true that the North Korean's get tortured if they fail.

[FaithKeeper]

I doubt that is true. Though I am sure the embarrassment and dishonor they bring to their homeland should they fail is torture enough for each individual. But I am not too certain of it. I hope not...that would be unforgivable...and disgraceful.

[zerokoolpsx]

Mostly checking out the swimming competition. Michael Phelps ain't doing so great. Can't muster enough interest for any other event that they have. =/

[nobodyknows]

Regarding your earlier post about 'taking advantage' of the Olympics being in London;

What the hell are you talking about.


For the sake of not confusing your overly optimistic and patronising tone, I say this for exactly the reasons that Sorrow has described. Even moreso as I happen to live right next to the Wimbledon tennis grounds.

No I have never been to a live tennis championship.
No I do not intend to ever go to one.
All these events do is cause hassle getting from place to place and ruin my already awful sleep patterns.

and one final point before you decide to restate that there are more advantages than disadvatages; you don't live here, so don't act like you're entitled to say this is a good thing until you've been through what I have.

 /endrant

[FaithKeeper]

@NobodyKnows: I am not acting like I feel "entitled" to point out the good things that these events have to offer. I am simply saying what I feel and I feel that these games -regardless of how much of a hassle they seem to be to you - are a wonderful thing to experience. Yes, I may not live there and I may not be going through the sort of problems you are but I think that a little trouble is worth it when your country has been working years and months in advance to bring its people and the world an incredible Olympic games. And no, I am not trying to change your mind about the Olympics. You have your point of view and I respect that.

[nobodyknows]

Then our opinions will remain forever different.
I've already said my piece, so I don't need to re-iterate it.

Now hopefully someone will be able to bring this back on topic before it becomes even more of a rant thread and ends up having to be locked.

[Kaori]

I don't really care about the olympics, from what I can see its nothing more than a bunch of countries coming across the ocean to put their flags in britain and try to get a bunch of gold... Its like history but the opposite.

[nobodyknows]

I don't really care about the olympics, from what I can see its nothing more than a bunch of countries coming across the ocean to put their flags in britain and try to get a bunch of gold... Its like history but the opposite.

that analogy made me chuckle a bit.

[Kaori]

And I thought it was gonna take place elsewhere.....

[databug]

Lolz.....

anyway i only follow the Rowing, which by the way New Zealand has dominated in it. lost a lot of sleep watching it as we are 13 hours apart i i end up sleeping for 2 hours and then have to go to work and sell all day to come home and do it all again.

[Kaori]

Lolz.....

anyway i only follow the Rowing, which by the way New Zealand has dominated in it. lost a lot of sleep watching it as we are 13 hours apart i i end up sleeping for 2 hours and then have to go to work and sell all day to come home and do it all again.

Thats nice, I can't watch the olympics or let alone TV, I don't even know if the Philippines sent anyone there at all.

[Kaori]

Double post but.....