XXXth Olympiad - London

[Holdfast]

Well, after many Olympics of not bothering, I finally managed to watch a bit of the Judo long enough to begin to understand a little of what's going on. Pretty good stuff, esp. that young Brazilian girl beating the favourite (Romanian, I think) to the gold in their weight category.

The archery at Lords is an inspired setting. The USA did amazingly well to beat the Koreans in their semi; I saw the Korea/Ukraine earlier round too and thought Korea looked unbeatable then.

Wimbledon dressed in Olympic colours looks a bit odd, as does seeing players in non-white on its grass. Still, two helpings of SW19 in a year can't be complained about!

 

[Shaytan]

Sorry London, Beijing set a standard you never had a chance to match.

At least, no one's life was threatened to make yesterday's opening ceremony work
Indeed, Beijing set a standard but not the right one.

That was a great race. Well done to Vino.

That was completely unexpected and very enjoyable.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Ah, women's beach volleyball... Who cares what the score is - I'm just praying it goes the distance! I just wish they'd swap shirts at the end...

I'm jealous of the cameramen for this event...

Ha, and theyre playing the Benny Hill theme between sections!

 

[Holdfast]

Ha, and theyre playing the Benny Hill theme between sections!

Is that true, or are you joking? If true, that's just absolute bloody genius.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Ha, and theyre playing the Benny Hill theme between sections!

Is that true, or are you joking? If true, that's just absolute bloody genius.

I'm not joking. They're actually doing that there at Horse Guards' Parade, and I'm watching it on BBC Three. I don't think the competitors (Brazil and Mauritius) have figured out why...

 

[tomalak301]

US won Silver but that was quite a match in the Archery. At least US is on the Medal board now.

 

[Holdfast]

Ha, and theyre playing the Benny Hill theme between sections!

Is that true, or are you joking? If true, that's just absolute bloody genius.

I'm not joking. They're actually doing that there at Horse Guards' Parade, and I'm watching it on BBC Three. I don't think the competitors (Brazil and Mauritius) have figured out why...

Awesome; only in the UK.

I'm flicking between the archery on One (Italy just won gold!) and the F1 qualifying replay on Two. So much sport around.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Is that true, or are you joking? If true, that's just absolute bloody genius.

I'm not joking. They're actually doing that there at Horse Guards' Parade, and I'm watching it on BBC Three. I don't think the competitors (Brazil and Mauritius) have figured out why...

Awesome; only in the UK.

I noticed that too. That and "Mambo No. 5."

 

[CaptainDonovin]

Loved the opening, it was very enjoyable. I always love the Parade of Nations, the look on the athletes faces when they enter & you can see the excitement in their eyes. The lighting of the cauldron was cool, my all time favorite is Barcelona but this was a good one.

 

[CaptainDonovin]

US won Silver but that was quite a match in the Archery. At least US is on the Medal board now.

Just finished watching US & Columbia in womens soccer & now swimming. My thumb is going to get sore switching channels.

 

[tomalak301]

Spoiler: Mens 400 IM Medley

Wow Lochte did really well, and Phelps disappointed. It was quite a race thought and I'm happy the US finally has a gold medal.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Watched a bit of the Womens single foil fencing - which just served to remind me how, despite a couple of decades' experience in sword arts, I could never work up any interest in this type of activity...

 

[Holdfast]

I noticed that too. That and "Mambo No. 5."

*chortle*

Spoiler: Mens 400 IM Medley

Wow Lochte did really well, and Phelps disappointed. It was quite a race thought and I'm happy the US finally has a gold medal.

It's strange; I like the track races which I suppose are essentially the same thing but on land, but when people race in a pool, I lose most interest. Still, I thought the 400 freestyle final was quite fun, if only for the commentators' joking about potentially shouting "come on, my son (Sun)".

Watched a bit of the Womens single foil fencing - which just served to remind me how, despite a couple of decades' experience in sword arts, I could never work up any interest in this type of activity...

I tried fencing once. I found all the gear pretty hot/uncomfortable to wear and my thighs were killing me for days after. Plus the foils move so fast, I couldn't hardly see anything... never again! Give me the theatrical/movie versions any day...

Will be watching the boxing - usually a sport I enjoy watching a lot - while doing the ironing in just a bit. Should be good.

 

[Lonemagpie]

It's mainly the taekwondo I'm waiting for, that being the main sport I actually do, but that's not on until the second week.

 

[publiusr]

That was very, very enjoyable. I had my doubts that they would do anything to top Beijing or even Vancouver, but Danny Boyle played to the strengths of the British identity and popular culture especially in the first half, there were some great celebrity cameo moments (The Queen! And Bond! And Kenneth Branagh as Isambard Kingdom Brunel!), a good helping of humour throughout, some decent music acts, and even in what was essentially an extended jukebox dance sequence, a fun time was to be had - all pulled off with very few serious hitches. All great stuff, and it's set a very interesting tone for what should be a very enjoyable Games.

On the other hand, traditionally the Closing Ceremony is the lighter-hearted one of the ceremonies, where people get down and party. Given the tone of the opening ceremony, I'm already looking forward to the end.

They outdid China with that one. It was one of the most moving things I have ever seen.

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

That was a great race. Well done to Vino.

That was completely unexpected and very enjoyable.

There is a story here that Cavendish is blaming the Australians for racing negative. Tactics won the race last night.

And Australia are on the board with a win in the swimming (and more medals will come from the pool also i reckon)

 

[tomalak301]

Of all the events I've watched so far, the most exciting for me has been the beach volleyball. Last night I saw the Russians pull of the biggest upset in the Olympics so far, and then I just saw the Walsh/Misty-May match. That final match point was exciting.

 

[Gryffindorian]

The opening ceremonies were just good, IMHO. I didn't really get the part about a bunch of youngsters dancing to random songs; I guess it was mostly pop culture-inspired. I read somewhere the Spice Girls were going to perform, and I was glad they didn't.

The best part was, no doubt, Daniel Craig's skit with the queen leading to her royal entrance. Mr. Bean's comedic appearance was also fun. The pyrotechnics were excellent, and the lighting of the torch was done differently by a youth group and made things more interesting.

Overall, I'd give the ceremonies a B.

 

[tomalak301]

The opening ceremonies were just good, IMHO. I didn't really get the part about a bunch of youngsters dancing to random songs; I guess it was mostly pop culture-inspired. I read somewhere the Spice Girls were going to perform, and I was glad they didn't.

Spice Girls perform at the closing ceremonies. I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of looking forward to it. I liked the Spice Girls when they were big (Of course I was like 15 at the time but still).

 

[Gryffindorian]

The Chinese men's gymnastics team isn't off to a good start. So many fumbles earlier on in the qualifications.

The U.S. men, however, did a fine job and have a good chance to go for the gold. Ahh, those fine boys ... Dalton, Leyva, Mikulak, Orozco, Horton.



I haven't been paying this much attention to gymnastics since Sydney 2000. I only have vague memories of Paul Hamm in Athens 2004. As I recall, the Koreans protested the scores in one of the competitions. Then in Beijing 2008, I only caught glimpses of Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin. Looking forward to more of gymnastics this week.