quote:

---

But what is really getting to me is how it affects other shows on other channels.

---

I fully agree with you. My favourite TV station airs Olympic games from 4.00 pm to 8.30 am. It's really annoying. Fortunately I got my Buffy and Angel dvd boxes, so I have a good substitute to watch.

[ February 18, 2002, 11:45: Message edited by: Spike ]
 

---

Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
 
Oh, c'mon guys. When some obscure college basketball game that legitimately nobody really cares about is preempting stuff, I can empathise. But this is the freaking Olympics. Networks show what people want to watch. And while some people in their hermetically-sealed basement environments may not realize that a lot of people are watching the Olympics, the statistics beg to differ.
 

---

Posted by thoughtcriminal84 (Member # 480) on :
 

quote:

---

When some obscure college basketball game that legitimately nobody really cares about is preempting stuff, I can empathise. But this is the freaking Olympics. Networks show what people want to watch. And while some people in their hermetically-sealed basement environments may not realize that a lot of people are watching the Olympics, the statistics beg to differ

---

Because the tastes of the multitude are always correct eh?

And what, pray tell, is so very exciting about the biathalon? Being as I am in a hermetically sealed basement, this eludes me.

I'm not totally against the Olympics. The Summer Olympics, that is. The Winter Games? I've never seen the point to watching Scandanavian sports, unless you happen to be Scandanavian.

Same as I don't expect Non-Americans to enjoy American football...Most of us silly American boys had to play the shit game at some point when we went to school, so I can appreciate the fact that grown men slobber like needy infants at it on Super bowl weekend. I can accept that it's going to ruin a day of programming, like some force of Nature.

If we all got to play Soccer in school, I'll wager that would still be Football to us.

But I have never gone skating or skiing, or for that matter, shot at targets in the snow. You know, because of that sealed in the basement thing. I have certainly never laid ontop of a man dressed in skin tight leotards whilst rocketing down an icy tunnel in a small fiberglass torpedo. (or at least, I think I haven't.)

TANGENT:
Saw a movie about it that had John Candy in it. Fish out of water story, with black guys who don't stand a chance in a world of whites(TM).
It sucked.
I DIGRESS:

I can't imagine people in Kenya getting off too hard on this thing, either.

I'm not knocking the awesome physical abilites of the people competing, mind you.

For me, it's about as interesting as watching a cat puke a hairball. Alien, but nothing spectacular.

Rented "Ski Instructor: Aspen High"

At least it has naked chicks who ALSO ski.

SECOND TANGENT:
I enjoyed one part of the Olympics.
I did like the female speed skaters.
Man, are those body suits tight.
Pump Pump Pump...Gold Medal in World Record Time!

Damn straight.
 

---

Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
 
"It sucked."

"It was a true story."
 

---

Posted by thoughtcriminal84 (Member # 480) on :
 
Titanic. true story. Guess what? it sucked too.
 

---

Posted by CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
 
wait... Ski Instructor: Aspen High wasnt a true story!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
 

---

Posted by USS Vanguard (Member # 130) on :
 
It sure is a tragedy that people can't watch Buffy or whatever for a whole 3 or so weeks. Give me a break.
 

---

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
 

"Four billion People watching Utah closely can't be good."

I beg to differ. Who knows what sort of unparalleled debauchery all those Mormons are engaging in? And close scrutiny is the only way we'll ever figure out how to get a piece of it.
 

---

Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by thoughtcriminal84:
Because the tastes of the multitude are always correct eh?

---

quote:

---

I'm not totally against the Olympics. The Summer Olympics, that is. The Winter Games? I've never seen the point to watching Scandanavian sports, unless you happen to be Scandanavian.

---

Again, this is your opinion. Which is fine. It's just that the suits at NBC disagree, and presumably they have millions of dollars worth of advance market research and a week's worth of Neilsons to tell them that your viewing preferences are in the minority. Not that they're incorrect, because they can't be. But they do know that there doesn't appear to be a statistical basis to your claims that nobody but Scandanavians cares about the Winter Games.

How about that Canada/Czech Rep. game, eh?
 

---

Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
 
1-1-1. Excellent record for the "best Canadian Olympic Team" ever.

Go NOT-CANADA Go!
 

---

Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
 
Psawh. The game was brilliant.

Watching Gretzky explode afterwards was almost as exciting.
 

---

Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
 
Wayne's a little girl. Always played like one, and now talks like one, after the combined realizations of choosing the wrong methods for Goalie selection, and that all the little fans in Canada are a bit skeptical.

Two things: Leave the GMing to actualGMs, and leave the coaching to Bowman.

Two more things: Brodeur played nicely, good to see the bubble of 'overrated more than Jesus' CuJo burst, although it's not Roy . Or Burke. Or Theodore. Who picked the team anyway? Oh, yeah, and go Sweden.
 

---

Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
 
We pause now for a moment of time-honoured Canadianism. The others may ignore or point and laugh.

Coaches:
Bowman's a bit of an egomaniac. He works fine when he can settle in over an NHL season with a team and is basically the boss. But don't expect him to work well with highly-qualified assistants or snap into a good routine overnight.

That said, Quinn's still a useless git. He's a definite weak spot. He sucked in Vancouver, and I wouldn't chalk the success of Toronto to him, either.

Goaltenders aside, I can't honestly say any so-called hockey experts would have asked for a different team. The talking heads lined up in adulation over the picks, with the only question mark being Nieuwendyk (who's spited the critics and been one of the better players at the tournament.) Yes, it would be nice to have Thornton, too, but when the selections were announced, he wasn't on the radar. Life's not fair. The problems thus far have nothing to do with talent and everything to do with severe chemistry problems. Considering there was actually some fancy no-look passing vs. the Czechs, I'd say that's made a marked improvement.

Goalies, yeah, a mess. Cujo IS overrated, and were it not for Brodeur's play against the Czechs, I'd be less than enthusiastic about him. (Although his puckhandling is a brilliant asset on the big ice.) Belfour's a useless tool except when the pressure's on, so I can sorta grasp the logic of having him. Burke might've been better. But Thibault's got zippo experience when it comes to the pressure being on. Which brings us to St. Patrick. If Roy didn't want to be there, then its for the best he didn't come along. But I still wish he was there. He's the best goalie in the world, but he's also an arrogant asshole.
 

---

Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
 
"But don't expect [Bowman] to work well with highly-qualified assistants."

It's not like he wouldn't have had any with the Olympic Team. I could see him with Robinson as an aide.

"Quinn's still a useless git."

He's always struck me as the kind of coach who coaches the team his son plays on, and then starts him every single game. He's ruined the Canucks, who only now are resurfacing with the help of Crawford, and after this season, he'll have ruined his Leafs. Ever since he was named coach, he's been playing favorites, and I knew from the minute he was named coach, Patrick Roy wouldn't be given the obvious role of starter, instead it would have equal chance of falling to CuJo.

"Although [Brodeur's] puckhandling is a brilliant asset on the big ice."

I suppose we can score one for Marty here, over the less-than-obvious benefit of Roy's stick skills.

"But Thibault's got zippo experience when it comes to the pressure being on."

I wouldn't want Jocelyn there either, but for a young guy like Theodore, I think replacing Belfour in the stands with Jose in the stands would, at the very least, let the kid see what the big time is like.

"Which brings us to St. Patrick...He's the best goalie in the world, but he's also an arrogant asshole."

Which is why he's been my favorite goalie since I was six. Hell, he's been my favorite player since I was six. I have Montreal Home & Away Jerseys with #33 on them. Same goes with Colorado. I just got their alternate with #33 last month. I have about a thousand hockey cards of the guy, and although I've stopped being utterly fanatic, I still think he's the best. Ever.

He's not arrogant without reason, and when the Canadian squad was so liberal with the guarateed spots of playes like oft-injured Lemieux and Kariya, when they said "Okay, you're on the team. No need to tryout. Go ahead."

When they turned around, with Quinn wanting to increase the stock of his No. #1 Unrestricted Free Agent, and said "Well, with the goalies, let's see who has the hot hand." I think Roy's mentality was "Hey, I'm the best big game goaltender ever, I don't need to tryout, nor do I want to.".

Ever since they guaranteed a spot to a guy like Fleury and not to the best pressure goalie in the sport (The Olympics are only *slightly* like a playoff), I've been rooting for Germany, first and Sweden second. Although the US has the power. Wow.
 

---

Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
 
personally, i have never understood why the canadians are always the favorites in the olympics. you would think that after 50 odd years of not winning the gold people would become less optimistic. however, the women managed to win the gold last night. nothing against women's sports, but man is women's hockey boring! so slow, and the shots are slow, and everything is slow, and nobody falls down. my girlfriend and her female room mates thought it was boring too, so i'm not just some kind of pig. perosonally, i couldn
t care less about alias or buffy or any of the other stupid shows people are missing. i don't get to see law and order but i don't cry about it.

[rant] the winter olympics isn't just about scandanavian sports. all the cool skiing is calledalpine skiing, afterall. and man is short track awesome! i just wish that the whole figure skating debacle hadn't convinced everyone that they could get results changed (the south koreans are suing the austrailian ref from the 1500 meter short track event in us district court, for dog's sake!). in my opinion, if the russians and the south koreans want to leave the games, let them. no body cares, and it would be nice to see another country win the pairs figure skating. and the italian short track speed skater needs to be beaten after his remark that apollo anton ohno needed to be shot (sorry you sucked, mr italian, but shooting ohno isn't going to get you out of last place). [/rant] winter olympics=good.

--jacob
 

---

Posted by StarFire (Member # 748) on :
 
It's an entire two weeks of TV viewing every two years. wow. You know it's gonna happen every two years, it has my entire life, yours too. Either sit back and enjoy seeing stuff you don't normally see on TV, or rent/borrow DVDs/movies. Or, here is another option...go outside the house... *nodnodnod*

-Dawn, who doesn't see much TV anyway.
 

---

Posted by targetemployee (Member # 217) on :
 
There was a discussion about the Olympics on CNN's Inside Politics. Apparently, the Russians, the people of Ukraine, and the South Koreans are alleging that there is unfair bais to the North Americans by the IOC. Ever since the disagreement over the pairs figure skating last week, these Olympics have been mired in controversy. Though I do have to wonder, is the complaining a way that these countries can express their feelings about America's foreign policy and the Olympics are a safe venue in which to vent?

[ February 22, 2002, 13:45: Message edited by: targetemployee ]
 

---

Posted by Grokca (Member # 722) on :
 
No they seem to be more pissed at us Canadians.
 

---

Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
 
Fuck Canada. Bunch of Nutmeggers, anyway.
 

---

Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
 
well, anyone who watched knows that hughs clearly one (slutskaya's scores were WAY too high as it was!) and ohno was clearly fouled in short track. the russians don't seem to realize that the canadians got to share gold in pairs becuase THEY DESERVED TO WIN GOLD IN THE FIRST PLACE. if you suck, you don't win unless you cheat. compared to hughs, slutskaya sucked. and because of the controversy over the pairs, no-one cheated. the russians are also complaining about the current president of the olympic committee (the old one was an ambassador to the USSR and just loves the russians) so basically the russians are complaining that they don't win everything automatically. bastards. and as if the rest of the world needs to embarrass them. they do that job fine by themselves. i'm sick of the complaining, especially with stuff that was obviously judged correctly.

--jacob
 

---

Posted by USS Vanguard (Member # 130) on :
 
"Do'h"ble post

[ February 22, 2002, 14:27: Message edited by: USS Vanguard ]
 

---

Posted by USS Vanguard (Member # 130) on :
 
Yeah, Canada is pretty lame. After all, Ralph Wiggum was the Canadian representative for Springfield Elementary's Model UN. RALPH WIGGUM!
 

---

Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
 
This has to be the dirtiest Games I've seen in a long time. Loads of highly-dubious judging decisions whichg always seem to favour the US or Canada, strangely enough. And the only one that didn't caused a major fucking international incident. I expect the official complaint by Canada about not getting that Women's Curling Gold, a sport which they're the only country to take seriously, to be made any time now. The US spectators have turned patriotic fervour into outright jingoism.

On the other hand, did you see that Venezuelan in the Women's Luge? That was fun. 8)
 

---

Posted by Grokca (Member # 722) on :
 
I would point out VP that Canada only complained about one sport and the US as far as I know has complained about none. And the one in which Canada complained, the French Judge admitted to the ISU that she had been pressured to vote a certain way by her governing body. I would think that, that was a legitimate complaint. And It was the ISU which, once it had the evidence, that recommended to the Olympic commitee to award the double gold. Why would you say that Canada would protest the curling gold? The team from Canada lost graciously and congratulated the British team. I'll even bet you that more Canadians watched the British team win the gold metal than Brits did. We are not sore losers when the game is fair but we hate to be cheated.
 

---

Posted by Hobbes (Member # 138) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by StarFire:
rent/borrow DVDs/movies.

---

quote:

---

enjoyed one part of the Olympics.
I did like the female speed skaters.
Man, are those body suits tight.
Pump Pump Pump...Gold Medal in World Record Time!

---

quote:

---

Liam, have you rented porn lately? It's costing now and arm and a leg.

---