[Shawn 507]

What? I'm just keeping it real!

[Rush104]

You guys are right, in the end it would be the athletes who have spent countless hours preparing for these games who will be getting shafted the most. Believe it or not, I would feel bad for them if the games got boycotted. Oh well.

[Cardinal]

Originally Posted by Shawn 507

What? I'm just keeping it real!

Reality is highly overrated ...

[Rush104]

Originally Posted by Cardinal

(Good debate though - we can blame MoMo .)

Yes it is. Cardinal and Shawn, I say we drink (heavily) to world peace and charge it to MoMo's tab!

[Cardinal]

Originally Posted by Rush104

Yes it is. Cardinal and Shawn, I say we drink (heavily) to world peace and charge it to MoMo's tab!

Sounds good, as long as you can provide the organic non-alcoholic beverages that are guaranteed as being GM free and have been produced in an idyllic region by happy workers without any undue greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming - okay?

[smartd]

Originally Posted by Rush104

You guys are right, in the end it would be the athletes who have spent countless hours preparing for these games who will be getting shafted the most. Believe it or not, I would feel bad for them if the games got boycotted. Oh well.

Jeez, am I the only one who remembers the Western world's boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afganistan? As has been said by a couple of posters the only suffering was felt by the athletes who did not get a chance to compete. The USSR cleaned up in medals and it was a great boost to their ego. Happily Reagan was elected and the rest of the story is,...........

[Shawn 507]

Originally Posted by smartd

Jeez, am I the only one who remembers the Western world's boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afganistan? As has been said by a couple of posters the only suffering was felt by the athletes who did not get a chance to compete. The USSR cleaned up in medals and it was a great boost to their ego. Happily Reagan was elected and the rest of the story is,...........

No I remember, I was 10 but I remember. I also recall kicking thier ( Russians ) butts in hockey later !!!

[MoMo]

A few things to sort out here :

1. we don't need the Olympic Games anymore............ the ideal of sport is dead
2. it's just a huge commercial spat, so who needs it?
3. it's all about showing off..so it's mainly politics
4. most of the sports are minority interests.........of interest to two men and one dog
5. you have to listen to endless garbage from boring TV presenters
6. they will make up stories about how the Chinese ' progress towards democracy ' binds the world together
7. you will be forced to watch featurettes depicting smiling, happy people performing the Dance of the Merry Peasants
8. everyone will think that it's a wonderful world because the Chinese can now eat Big Macs and guzzle Coke ( just like most of the athletes )
9. you'll be forced to watch international tiddliwinks contests
10. no-one ( apart from my Uncle Harry ) gives a damn
11. Rush is right......pull out now !
12. who plays hockey, anyway ?
13. the football is a joke contest !
14. 14 kick out ALL the drug-cheats for life, not just a few years.........they just take all of us for fools, while also taking the cash!
15. etc, etc............................................

time for it to go away.

MoMo

[STARMAN 352ND]

I watch the Summer Olympics only to watch the track & field part.....Winter Olympics is a little better watching the downhill skiing and jumping.
These kids train hard for years to get in these games and it's a shame when they are the ones who get hurt by all this too.
These games are not what they used to be years ago.
JP

[MoMo]

The original games were dedicated to the gods of Classical antiquity. The Greek cities competed for honours. Today, countries compete to demonstrate the strength of their political systems and the abundance of their coffers.

Those guys hanging from the Golden Gate bridge have a good point. Without the Games' attendant publicity they would have nowhere to focus their anger and their message.

Starman is right to point out that the ones to suffer most are the ones who dedicate their lives and training to this huge event. It's a pity for them.

I think that it's time that the games were split up, held every year for some events in various, poor places and that the rich countries of the world dedicated some of their cash to providing facilities for the youth of the poor nations to have the use of. Simple facilities which can be maintained easily by the indigenous populations of the third world. That way the Games would regain respect and meaning. Today's Games are just the bloated hoorah of empty political rhetoric.

MoMo