Summer Olympics

I will be watching ... I am not sure how much I will watch. That depends on how busy I am with other things. To me this will be a very interesting Olympics, not only watching the sporting events, but also watching the politically related ones, i.e. how China handles:

the press
the crowds
protests, if any occur
politically incorrect, in Chinese governmental eyes, made by participants
questions from commentators

 

Yeppers! Do you know how much homeschooling I can incorporate into two weeks of the Olympic?

There's all the events and various rules to be learned, current events, culture, politics, a bit of Chinese history, physics (just how do those pole vaulters get over that hurdle?), earth science (smog, earthquakes), geography.......

Oh yeah, we'll be watching and learning!

I came back to ask: Ya'll folks have a fav Olympian from the past who's biography/autobiography would be interesting to a 13 year old boy?

 

I have no interest in the Olympics. :sleeping_2:

 

soccer has already started - is soccer actually classified as a sport or a communist consipiracy?

 

We enjoy watching as much as we can (if baseballs not on TV )

My son (12) has finally started to appreciate just how good the competitors really are. He always used to say "that looks easy!" until he started to realized just how fast they are running or swimming ........

It's cool to watch the best of the best.

Too bad though it's embroiled in the politics of China.

 

YES I WILL BE WATCHING!

AS MUCH AS I CAN!

I love the opening ceremony. But I am at work so I don't know how much I can watch.

I love it all!! I wish I was in Beijing!!

 

Other than fútbol and basketball, I don´t have a whole lot of interest in the summer olympics. That said I will probably try to see how things are going from time to time. Being a missionary gives you two nations for which to cheer.

Yet another poor disillusioned soul. The "beautiful game" is the best sport in the world hands down. And you will conform... comrade.

 

I used to be an enormous Olympic fan. I could tell you when Al Oerter won the discus. I could tell you about Eric Heiden's 5 golds. I knew about the Olympic greats...from Paavo Nurmi to Kerri Strugg.

Lately, however, I've gotten a bad taste in my mouth.

I'm not naive, but there used to be more of a "good guys/bad guys" thing in the Olympics. Back when athletes were amateurs, by and large the USA played by the rules, and the Communist Bloc countries didn't. (Remember the East German women swimmers...6'2", 210 lbs., and a full beard? How 'bout the 1972 Soviet basketball team paying off the officials, and getting 3 chances to play the last 2 seconds of the gold medal game?) Now, there really isn't an adversary...and sometimes, the USA's athletes aren't as likeable as the "other team."

Now, though...very few athletes are amateurs anyway, and thus very few play "for the love of the game" anymore.

Also...cheating now seems to know no bounds. A Kenyan, American, or German might do banned subtances.

Finally...there are glimpses of class and sportsmanship (some touching ones at that)...but much like society in general, there's been a decline in sportsmanship, class, and competition for competition's sake. I miss that.

Oh, I'll watch some of the olympics (though I'm not a "ceremony" person). However...I'm not the fan I once was. Of course, having a wife and two kids also contributes...it's not like I have hours to lay around and watch!

Forgive me for the cynicism. I do like going back & watching old olympic footage, though.

 

Track and field.

Gymnastics.

The agony of the feet.

 

Favorite obscure sports of mine:

Badminton...If you ever play it competitively, you understand what incredible athletic skill this sport takes. It's amazing to watch.

Table tennis...wow, these guys are quick.

Cycling (the velodrome stuff)...especially team sprint. That many bikes, going 40-50 mph in a tight circle, on a 30 degree incline...they're crazy, that's what they are. Crazy, but entertaining.

Least favorite sports:

Wrestling...creeps me out.

Synchronized swimming...cheesy; plus...can I say this gently...putting men or male commentators anywhere near this makes me violently ill. Gross.

Rhythmic gymnastics...let me twirl a ribbon and jump around. That's a sport? Give me a break.

 

I like the gymnastics and try to watch those competitions. Not much else, unless I just happen on to it and got nothng else to do.

 

Personally I enjoy curling. Such an odd sport with so much skill involved. Imagine putting in all those hours learning to make that little disc go.

I sure agree about badmitton. It was one of our choices for a college gym class and I was stunned. That birdie goes way fast on that small court. You would never believe what a workout it is.

Bring on the games!

 

What network is covering the olympics?

 

NBC

You can watch online at: http://www.nbcolympics.com/

Online you can pick and choose just about any event you are interested in. This is good for those who are interested in events that the regular channel will not carry.

 

It seems that my DSL connection is not fast enough. I get large gaps between very short videos. I am left wandering what happened in the gaps.

 

Diving
Mens Basketball
Cycling
Swimming
Softball
Gymnastics
Track & Field
Rowing
(and whatever else may be airing)

So far China has won 9 gold medals. :thumbs:

 

So far we've seen:

weightlifting, both men's and women's
some of the rowing
a good bit of the swimming
handball
volleyball, both beach and court (son tells me he likes the court better)
basketball
soccer
archery (wish we'd have caught that earlier)
judo (live online, late Sat. night. our girl got stomped!)
some of the cycling

Carolina Baptist, there is a plug in that allows for better viewing of the videos and the live streaming events. Explorer should have asked if you wanted to install it when you first click on the video link. Rather, Explorer asked me if I wanted to install it. That said, I was viewing on my husbands computer over his cable modem and didn't install the plug in and could view fine. I'm not sure why yours wouldn't load.

 

Yes, I will and am watching. Gymnastics, Swimming, Weightlifting, and Diving.