Olympics

[Shoeberto]

I like the olympics. I don't get into any of our regular sports (football, basketball, baseball, etc.) so it's nice to watch a sporting event that I can get into.

[Imperia]

I don't like the Olympics any more. I'm tired of them, and of sports. People take these things too seriously. When an athlete makes a dumb mistake, their country gets mad. Getting mad over a game is pointless.

Sorry to sound so gloomy, it's just how I feel. :shame:

[escobert]

WOOOOHOOO USA just won the first fencing womens gold in 100 years

[-N-]

Why do they only show sports at which the USA is good at?

Bert, I think China is leading in gold medals.

[d20{fx}]

China IS winnig in the gold medal count but america has 1 more overall medal.
Go CHINA!!!!!
ps.this is only at the moment of this post.stats may change in future.(duh)

[edczxcvbnm]

Just so people know...I don't really watch sports to begin with. I think baseball is the most boring game in the world. Football is too slow. Basketball has too many games(my favorite sport). Hockey...is soccer on Ice. Soccer is boring as well as most sports. I can get into a game every now and then but don't think I like to sit down and watch sports like that every week. Why would you assume that I like those other sports in the first place? I only really watch the playoffs-finals in BB and nothing else really. Maybe the occasional game but not devoted or caring too much.

Also I consider a lot of these really minor things to be more of a hobby than anything. Archery, Ping Pong and other things along those lines are more of a hobby than a sport. You can be really good at it but it doesn't make it a sport.

I also disagree with the way the Olympics are put on a higher level of 'honor' than the rest of the sports world. There is corruption and blatant advertising all over the place. I am going to use the winter olympics as an example. The down hill skiier who did pot yet still was able to retain the gold. The whole russian ice skating scandel by attempting to fix the games by pressering other countries into giving them good scores and others bad scores...result? TWO gold medals in an event.

The only reason this stuff isn't around as much as other sports is because it happens for a few weeks every four years instead of 16-24 weeks EVERY year.

[Skogs]

Of course the medal standings take on a whole new appearance with a bit of statistical tinkering.

Gold medals per capita:
1 - United Arab Emirates - .408
2 - Australia - .306
3 - Greece - .187
4 - Slovakia - .184
5 - Switzerland - .136

Total medals per capita
1 - Slovakia - .737
2 - Australia - .716
3 - Slovenia - .517
4 - United Arab Emirates - .408
5 - Mongolia - .373

Weighted medals (G=1.5, S=1, B=.5) per capita
1 - Australia - .741
2 - Slovakia - .737
3 - United Arab Emirates - .613
4 - Greece - .328
5 - Netherlands - .311
...
26 - USA - .078
36 - China - .017

Yes, I really have nothing better to do... :rolleyes2

[Dingo Jellybean]

Here's something to give a clue why there's so much animosity towards the US when it comes to the Olympics; below are the total medal standings when it comes to the US since the first Olympiad in 1896(excludes US boycotted Olympics):

2nd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, 1st

So think about that. The US has never finished lower than 3rd in the Olympic standings. Only in Seoul, Korea did the US fail to win more gold than any other country.

So yeah...I love the olympics...it's nice seeing envy in other countries because it provides a more competitve spirit. In the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the US won a record 174 gold, that alone is more medals than 170 countries have won on their own individually in their overall olympic history.