----- Original Message ----- From: "William T Goodall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Brin-L" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 7:36 PM Subject: Sore losers
> So why are the Americans counting total medals instead of golds for > the olympics? Before the games started there were some arguments about predicted medal counts, with most "experts" predicting pretty much exactly what happened and a few others predicting Americans winning more gold than China. What you are seeing is probably related to the majority razzing the dissenters (for being too nationalistic as I am hearing it). >And why the innuendo about Usain Bolt "as long as he's > clean"? Heh.....the last few Olympics have been marred by drug scandals. IIRC Johnson was stripped of medals (and records) and there was a good deal of discussion about Carl Lewis and whether he was "clean". What I am hearing is a great deal of praise and awe of Bolt who was just plain amazing in the 100 and 200. The drug situation is constant news over here in a variety of sports......even professional (fake) wrestling. (I refer you to the stories about Chris Benoit) It is pretty much an obsession over here. > And the manufactured fuss about miming during the opening > ceremony when everybody does it during these kind of events (the > Australians admitted they did it at Sydney). In general, I think people recognize that the Beijing opening ceremonies were a feat that is not likely to be repeated anytime soon. Too big, too lavish, too over the top for anyone else to invest so much again. But the purported message the Chinese wished to send and their actual implimentation are at odds. The message was of unity between the diverse ethnic groups of China, but all those ethnic groups were portrayed by Hans, and given the American experience with racism and prejudice, it smacks of rank hypocrisy. (We claim to be against such things) >And the 'not real sports' > jibes about table tennis, rhythmic gymnastics and others? I suppose it just generally flows that some "games" will never be considered "sports" by some. If I were getting paid (or subsidized) to play Monopoly or Team Fortress, I would expect to hear similar arguments. > > Beach Volleyball Rules Maru Pretty intense innit? xponent Lack Of Protests Maru rob _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
