ercles on 14/2/2010 at 20:16
Quote Posted by Swiss Mercenary
It's not about the sport, and anyone who thinks it is... Is delusional. They are a shrine for corporate advertising - paid by taxpayer money. Nothing wrong with that - except for the latter part.
All those athletes must be complete morons. Damn sheeple spending their whole lives training just to work for the man!
PeeperStorm on 15/2/2010 at 04:37
Yeah, I can remember back when the Olympics weren't all commercialized and politicized. I recall it so vividly because I won ten decadrachms each from Lycurgus and Cleoisthenes betting on a Macedonian in the chariot race.
Swiss Mercenary on 15/2/2010 at 07:25
Quote Posted by ercles
All those athletes must be complete morons. Damn sheeple spending their whole lives training just to work for the man!
Don't be dense, this isn't about what the athletes are doing. It's about feeding advertisements to the millions of people who sit their asses down in front of their televisions to watch the Olympics. Or travel to see the event.
Which is all well and good. Until that gong show is sponsored by public funds.
Quote:
Yeah, I can remember back when the Olympics weren't all commercialized and politicized. I recall it so vividly because I won ten decadrachms each from Lycurgus and Cleoisthenes betting on a Macedonian in the chariot race.
Try... Well, any of the games prior to the 70s.
And I'm afraid you've still to convince me as to why taxpayers should be picking up the tab. "It was always so" doesn't quite fly. Especially when the IOC incurs none of the costs should the games be a fiscal disaster.
ercles on 15/2/2010 at 09:42
Quote Posted by Swiss Mercenary
Don't be dense, this isn't about what the athletes are doing.
I can think of a lot of people who'd disagree with you there, namely, the thousands of people who participate in the games, and the millions who watch. All your moronic babble about corporate fatcats or wherever you are going completely misses the point.
For a lot of people, these couple of weeks will potentially be the highlight of their lives. For those watching there will be memories that'll stick with them forever. What does it matter if companies make money off them? This is simply the reality of modern sport, it generates massive amounts of money, but in a lot of forms its the most elite and competitive that it's ever been.
Apart from the fact that you clearly miss the point of sport, or the importance of the games, stop being such a fucking humbug and enjoy a time when your city is on the world stage. I lived in Sydney through the 2000 games, and although it was a strain on the city, it was also a fantastic time to be there, because of the atmosphere that the games generated throughout the city.
Keeper Mallinson on 15/2/2010 at 15:50
If you read carefully, ercles, I think his point is that while it's making a lot of money, we're not the ones taking that profit; so we fronted enormous money for it, and we don't get to reap the benefits. The "stop whining" call of the supportive Vancouverites comes from the fact that we had to build things for the Olympics, and that we're supposed to be thrilled that we get to keep those buildings.
Sure, we'll have fun for what it's worth. Think of it this way: imagine your husband or wife turned your birthday into a giant party when you explicitly asked him or her not to; you're suffering from the flu and can't take it. The calls are already made, and you can't do anything about it now: 100 people are coming to your house. You argue and chastise and say "there will be hell to pay later" and afterwards there's a giant mess and your partner isn't being that HELPFUL...... but while the guests are here you're still cordial and happy and you try to enjoy the cake despite your diet.
Printer's Devil on 15/2/2010 at 20:58
"Kumaritashvili's death was also an eerie echo of an event that marred his sport's introduction to the Olympic Games at the Innsbruck Olympics in 1964.
There was opposition to including luge in the Games, with some arguing it put participants in too much danger. Their point was proved two weeks before the Games began when a British luger — Polish-born Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski — died in a crash during a practice run on the Olympic track."
I hear the IOC should have the warning stickers and cupholders ready by the next Winter Olympics.
heywood on 16/2/2010 at 00:08
Quote Posted by Swiss Mercenary
Don't be dense, this isn't about what the athletes are doing. It's about feeding advertisements to the millions of people who sit their asses down in front of their televisions to watch the Olympics. Or travel to see the event.
Which is all well and good. Until that gong show is sponsored by public funds.
...
And I'm afraid you've still to convince me as to why taxpayers should be picking up the tab. "It was always so" doesn't quite fly. Especially when the IOC incurs none of the costs should the games be a fiscal disaster.
Well, who is going to pick up the tab? Surely you don't expect to host the games for free. There's no shortage of cities competing to host the games, and because of that it takes a huge financial commitment to put together a winning bid. If you're not willing to guarantee that you'll have all the facilities & infrastructure ready, the IOC is going to give it to someone who will.
I understand you disagree with your city's decision to host the games, and I wouldn't want my town to host the Olympics either. But I don't think that's reason to dismiss the whole thing as a taxpayer funded shrine to corporate advertising. Hell, if it weren't for corporate sponsorship, the public would be picking up the
entire tab. Corporate sponsorship is also how top athletes from non-commercial sports put food on the table.
My biggest complaint about the commercialism of the Olympics is that I have to watch it on lame American TV networks. The coverage you guys get from the CBC is much better.
That, and if I hear stupid American spectators chanting U-S-A one more time I'm going to cringe.
Swiss Mercenary on 16/2/2010 at 06:52
Quote Posted by heywood
Well, who is going to pick up the tab? Surely you don't expect to host the games for free. There's no shortage of cities competing to host the games, and because of that it takes a huge financial commitment to put together a winning bid. If you're not willing to guarantee that you'll have all the facilities & infrastructure ready, the IOC is going to give it to someone who will.
Good. And cities without that infrastructure in place, that bid on the games are governed by either morons or patriots. If someone's going to lose money on the games, it better not be me.
Quote:
I understand you disagree with your city's decision to host the games, and I wouldn't want my town to host the Olympics either. But I don't think that's reason to dismiss the whole thing as a taxpayer funded shrine to corporate advertising. Hell, if it weren't for corporate sponsorship, the public would be picking up the
entire tab.
Ticket sales.
Can't fund the event through ticket sales? Then the form you want to run it in is clearly unsustainable.
Then start cutting some corners. Those cruise ships? May not be the best idea.
