' 14 Winter Olympic thread

[Moranis]

Who else is looking forward to the winter Olympics?

[Donoghus]

Definitely.

I actually enjoy the Winter Olympics more than the Summer games.  So many of the events kick butt in HD too. 

[Celtics18]

When do they start?

[Moranis]

When do they start?

February 7-23

[chicagoceltic]

I absolutely LOVE the Olympics, both summer and winter!  The excitement and pride shown by the athletes competing for their country is a joy to watch.

I mentioned this a few years ago in the summer Olympics thread and I will mention it again...one of the greatest moments of sports fandom for me was wathcing the 2008 swim relay race where Jason Lezak chased down the french swimmer on the final leg and won by the smallest of margins keeping Michael Phelps' push for 8 gold medals alive.  Some buddies and I went to a Cubs game and were at a bar in Wrigleyville after the game.  The bar was packed and quieted down for the last leg of that race.  When they showed the results the bar EXPLODED with cheers and U.S.A. chants.  Strangers were high-fiving and hugging each other and as cheesy as it may sound there was an electric feeling in the place.  What other time would a swimming event get a reaction like that?

[Celtics4ever]

Used to be big but becoming more of a joke with each year.

[Donoghus]

Sounds like things are off a stellar start in Sochi.

http://deadspin.com/staying-in-sochi-is-a-hilarious-adventure-1515722114

In all seriousness though, does anyone else have a bad feeling about these Olympics? 

[kozlodoev]

In all seriousness though, does anyone else have a bad feeling about these Olympics?

In a country that worries more about gay "propaganda" and phasing out TV stations that ask "insulting" questions, I didn't expect anything different.

IOC should really be ripping the organizers, not the groups that are boycotting this shameful excuse for Olympic games.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Sounds like things are off a stellar start in Sochi.

http://deadspin.com/staying-in-sochi-is-a-hilarious-adventure-1515722114

In all seriousness though, does anyone else have a bad feeling about these Olympics?

Construction isn't even finished on a bunch of the infrastructure, and Sochi is actually a subtropical city—and only about the size of Encenitas, California. How did this place even get consideration for hosting the Olympics?

I'm not surprised at the situation, though, considering this is Russia.

[Donoghus]

In all seriousness though, does anyone else have a bad feeling about these Olympics?

In a country that worries more about gay "propaganda" and phasing out TV stations that ask "insulting" questions, I didn't expect anything different.

IOC should really be ripping the organizers, not the groups that are boycotting this shameful excuse for Olympic games.

Agreed that the IOC should be all over these guys although they were the ones who ultimately awarded Sochi these games in the first place.  They should've been pressuring and even threatening the organizers when things were falling behind.

I probably could've said it better but the bad feeling question stems from wondering if some sort of terrorist act is going to happen at these games.

[kozlodoev]

Sounds like things are off a stellar start in Sochi.

http://deadspin.com/staying-in-sochi-is-a-hilarious-adventure-1515722114

In all seriousness though, does anyone else have a bad feeling about these Olympics?

Construction isn't even finished on a bunch of the infrastructure, and Sochi is actually a subtropical city—and only about the size of Encenitas, California. How did this place even get consideration for hosting the Olympics?

I'm not surprised at the situation, though, considering this is Russia.

Someone thought it was a good idea to award a WC to Quatar, and seriously considered playing it in the summer, as usual. Apparently money seems to trump common sense all around these days.

[kozlodoev]

Construction isn't even finished on a bunch of the infrastructure, and Sochi is actually a subtropical city—and only about the size of Encenitas, California. How did this place even get consideration for hosting the Olympics?

Sochi itself is a popular Russian sea resort on the Black Sea. This type of climate is only found at the lower elevation, though.

That's not where the events take place. That happens at the (newly expanded) Krasnaya Polyana/Rosa Khutor complex that goes up to 7,000 feet above sea level.

[D.o.s.]

I'm with Terje:

The whole thing is corrupt – the IOC is run by a few people, when in reality it is something that should be owned by the whole world and to benefit sport, not just to make them money.

How would I change it? I would make it so that a host city would get the rights to sell the rings and the imagery of the Olympics themselves in every country around the world – and use that revenue to pay for all the new facilities, which that town could then use to improve local facilities.

Any extra money could then be used to support sport around the world. That’s how easy it could be. If people had values, we could start to change it.

Ultimately, the whole qualification system isn’t built to make sure the best guys are there. It’s to have all the nations included so that they can sell the Rings to more territories, so they can get more commercial revenue for the IOC people. Who don’t pay tax on it either.

http://whitelines.com/features/comment/terje-haakonsen-why-i-still-hate-the-olympics.html

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Sounds like things are off a stellar start in Sochi.

http://deadspin.com/staying-in-sochi-is-a-hilarious-adventure-1515722114

In all seriousness though, does anyone else have a bad feeling about these Olympics?

Construction isn't even finished on a bunch of the infrastructure, and Sochi is actually a subtropical city—and only about the size of Encenitas, California. How did this place even get consideration for hosting the Olympics?

I'm not surprised at the situation, though, considering this is Russia.

Someone thought it was a good idea to award a WC to Quatar, and seriously considered playing it in the summer, as usual. Apparently money seems to trump common sense all around these days.

Good point.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Construction isn't even finished on a bunch of the infrastructure, and Sochi is actually a subtropical city—and only about the size of Encenitas, California. How did this place even get consideration for hosting the Olympics?

Sochi itself is a popular Russian sea resort on the Black Sea. This type of climate is only found at the lower elevation, though.

That's not where the events take place. That happens at the (newly expanded) Krasnaya Polyana/Rosa Khutor complex that goes up to 7,000 feet above sea level.

That makes more sense. Still, though, I wouldn't trust Russia with being able to accomplish something like this, and on time.