I still remember some 6 years ago when J. Rogue announced in his dead voice the city of 'Vancouver' to host the winter games which are about to start in 48 hours. For the past two years you could see the rush for new city developments, road fixtures and improved transportation in anticipation for this event.
There's been a lot of controversy also among many people living in the city for hosting this event, when we have a major drug problem on the East side among the homeless. The downtown core among the many suburbs that are used for this Olympics have been a logjam to put it mildly as the athletes are starting to arrive.
I usually dig more the Summer Olympics but I can't help being excited about this Winter event and more so when it's being held in my backyard. Of course Hockey and Skiing will be the events to follow for me, just wished for more snow for the local mountains as we've had a rather mild winter with the exception of the first 2 weeks back in December.
Neat to see M. Vieira and M. Lauer preparing their broadcast for the next two weeks in my local mountain (Grouse) where I ski with my kid. And with the arrival yesterday of American best female skier L. Vonn and her controversial pics in the latest issue of SI, I am getting all pumped for the event.
Let the games begin...
Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
Moderators: Bill_Abner, ScoopBrady
Re: Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
The snow situation seems to be pretty dire. They're hauling snow up to the mountains in dump trucks?10spro wrote:...just wished for more snow for the local mountains as we've had a rather mild winter with the exception of the first 2 weeks back in December.
Neat to see M. Vieira and M. Lauer preparing their broadcast for the next two weeks in my local mountain (Grouse) where I ski with my kid. And with the arrival yesterday of American best female skier L. Vonn and her controversial pics in the latest issue of SI, I am getting all pumped for the event.
Let the games begin...
Helpful link to SI:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010_s ... onn_1.html
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dbdynsty25
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Well, Whistler Mountain will be fine. It's about 2 1/2 hours away from Vancouver and most of the skiing events will be held there. But I think that the Moguls event will be held at Cypress mountain where they definitely need more of the fresh powder.
And some people are saying we must as well call it the Spring Olympics because of the unusual warm weather. Just bad timing I guess, because for the past 2-3 years the local mountains were blessed with a lot of snow.
And some people are saying we must as well call it the Spring Olympics because of the unusual warm weather. Just bad timing I guess, because for the past 2-3 years the local mountains were blessed with a lot of snow.
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greggsand
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Actually, they could host it in Big Bear. There about 4+ feet of snow there over the last 2 weeks. Even the hills around Glendale had snow on them this morning.dbdynsty25 wrote:I'll never understand them having the winter olympics in cities that don't get a sh*tload of snow. They might as well just have it in Los Angeles. You just shouldn't have to make snow to hold the festivities in your city.
I always say I don't care about the olympics. then they get here, and I watch the hell out of it.
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NBC's coverage for me is pretty bad. It's all about focusing solely on American athletes and their life stories. Which is okay but there is little focus on the less popular events or if there's a cache of non-American doing great things, you rarely hear about it.
Sadly, I'm in the minority here because NBC knows Americans don't really care if an Austrian breaks a world record in the Biathlon.
The good thing is with so few events, they are forced to show a lot more of the less popular events.
Sadly, I'm in the minority here because NBC knows Americans don't really care if an Austrian breaks a world record in the Biathlon.
The good thing is with so few events, they are forced to show a lot more of the less popular events.
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dbdynsty25
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My parents have a place up there...I'd be happy for the Olympics to go there. Seems to me that Big Bear Blvd. would be a little backed up tho. Have you ever been there on a holiday weekend? Yikes.greggsand wrote:Actually, they could host it in Big Bear. There about 4+ feet of snow there over the last 2 weeks. Even the hills around Glendale had snow on them this morning.dbdynsty25 wrote:I'll never understand them having the winter olympics in cities that don't get a sh*tload of snow. They might as well just have it in Los Angeles. You just shouldn't have to make snow to hold the festivities in your city.
I always say I don't care about the olympics. then they get here, and I watch the hell out of it.
Bingo. Those 2 sources renewed my interest in The Olympics. NBC's coverage really is lacking. Combined with the event being in my hemisphere, I'm looking forward to a lot of live coverage.fsquid wrote:If you stay away from NBC, you can usually watch the smaller events in almost full coverage. I think I spent most of my time in 2008 watching CNBC and the Universal HD Channel.
Agree. I don't know if you guys get CBC or BBC but I want to know who excels in the Moguls event, the biography of the fastest alpine skiier, more content on foreign athletes and less focus on subjective made at home athletes. Like you said, nothing wrong expecially if that person is L. VonnJRod wrote:NBC's coverage for me is pretty bad. It's all about focusing solely on American athletes and their life stories. Which is okay but there is little focus on the less popular events or if there's a cache of non-American doing great things, you rarely hear about it.
, but there's a tendency to overanalize.-
pk500
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Bull's eye. The only athletes who compete in the Olympics in NBC's eyes are Americans.JRod wrote:NBC's coverage for me is pretty bad. It's all about focusing solely on American athletes and their life stories. Which is okay but there is little focus on the less popular events or if there's a cache of non-American doing great things, you rarely hear about it.
Sure, Americans like to watch Americans. But news flash to the Peacock: It's a pretty big world out there.
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Few months ago, I happened upon a site which had packages for these games.
They had listings for lodgings and the prices they were asking were jaw-dropping. You could easily spend $5-10k for a week up there, not even including tickets to the venues.
I know there was gouging at previous venues but I don't think Salt Lake City ever got that bad.
WC has even greater number of people who travel to the matches but the venues are usually dispersed around several cities, often across countries.
Maybe a lot of the people who go to the WC are working class while the Olympics attract a more affluent group of fans?
They had listings for lodgings and the prices they were asking were jaw-dropping. You could easily spend $5-10k for a week up there, not even including tickets to the venues.
I know there was gouging at previous venues but I don't think Salt Lake City ever got that bad.
WC has even greater number of people who travel to the matches but the venues are usually dispersed around several cities, often across countries.
Maybe a lot of the people who go to the WC are working class while the Olympics attract a more affluent group of fans?
Agree with those complains about NBC coverage. It has been awful the last few years and kills my interest in watching unless I really want to see an event.
The amount of ads and biographies is ridiculous, and even when an event is 'featured' on the prime time broadcast you barely get a feel for what happened. You see the americans and medal favorites do their run, and get hyper compressed versions (if you get any acknowledgment at all) for all the other competitors.
The amount of ads and biographies is ridiculous, and even when an event is 'featured' on the prime time broadcast you barely get a feel for what happened. You see the americans and medal favorites do their run, and get hyper compressed versions (if you get any acknowledgment at all) for all the other competitors.
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RallyMonkey
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The hockey will not be awesome. Call me a purist but as a long time hockey player and coach, the day they made this an NHL All-Star tournament is the day i stopped enjoying it.
In the words of Herb Brooks, "...the U.S. began using professional athletes at the Games - Dream Teams. I always found that term ironic because now that we have Dream Teams, we seldom ever get to dream. But on one weekend, as America and the world watched, a group of remarkable young men gave the nation what it needed most - a chance, for one night, not only to dream, but a chance, once again, to believe."---I want this feeling back.
Rumor has it that there is talk of removing NHL players from the Olympics in the future. I'd love to see it. For me, watching the best up and coming hockey players in the world in the best forum, the Olympics, would be far more enjoyable. I can watch the guys i'm about to see every night on the NHL network. Sure they'll have the sweater of their country on their backs and there is a sense of pride associated with them playing for their country, but it's just never going to be the same as it once was.
And just to share a personal experience, I was 9 when 1980 took place. I moved to upstate NY for two years in the mid-90's (and when i say upstate, i mean it...Saranac Lake). For those that don't know, Saranac Lake is 10 minutes from Lake Placid. The day after i moved in i drove down to the Olympic Ice Arena. I walked inside, it was empty at the time. I walked onto the ice and just stood there and thought...this is where it happened. Eruzione's shot...right there...Baker's goal against the Swedes came from there...Craig manned those creases. The echoes of "Do you belive in miracles...YES!" rang through my head. I doubt anyone walks into GM place a month from now and gets the same feeling.
In the words of Herb Brooks, "...the U.S. began using professional athletes at the Games - Dream Teams. I always found that term ironic because now that we have Dream Teams, we seldom ever get to dream. But on one weekend, as America and the world watched, a group of remarkable young men gave the nation what it needed most - a chance, for one night, not only to dream, but a chance, once again, to believe."---I want this feeling back.
Rumor has it that there is talk of removing NHL players from the Olympics in the future. I'd love to see it. For me, watching the best up and coming hockey players in the world in the best forum, the Olympics, would be far more enjoyable. I can watch the guys i'm about to see every night on the NHL network. Sure they'll have the sweater of their country on their backs and there is a sense of pride associated with them playing for their country, but it's just never going to be the same as it once was.
And just to share a personal experience, I was 9 when 1980 took place. I moved to upstate NY for two years in the mid-90's (and when i say upstate, i mean it...Saranac Lake). For those that don't know, Saranac Lake is 10 minutes from Lake Placid. The day after i moved in i drove down to the Olympic Ice Arena. I walked inside, it was empty at the time. I walked onto the ice and just stood there and thought...this is where it happened. Eruzione's shot...right there...Baker's goal against the Swedes came from there...Craig manned those creases. The echoes of "Do you belive in miracles...YES!" rang through my head. I doubt anyone walks into GM place a month from now and gets the same feeling.
I think the Miracle on Ice is an unfair comparison and a unique occurrence. The reality is, for decades the Olympic hockey norm was tepid interest and an inevitable Soviet gold medal. It wasn't a very compelling event for most sports fans, and only hardcore hockey fans paid any attention.
Bringing in the pro's undoubtedly changes the nature of the event. It may not feel like the classic olympics, but it is essentially the World Cup of hockey, being held once every four years. I think there is a place for that (and maybe even a need for that) in the hockey world.
I think if you want something more akin to the classic 'olympic spirit', the WJC is a good alternative.
Bringing in the pro's undoubtedly changes the nature of the event. It may not feel like the classic olympics, but it is essentially the World Cup of hockey, being held once every four years. I think there is a place for that (and maybe even a need for that) in the hockey world.
I think if you want something more akin to the classic 'olympic spirit', the WJC is a good alternative.
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RallyMonkey
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The World Cup of Hockey? Nah. Not buying it. I'm sorry, but there is nothing world-cup-esque about a bunch of teams being placed on the ice together for maybe a week of practice and then relying on their individual talents to hopefully mesh enough to win a gold medal. World Cup teams, and Olympic athletes, train and practice together for years to prepare for their competition. These guys toss on a sweater for a couple weeks then go back to their "real jobs". Just not the same.
I think a World Cup of Hockey would be awesome and I would watch that for sure. This just ain't it.
And not for nothing, but even involving NHL'ers, these games will still only draw the hardcore hockey fans until maybe the gold medal game. Same as it was before.
Don't get me wrong, I know the talent we will be seeing on the ice will be awesome, but the event itself lost something for me when it turned to this format.
I think a World Cup of Hockey would be awesome and I would watch that for sure. This just ain't it.
And not for nothing, but even involving NHL'ers, these games will still only draw the hardcore hockey fans until maybe the gold medal game. Same as it was before.
Don't get me wrong, I know the talent we will be seeing on the ice will be awesome, but the event itself lost something for me when it turned to this format.
The reason why NBC has all this filler stuff is to be able to fill up the whole prime-time block for the two weeks.
What sucks about that is that events aren't shown live and they're spaced out during the prime time 3-4 hour block and they tease you with popular events.
But those events happened hours ago and people know the results so you have to wait until NBC finally shows it to see the video because the IOC prevents other media outlets from even showing highlights until NBC airs it.
For instance, on the first day, there are downhill trials in the morning but NBC probably will want to wait until prime time to show it. According to the iPhone Winter Olympics app., only USA HD is on air during the time those events take place. So will they show it live or save the "glamorous" event only for prime time?
Unfortunately, this formula must be working because they've repeated it for several Olympics now. The concept of live coverage of the Olympics is gone, even though it's taking place in North America.
Filler may be good for the athletes and potential sponsors of those athletes, to make a star out of them.
What sucks about that is that events aren't shown live and they're spaced out during the prime time 3-4 hour block and they tease you with popular events.
But those events happened hours ago and people know the results so you have to wait until NBC finally shows it to see the video because the IOC prevents other media outlets from even showing highlights until NBC airs it.
For instance, on the first day, there are downhill trials in the morning but NBC probably will want to wait until prime time to show it. According to the iPhone Winter Olympics app., only USA HD is on air during the time those events take place. So will they show it live or save the "glamorous" event only for prime time?
Unfortunately, this formula must be working because they've repeated it for several Olympics now. The concept of live coverage of the Olympics is gone, even though it's taking place in North America.
Filler may be good for the athletes and potential sponsors of those athletes, to make a star out of them.