Willmark:
So who has been watching? Usually I’m very into the Olympics. But this year NBc seems Hell bent into turning it into a soap opera.
Still enjoying ice hockey however.
Yodrin:
I am watching ofc, I am Norwegian and we are good in the winter games;). Sucks at hockey though:)
Fuggit Khan:
I’m not an Olympics sorta guy, so I don’t watch them at all…but I have been actively watching and enjoying all the pics and blogs on the hotels/shabby construction/corruption of “Sochi-ialism”…funny stuff.
My apologies to honest Russians everywhere.
TheFNG:
I mostly watch because my wife likes to have it on. I’ve been surprisingly engrossed in women’s curling though. Holy smokes, there are some lovely ladies on those teams.
Blue in VT:
I typically love to watch the Olympics…Snowboarding in particular…But I agree with Willmark that here in the states NBC is doing a shitty job of it. My main complaint is that with basic cable I only get the local NBC affiliate…so the only time the Olympics are actually shown is in prime time…I want to watch it with my kids when they are awake…which is not in prime time (hopefully…
) I I had all the “other” NBC stations I’m sure I wouldn’t complain as much …but thats not the case…
Cheers,
Blue
cornixt:
I’ve been watching various bits of the Olympics. I’m lucky enough to get both NBC and CBC, and the Canadian broadcasts are much better (and uncut, and live). It seems that they have a lot more events than last year, I don’t remember all the team events.
Admiral:
I don’t watch much sports, but I like to keep a tab on Olympics and the like. Sweden has been catching medals like they’re lined up on a conveyor belt.
Suddenly Norway doesn’t tower over us in the winter Olympics like they used to. :cheers
Willmark:
I’m still trying but NBC is making these games unwatchable. Commercial breaks, delaying final results to the wee hours of the morning… Forore commercials.
How about I just skip all that as NBC and just watch it online?
Yodrin:
Our 10th gold today… Norway rule in winter olympics, but suck at the summer one;)
cornixt:
You do have a much longer winter than a summer.
Yodrin:
You do have a much longer winter than a summer. :)Jupp jupp :cheers :s
cornixt
Willmark:
I broke it down a while ago on another site because everyone in Europe was getting their man panties in a wad about how the US doesn’t follow the IOC method of counting gold first and foremost rather then total medals.
The main object was: "the US counts whichever method that makes them look better. "
The reality is when we talk summer it’s not even close, it doesn’t matter which method is used. The US is by far and away ahead of everyone by either method. In some cases if we apply the IOC method of counting gold first that means the US “wins” to more Olympics despite having won less medals overall. Example is Stockholm in 1912.
Basically it breaks down (ignoring boycott years for obvious reasons):
Up until 1948- the US dominate over the UK, Sweden (in the early games and France).
Up until 1976- the USA and the USSR trading the leads back and forth.
Up til 2000- USA accedesnt again.
To the present- USA still in control with China taking second except 2008 where they snuck ahead by a smidge.
The winter games is a much smaller data pool. Less sports, less atheletes , etc means that it’s more concentrated. Some countries don’t have the on libation or the weather further limiting the pool of talent or outright non-participation because they are from a warm climate. Not surprisingly Norway is number 1 with the US #2. This is odd because as a country most of the sports in the winter games barely register on our sports radar. The best athletes in the US go into Football, College Football, basketball and then baseball a distant fourth. After that soccer and hockey are farther down.
Skiing? Cross country? Ski jumping? Once every four years we pay attention. Surprisingly the US seems to be on the rise in bobsled, improving in luge and certainly getting better in hockey. Since the 1950s it was the USSR in hockey then everyone else… They were that good.
I’ve had to ask myself if my disinterest this year is due to the US performance and I keep coming back to its NBCs dreadful coverage of it. Some of my favorite Olympic moments have nothing to do with the US. Some of my least favorite moments this year is the soap opera nature of the coverage of the US.
Abecedar:
I’ve watched more of these winter olympics than any previous winter or summer. But its not anything like a religion or must do with me. We have a couple of so-called commentators that make me use the “Off” button as soon as I see them.