Olympics opening ceremony

Seems you are in a minority of one Goz ;)

I love the Olympics and love the thought that there thousands of humans out there who sacrifice almost everything, many for years, not for money, power or wealth, but for the chance to represent their Country at the Olympics and push the boundaries of what's possible for us (humans) to do.

I think we are all somehow better because of people like them.

Re GB, last Olympics the top five Countries in the World were:

USA with 110 medals - population 314 million
China with 100 medals - population 1347 million
Russia with 73 medals - population 143 million
UK with 47 medals - population 59 million
Germany with 41 medals - population 82 million

Proud to be British ? - too right I am [smiley=thumbup.gif]

:)

The Gymnasts won in the European Championships recently too..great athletes and the first time a British team had ever won plus the Women achieved a 4th with a very young team :)

Wow just seen Zoe Smith break British record 121kg in clean/jerk weight lift [58kg class] ... finished 12th ..Chinese gold with astounding lift 138kg :o

Nearly a podium finish for the diving pair Waterfield/Daley too 8-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SupeRDel

[quote author=BMWGraeme link=1343423327/53#53 date=1343677777][quote author=Tina link=1343423327/52#52 date=1343677116]I have to say, although Im not into the Olympics much (apart from the diving and syncronised swimming) the bits I have seen have been pretty good.
The womens cycle racing made me feel quite proud especially when there were spectators all along the route cheering them on even though it was peeing down.
No matter how 'rubbish' people think our sports people are I give them credit for getting out there and giving it a go......particularly as 90% of our athletes dont get half the funding other countries do.........my motto is....'Don't knock it until you have tried it'
Its all very well us lot sat in our armchairs saying how pants we are, they are out there giving it their best and deserve our support don't you think ??

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

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I couldn't agree more Tina. These athlete's put years and years into their event and it can all be over in seconds. Don't forget the sacrifices their families have made either. For me its not about the money or the politics, its about the years of hard graft that gets done before most of us have woken up the morning. Day in, day out come rain or shine. I wish the doomers and gloomers would give it a rest for a couple of weeks so the rest of us who have some empathy with whats happening can enjoy the moment. C'mon Team GB!
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You forgot to add that none of the athletes are benifit scroungers. Something like this shows the world that we are one of the best countries in the world[/quote]



It's a shame that benefit scrounging isn't an olympic sport, we'd get gold, silver and bronze in that no problem :)

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Originally Posted by goz1960

[quote author=porkies link=1343423327/42#42 date=1343639411]probably a lot of corporate 'buy outs' of the seats but no buggars going :-/

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Or could be they feel the same as me (bored of watching our second rate athletes :( :( [/quote]

better athletes than i'll ever be, i get bored watching politic shows......so i don't do it

"It's a shame that benefit scrounging isn't an olympic sport, we'd get gold, silver and bronze in that no problem"



LMAO.....Speak for yourself Swanny !! :P :P :P :P :P :P

Thats like saying all bikers are big hairy thugs.........typical stereotyping as per usual !! ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

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Originally Posted by Tina

Thats like saying all bikers are big hairy thugs.........typical stereotyping as per usual !! ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

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Not really :)
But it's a fact that this country is full of lazy buggers that do nothing except sign on and watch trash tele like Jeremy Kyle for most of the day with no intention of ever even looking for a job. It would do them good to fill their days with something more purposeful :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Swanny

[quote author=Tina link=1343423327/64#64 date=1343683727]

Thats like saying all bikers are big hairy thugs.........typical stereotyping as per usual !! ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

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Not really :)
But it's a fact that this country is full of lazy buggers that do nothing except sign on and watch trash tele like Jeremy Kyle for most of the day with no intention of ever even looking for a job. It would do them good to fill their days with something more purposeful :)[/quote]

Maybe they should all get on their bikes a la Wiggins et al, to go look for a job....Tebbit was so ahead of his time ;D ;D

Oops, did I just bring politics into it? Shame on me ;)

They should do something with their lives. The clock is ticking, if they are not careful life will have passed them by.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gerry

Seems you are in a minority of one Goz ;)

I love the Olympics and love the thought that there thousands of humans out there who sacrifice almost everything, many for years, not for money, power or wealth, but for the chance to represent their Country at the Olympics and push the boundaries of what's possible for us (humans) to do.

I think we are all somehow better because of people like them.

Re GB, last Olympics the top five Countries in the World were:

USA with 110 medals - population 314 million
China with 100 medals - population 1347 million
Russia with 73 medals - population 143 million
UK with 47 medals - population 59 million
Germany with 41 medals - population 82 million

Proud to be British ? - too right I am [smiley=thumbup.gif]

:)

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Gerry, once again you are spot on and total agree with you 100 per cent.

Come on Team GB!!!!!!

Sorry in advance Graeme, It was my intention to keep my rose-tinted glasses on during the games and pretend all the roses in the garden are rosy. IMHO however, there are too many people trying to portray these games as the working class kid who sacrificed everything for four years and came good.

I don’t wish to undermine our athletes, merely redress the balance with the aim of achieving a sense of perspective. “Benefit scroungers”? Why would the GB team Olympic athletes who earn in a week what I earn in six years need to scrounge benefits?

It’s too simplistic to look at a medal table and conclude that the countries with the biggest haul are necessarily the best sporting nations. It is not a level playing field for all the competitors from around the world. The top countries (richest too) in the main, provide their athletes with some of the best training facilities in the world to prepare for the games. Although I do not have figures to hand, I would not be surprised if the UK spent more (sponsorship, lottery and public funding) on our athletes and sporting facilities than the whole of the African continent with the exception of SA perhaps.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t get behind our athletes, but let’s stop kidding ourselves that these are not corporate games and all the competitors are amateur sports men/women.