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    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2014 edited
     
    !http://i58.tinypic.com/2wem5p5.jpg!

    "1984 Fanfare":https://soundcloud.com/ringgoldrunning/john-williams-olympic-fanfare — "Official Site":http://www.sochi2014.com/en

    This is the first time Russia has hosted the Olympics since the collapse of the USSR in 1991, and the nation's first time hosting any such games since the 1980 Olympic Summer Games. They're held in Sochi, a city in the southernmost arm of European Russia.

    It's estimated preparations have cost roughly $51 billion, surpassing Beijing's total of $44 billion.

    There are 88 participating nations and over 2,800 athletes, competing in 98 events via 17 sports, divided into 15 disciplines: Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsled, Cross-Country, Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Luge, Nordic Combined, Short Track, Skeleton, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, and Speed Skating.

    *Norway* is currently leading the pack with 4 medals: 1 Biathlon gold, 1 Cross-Country gold, 1 Cross-Country bronze, and 1 Snowboarding silver.

    *Netherlands* follows close behind with 3 medals: a gold, silver, and bronze in Speed Skating.

    *United States, Austria, Sweden, Canada, and Czech Republic* are all currently tied in third.
    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2014
     

    I guess it’s because I don’t play any winter sports, but I’m just not that interested in the Winter Olympics this year. I’ll probably try and catch some of the speed skating later on, but I haven’t really been following any of the media surrounding Sochi or the athletes involved either. I dunno, I don’t want to steer this away from the amazing athletes that are competing and turn this into another “Sochi is a giant mess right now” discussion, but something about the setting this year has just turned me off.

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2014
     
    That's what Beijing was like for me.

    But I love it. It gives everyone--especially in the US--an opportunity to pull away from their self-contained world and watch a series of events that require entire lifetimes of dedication and training in a far-flung part of the world. I don't play winter sports, apart from the occasional snowboarding, but I love the atmosphere of it all.
    •  
      CommentAuthorTakuGifian
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2014
     

    I like watching some of the events, but the opening ceremony was underwhelming as a performance piece. Technologically very interesting, but as a performance? Eh.

  1.  

    I have a second cousin on the women’s hockey team so I feel like I ought to give more of a shit, but eh…

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2014
     
    You guys really know how to kill the mood.
    •  
      CommentAuthorTakuGifian
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2014
     

    Did you hear about the American bobsledder who got locked in the bathroom at his hotel?

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2014
     
    Yes. That's hilarious.
    •  
      CommentAuthorTakuGifian
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2014
     

    I’m kind of dreading the Rio De Janeiro games in 2016. if Russia can’t gets its shit together, Brazil doesn’t stand a chance. Pyeongchang and Tokyo should both be good, though.

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2014 edited
     
    I can't imagine the Rio games being anything but a nightmare.

    I do really wish I'd planned to go to Sochi. I speak some Russian and I've always wanted to see an opening ceremony. And the Olympic Village looks amazing.
    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2014
     

    @Taku – is that… a real picture?

    Because that is just great.

    •  
      CommentAuthorTakuGifian
    • CommentTimeFeb 8th 2014
     

    Yep, he tweeted it after he got out. There was no phone in the bathroom (as generally expected) and no way to get out or contact anyone, so he “used [his] luge training” to punch through the door.

    A little irresponsible when he could have worked on the handle and bolt rather than the middle of the door, but it’s still cool.

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeFeb 9th 2014
     
    I wasn't aware luge training crossed over into door-busting.
    •  
      CommentAuthorTakuGifian
    • CommentTimeFeb 9th 2014 edited
     

    Apparently the part where they wear lycra and rub up against each other builds up the forearm muscles.

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeFeb 10th 2014
     
    The ranks have shifted around quite a lot over the weekend.

    *Canada* and *Netherlands* are locked in a battle for most gold medals (3), while the both of them are tied, along with *Norway*, for highest medal count overall (7). Canada has 2 golds for Freestyle Skiing, Norway is accumulating medals in Cross-Country (isn't that how they travel anyway?), while, weirdly, _all_ of Netherlands medals are in confined to Speed Skating.

    *Russia* is now sitting comfortably in fourth place with 1 gold (Figure Skating), 2 silver (Biathlon and Luge), and 3 bronze (Freestyle Skiiing, Speed Skating, and Short Track).

    The *US* has slipped to fifth, with its 2 gold medals in Snowboarding, 3 wayward bronze medals mostly in skiing venues, and still no silver to its credit.

    *Austria* and *Czech Republic* are battling for sixth, with Czech Republic being the highest ranked country without a single gold.

    The remainder are split in two different ties.

    *Germany*, *France*, *Sweden*, and *Italy* are battling for eight place, with two medals each.

    *Poland*, *Switzerland*, *Slovakia*, *Slovenia*, *Finland*, *China*, *Great Britain*, and *Ukraine* are vying for twelfth place, with one medal each.

    In other news, the IOC desperately need to replace the curling brooms with train tracks and the curling stones with a moving train. It's like miniature golf, but all why-so-srs?
    •  
      CommentAuthorTakuGifian
    • CommentTimeFeb 13th 2014
     

    huehuehue

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2014
     
    I can't help but wonder how Russia, on the _last day_ of Olympic competition, suddenly surges ahead by a medal count of five—four of which are gold.