Things can only get be...worse ...



ROCKMAN

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Toru A
I heard that the torch to Paris, the host city of the next Olympics, will be passed on from Tokyo to Antoine Griezmann.

Beijing cancelled?

I have been on the opposition side all the way through, even before the bids. Japan has better things to do. In all fairness, the opening ceremony was nicely done considering the circumstances, despite all the mess and turmoils that had plagued the event incessantly from the beginning and during the preparation. In fact, much better than I predicted IMHO. Enough of cool moments to be drawn to. Give credit where it’s due.

May the Covid not be with the athletes, the staff and the nations...

I like the atmosphere of the Olympic games even if there are some constraints for these games inJapan.

Now there are 339 gold medals to win.

Good luck to all countries !

Glad to see the traitors from the US girls team lose. POS all of them.

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black n blue
Glad to see the traitors from the US girls team lose. POS all of them.

Amen! Leave the politics at home. Just another reason I will not watch one single event.

Japan manages a forced smile at its lonely Opening Ceremonies, but Olympic joy is in short supply

Even the parade of athletes seemed slightly anti-climactic, with small, stripped-down delegations
from the competing nations wearing masks and waving gamely at row upon row of empty seats.

Olympics

TOKYO — For a moment at the start of Friday’s Opening Ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics, members of a crowd gathered outside National Stadium gasped as fireworks lit up the sky and reflected off the glass front of a nearby building. But the gasps soon gave way to one of the main soundtracks of these troubled Games — a crowd of protesters chanting curses about the entire event. Friday night’s Olympic opener, anticipated so eagerly 18 months ago, went off with more of a whimper than a bang, in a lonely stadium filled with only a few hundred dignitaries and journalists. What should have been a celebration of this nation’s many excellent qualities — and the uplifting spirit of Olympic competition — ended up feeling more like a forced smile, far from an expression of the joy that had gripped Japan after it won the right to hold the Games eight years ago. There were beautiful dances and music to celebrate the athletes who have stayed in top form during the trying months of the coronavirus pandemic. There was a celebration of traditional Japanese carpenters and the firefighters who protected its wooden towns and cities from disaster in ancient times. There were nods to the video games, anime and manga for which modern Japan has become known and loved. And then there was a moment of silence to commemorate those who have died during the pandemic and during past Olympics, including 11 members of the Israeli delegation murdered in Munich in 1972. In the distance, the sound of the protests wafted through the humid night air.

The evening closed with one of the highlights of the ceremonies: a nod to the diversity of today’s Japan, a land that is just beginning to grapple with immigration and the idea of people of different races and identities making up a single nation. Two prominent half-Black and half-Japanese athletes were featured at the end of the ceremony. Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura was one of two flag bearers for Team Japan, which closed the Parade of Nations as the Olympics host. And tennis superstar Naomi Osaka was revealed as the final torch bearer, a coveted position at the ceremonies. The decision to ban spectators, made two weeks ago when the Games became too politically toxic to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, had left the Opening Ceremonies’ organizers facing a difficult task — one made even more challenging following the resignation of the musical composer for bullying disabled classmates as a schoolboy and the dismissal of the show director for making a joke about the Holocaust more than two decades ago. Even the parade of athletes seemed slightly anti-climactic, with small, stripped-down delegations from the competing nations wearing masks and waving gamely at row upon row of empty seats.

The day had been one of strange contrasts. Earlier, despite the pandemic and a state of emergency in the capital, as well as intense heat and humidity, crowds had gathered to watch the air force’s aerobatic squadron, Blue Impulse, draw the Olympic rings in multicolored smoke against the blue sky. Hundreds of protesters marched through Harajuku, one of the busiest areas in Tokyo, in opposition to the Games. They walked toward the ceremonies during the hour before they began, calling for the cancellation of the Olympics and blaming organizers for facilitating what they feared would become a covid-19 superspreader event. Droves of passersby stopped to watch the protesters, cheer them on, dance to their chants or take photos. “Go to hell, IOC!” protesters chanted. “Go to hell, Olympics!” But just outside National Stadium, Tokyo residents packed the streets to listen to what they could of the audio seeping out from the ceremonies. As rain sprinkled, people in the crowd stood with umbrellas in hand. When there were fireworks, the crowd gasped, cheered and took photos and video. “We saw the fireworks, and it was pretty impressive,” said Nari Masa, 16, who was out at dinner when he saw the protesters in Harajuku and followed them to the stadium. He and Haruki Li, 15, watched the live stream of the ceremony on their phones as they stood outside. “We just wanted to see what’s going on,” Masa said. “It’s probably the only time in our lifetimes the Olympics will be in Tokyo.”

None of the bystanders, of course, were allowed in the stadium, refurbished at a cost of $1.6 billion to resemble a forest — with seats in various woodland shades meant to represent dappled light and with wood sourced from all 47 of Japan’s prefectures. But with no one here to sit in those seats and enjoy the spectacle, the cost of the stadium and these Opening Ceremonies was too much for many residents to bear. Even many VIPs stayed away. First lady Jill Biden was in attendance, waving enthusiastically as the U.S. team strolled in. But the captains of Japanese industry and commerce, who had bankrolled these Games to the tune of a record $3.6 billion, largely stayed away, afraid of the negative optics that would come from attending when ordinary people couldn’t. Absent, too, was former prime minister Shinzo Abe, at whose insistence the Games were postponed for just one year instead of two — a decision that was controversial at the time and even less popular now. Abe, who had hoped to preside over the Games this year, ended up stepping down last summer because of poor health.

The contrast with 1964, when Tokyo first staged the Olympics, was stark. Then, the Games had sparked the transformation of the capital from disease-ridden backwater to modern metropolis, and they more broadly symbolized Japan’s recovery from defeat in World War II and its emergence as a leading member of the Western world. This time, in declaring the Games open, even Emperor Naruhito chose phrasing that omitted the word “celebrating.” Naruhito, through a senior adviser, already had made his discomfort and concern with holding the Games evident, and his choice of words underlined his ambivalence. “I declare open the Tokyo Games, commemorating the 32nd Olympiad of the modern era,” he said before more fireworks lit up the sky.

Just before the Opening Ceremonies were set to start, a young Japanese woman working for the Olympics Broadcasting Services stood in the stadium and gazed down at the protesters below, struggling to hold back tears. “It’s so sad,” she said. “This should have been such a wonderful celebration.”

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

I say, Sweden - Australia 4-2 (Women's football). The Matildas a very good team but Sweden seemed to score at every opportunity. Our goalies saved us at 3-2, saved a penalty. Kerr, a class player.
Matildas right back outrun every Swedish attacker. Regretfully Blackstenius was stamped in the last minute of the game. Our fastest player. I hope she can recover.
So, 3-0 against USA and now 4-2 against Australia. I have never seen a better Swedish team!

Had a glance at men's basketball 3x3. Never seen it before. Very entertaining. But I wonder if it has anything in the Olympics to do?

[twitter.com]

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black n blue
Glad to see the traitors from the US girls team lose. POS all of them.

Please educate me, why are they traitors? Were they part of the insurrection?

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coffeepotman

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black n blue
Glad to see the traitors from the US girls team lose. POS all of them.

Please educate me, why are they traitors? Were they part of the insurrection?

I had to look this up because I wasn't aware...so the women's soccer team, because they took a knee for Black Lives Matter? Is that it?

Get real!

Jagger gets bronze…

[www.usatoday.com]

(Apparently his parents first date was a Stones show.)

I for one am enjoying the Olympics, and as usual, brilliant coverage on the BBC.
Looking forward to the athletics most of all, but swimming, football, hockey, judo, taekwondo, cycling, gymnastics have all had their good moments for Team GB.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-07-25 17:26 by crawdaddy.

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SomeTorontoGirl
Jagger gets bronze…

[www.usatoday.com]

(Apparently his parents first date was a Stones show.)

I just finished watching this men's street skateboarding final, which was amazing heart-in-your-mouth type of stuff. I don't know how they do it - and nor did I know about his parents' first date, but I did say to my family that his parents must be Stones' fans!

Looking forward to seeing the young Sky Brown do her skateboarding thing.

It's very sad that only a handful of spectators are allowed at all these events. The restriction seems pointless when there are big non-socially-distanced crowds gathered outside the venues anyway.

I have started my own boycott. You cant watch the olympics on Swedish national television - and I refuse to say YES SIR to the commersial channel that has bought the lot. I keep my money and read a good book instead. Strange games anyway - silent stadiums and all that.

Is it boycotting if one is just being a cheapskate? Then I'm boycotting Ferrari's and spaceflights.

Okay, some interesting results today. Austria's Anna Kiesenhofer won women's 147 km road race cycling. An unexpected winner since she's an amateur and a doctor in mathematics. Dutch rider Van Vleuten came in second but she thought she had won. Maybe it was the heat or perhaps she missed a couple of lessons in mathematics in school? The Dutch were favorites by the way. A disappointing result for them.

Secondly, Team USA lost their first game in men's basketball against France. 83-76 to France.

Rah Rah Rah

Eat it raw!

Thats the spirits we have here today!

jb

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Stoneage
Okay, some interesting results today. Austria's Anna Kiesenhofer won women's 147 km road race cycling. An unexpected winner since she's an amateur and a doctor in mathematics. Dutch rider Van Vleuten came in second but she thought she had won. Maybe it was the heat or perhaps she missed a couple of lessons in mathematics in school? The Dutch were favorites by the way. A disappointing result for them.

Secondly, Team USA lost their first game in men's basketball against France. 83-76 to France.

I think the Dutch rider thought she won because the Austrian rider was so far ahead of everyone else.

Watching the men's Triathlon and hoping for a Brit to win, but I'm a bit vague to know who are the main contenders.
Heard the name Brownlee and Alex Yee in the commentary and I do know they are really good.
Nice to see the sights of Tokyo, a city, as well as Japan, being a country I've never visited.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2021-07-26 01:54 by crawdaddy.

When you’re not allowed to leave the hotel to get sushi in Tokyo, you bring the sushi to you.
CNN correspondent, Kate Bennett

Well done to Norway and getting the gold medal for Triathlon with Kristian Blummenfelt, and Team GB silver medal for Alex Yee, and only 23 years old. They are all great athletes who took part and full of admiration for them all.

Happy that France defeated USA in basketball
Good performance for my team !

Any way to get BV to remove this thread?

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GasLightStreet
Any way to get BV to remove this thread?

This is a billion dollar event so it WILL be talked about. Shold it turn out the people are not at all interested in the sportsing itself, they will be talking about the panties of the norwegian team and related penalties. The sponsors will not accept indifference.

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Paris75014
Happy that France defeated USA in basketball
Good performance for my team !

The US team deserved getting creamed. Nothing like a good humbling experience to a bunch of oversized egos.

Congratulations to 27 years old Kristian Blummenfelt from Norway, for winning the triathlon gold medal earlier today.

Winning any single performance sports type like 100m, steep hillside biking, 100 m swimming, ski jumping or basketball, may be easier for some, of you are skinny, tall, heavy, simply have the exact body perfectly fit for that sport. However, winning after swimming, biking and running, three different sports, is not that easy. Very impressing!

I have been following Blummenfelt and Iden, another Norwegian triathlon athlete for some years, they are both at the very top performance wise, and I am so happy to see the medal after all their hard work. Gustav Iden made it at #8, and Casper Stornes made #11, so three Norwegians in the first 11 triathlon positions is impressing.

Ridderen av råskap (English: "The Knight of Raw Power")

Triathlon - Results - Odaiba Marine Park - 26 Jul - 6:30 - Official



Bjornulf

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GasLightStreet
Any way to get BV to remove this thread?

Why?

Bjornulf

I think this Olympics thread is a great way of expressing your feelings of sporting achievements from your own country as well as sportsman /sportswomen and teams from all over the world.

Happy with Team GB performances so far and lots more to come hopefully.
Stayed up till about 4am this morning and so glad I've been retired for many years now and can just get out of bed a few hours later than normal.

Lots more great sport to look forward to, and will have quite a few more late nights/early mornings to come.
Will be doing the same when The Stones are performing in USA come September 26th.