Olympics discussion thread

I wanted to gauge this forum's interest in the Summer Olympic Games. Billions of people will be watching the one coming up in just over a month, are you going to be one of them? How much, and how interested are you in the whole thing?

I also want to get a better understanding of why so many people watch/care about the Olympics, but then don't watch/care about almost all of the sports for the rest of the four years until the next Olympics. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm the opposite, actually really interested in the Olympics, but I follow a lot of the sports closely outside of them, such as table tennis, badminton, swimming, athletics, cycling and even the less popular sports such as fencing, rowing, hockey and archery.

I guess this thread could also be the general Olympics discussion thread. Until then, what are some of your favourite/memorable Olympic moments/memories?

I remember the that Phelps dude winning alot and I also remeber that person dieing in the winter olympics.

I remember that italian guy winning the speed walking thing, that was badass and last year didnt someone get stabbed?

I watch it every 4 years, I'm excited.

I forgot to say my own favourite Olympic moment - the final of the 4x100 metre freestyle relay at the Sydney Olympics of 2000. I'm going to explain why and it's going to be long winded and sentimental so if you don't like that sort of thing stop reading.

The prestigious race was one that the United States dominated - they'd never failed to win it ever in the event's history at any major competition. For 2000, they'd put together a fearsome team - world record holders, reigning world champions, multiple gold medallists; muscly experienced specialists at the peak of their careers. The home team Australia had been improving in recent years but paled in comparison - Michael Klim, a butterfly specialist; Chris Fydler, an ageing veteran at his third Olympics; Ashley Callus, an unknown swimming at his first major event; and Ian Thorpe, a skinny 17 year old boy who wasn't suited to the 100m. No one on the team had won a single Olympic medal at all, as opposed to the several golds the American team members held. Garry Hall, the anchor of the US team, echoed these feelings by saying the Australian challengers would be "smashed like guitars". Though I was only about 6 at the time, as I sat in the arena I could sense the weight of the situation. The atmosphere was electric.

Michael Klim opened with a stunning swim, breaking a six year old world record for the individual 100m. The fight was well and truly on. The veteran Fydler lost the lead, but fought back was able to give the newcomer Callus a half a metre advantage against the hulking and experienced Jason Lezak. Callus also lost the lead soon after he started, but valiantly battled back from a metre deficit. At the final changeover, Thorpe had a very slim lead. Imagine his situation - I know I'm repeating myself but he was a 17 fucking year old schoolboy who was out of his element in a sprint race, about to swim against a burly gold medalist who had never lost before. Though he dived in with a small lead, it didn't look good - the 100m is a short distance and powerful strokes and muscles were all important. And it showed - with just 50 metres left, Garry Hall had built up a lead of almost a full body length. But Ian Thorpe wasn't about to let the standing and screaming home crowd down. Somehow he produced a roaring final 30 metres to touch the wall just ahead. I still vividly remember everyone around me jumping up and down yelling their lungs out. Everyone on the team had swum the race of their life, the old world record had been beaten by over one and a half seconds. The combination of the formidable and arrogant adversaries, the epic swims, and me being there in person makes my memory of the moment very special to me, and I still get chills just re-watching or thinking about it.

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I love those David amd goliath stories. My personal favorite was the USA soviet Hockey game.

Me too. I can't imagine how epic that one would have been to witness, especially for an American invested in the sport.

I can't wait for it! It's exciting to see who's the best in the end of the event.

I wonder which country will get the most gold medals. China won pretty handily last time, but they had the home ground advantage and their current team doesn't look as strong as the one from four years ago. In contrast, this years US team is looking very strong, but I'm still predicting a slim Chinese win.

Yeah, I think USA will do great this year, but I also have a feeling another country will come in with a challenge!