In the past, I have watched at least some of the Olympics with interest. This year, I find that I have no interest at all.

I'm not sure if it is what has happened in the world, overblown media hype which makes the event anti climatic, or the fact that I have lost alot of respect for the athletes because a few are selfish or on performance enhancing drugs.

I know that I am very disappointed in the basketball team who appear to be the single largest group of egos that has probably ever been assembled. They have no idea what team and pride mean. On the other hand, I am also bothered by the fact that so many of the original players begged out.

Then there are the drug scandals and accusations. You don't know who is on and who isn't.

If you have watched the Olympics in the past, are you now?

 

I'm lukewarm at best about the Games but will watch the events I like if I can catch them.

I love equestrian (dressage is simply beautiful), shooting, archery, rowing, and sailing...but they seem to get a lot less coverage--or at least not much prime time coverage. I guess they aren't the high profile events that bring in the big advertising dollars, so I'm going to have to set my DVR to see some of these.

I could not possibly care any less about basketball since they let the pro players in.

 

In my opinion when the Russians lost the cold war the Olympics started to loose their glamour... here in th U.S. anyway. We no longer had the evil empire to root against. I think it still is a big deal all over the world but here boring to say the least.

I was looking forward to watching it in HD but the 24 hour delay has got me bummed, although it looks great.

I think if the terrorists had their own Olympic team interest would be high here in the U.S.

 

Sadly Charlie, in the eyes of many, we are the evil empire. One of our members from Australia responded to Lig's thread about prescription meds by calling us "Imperialists," not because fo the actions in Iraq, but because we try to influence Australian drug subsidies. Even our "friends" don't seem to care for us. And you can hear it in the cheers when another country wins over the USA.

 

right you are again Bill......

 

Never really got into the Olympics. Of course, I'll root for the U.S.A. but won't take the time to watch. It's as boring as watching Michael Schumacher win every F1 race. From the pole yet.

 

Well put Bill. Preception is reality, and if that is how we are perceived, then regretfully, that is what we are.

As to the Olympics, I love 'em. They are truly an opportunity for many hundreds of non-professionals (and a lot of professionals) to get together and compete for the sake of competition. Skeet shooting, ping pong, hand ball, water polo, no one will get rich from these sports, but the athletes are there because they have something in common which brings them there. Kinda like S2Ki.

 

I too have lost a lot of interest in the 2004 Olympic games. Here are a list of reasons, not necessarily in any order:
- Professional athletes have taken over the games, it is no different from other professional "championships".
- They've done away with the Olympic Oath (at least it was not breadcast in the US during the opening ceremony), so now it is "free for all" for both the athletes and the judges.
- The whole ego thing of many of the athletes. All the US athletes are competing for their own glory, while (most) the athletes from other nations are competing for their country's pride.
- The whole drug thing.
- The biased TV coverage of the games by the US broadcasters.
- The commercialism of the TV coverage by the US broadcasters ("if there is no money in it for us, then we will not show it", so events like table tennis, judo, badminton, archery, and so on gets no TV coverage at all).

 

That pretty well sums it up for me.

 

I used to watch and enjoy the Olympics, but today they've become just another over hyped media event. I find it hard to tell the difference between the Olympics and any other sporting event. I have lost interest in the Olympics just as I have in most other major sports and sporting events.