|
rogerthefish
Original Poster
835 posts
100 months
|
From The Sydney Morning Herald
"Despite it all, the concept works, and the Brits have taken that concept and put on one of the greatest, perhaps the greatest, Games of the modern era. A photo-finish with Sydney - let the judges decide in a few generations time. In the meantime, good on the Brits"
|
|
|
Regiment
1,570 posts
28 months
|
How have the Australians seen there performance this Olympics, id have thought they'd be bitterly disappointed.
|
|
|
speedy_thrills
5,667 posts
112 months
|
Regiment said: How have the Australians seen there performance this Olympics, id have thought they'd be bitterly disappointed. 
|
|
|
bigandclever
6,362 posts
107 months
|
rogerthefish said: From The Sydney Morning Herald
"Despite it all, the concept works, and the Brits have taken that concept and put on one of the greatest, perhaps the greatest, Games of the modern era. A photo-finish with Sydney - let the judges decide in a few generations time. In the meantime, good on the Brits" Lovely. What's your point? To help, here's a link to the ful article http://www.theage.com.au/olympics/news-london-2012...
|
|
|
TheHeretic
68,191 posts
124 months
|
bigandclever said: Lovely. What's your point? I think he is merely passing on how the Olympics has been viewed, by folks who put on a very good Olympics indeed.
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
bigandclever
6,362 posts
107 months
|
TheHeretic said: I think he is merely passing on how the Olympics has been viewed, by folks who put on a very good Olympics indeed. Sorry, I was being miserable and literal  One (Aussie) journo's op ed isn't really conclusive, especially when their conclusion is "it was at least on par with our Olympics".
|
|
|
Keyser Soze
10,944 posts
60 months
|
bigandclever said: Sorry, I was being miserable and literal One (Aussie) journo's op ed isn't really conclusive, especially when their conclusion is "it was at least on par with our Olympics". To be fair whilst having been quite pro Olympics I was assuming we would f  k it up somehow. E it transport or something else To be held on a par by an Aussie with their games, chuffed to be fair
|
|
|
el stovey
13,497 posts
132 months
|
Regiment said: How have the Australians seen there performance this Olympics, id have thought they'd be bitterly disappointed. They're getting slated in the media. The Australians expect gold medals and haven't had enough. Like cricket they've benefitted in the past from a world leading programme and some once in a generation athletes. Now the once in a lifetime athletes have retired and the rest of the world have caught up with their own programmes and institutes of excellence and often even bought Australian coaches. Exactly the same will happen to us if we don't keep up the funding and retain all the best coaches/facilities/sports boffins.
|
|
|
Pommygranite
4,160 posts
85 months
|
This happens every time the Aussies do well, expect to beat the poms, take the piss out of the poms but the poms do well. The Aussies then retort with ridiculous hypocrisy thinking they're funny and right before being shown up and the pommy press come back with a piss take in the same vein and the Aussies can't take the same joke on them. They cry a bit then realise they're an embarrassment of not being able to take their own joke before showing some humility and grace.
The Ashes, beating England in a football friendly, Willkos drop kick, the Cricket, the Olympiics - all had the same train of not being able to take the joke after they started taking the piss.
As for the coverage over here, Channel 9 are a disgrace with initially only covering Aussie events, expressing disgust when an Aussie didn't win gold and highlighting when a Pom got beaten. Recently they've realised they've covered it badly and evened it out.
First they showed the medals table, then changed to medals per population when the real table was not so good and now they're showing medals per GDP and even then theyre 6th....
The public view seems to be overwhelmingly positive though and thoroughly nice about the whole thing with a glowing open ceremony view.
|
|
|
TheHeretic
68,191 posts
124 months
|
Bit of a sidenote here... So I read the article, and the author mentions Sydney being one of the aknowledged 4 great citis in the world. Now, maybe it is, maybe it isn't, bit I thought I would have a quick google to see if it considered such. Anyway, I found this article by Time magazine about the best cities in the world. http://www.timeout.com/travel/features/362/the-wor...How on earth can new York beat London on architecture? Is it purely based on modern skyscrapers, and the like, or what? Seemed odd. Sydney is =9th by the way, along with Rome.
|
|
|
jimmyjimjim
2,754 posts
107 months
|
Pommygranite said: First they showed the medals table, then changed to medals per population when the real table was not so good and now they're showing medals per GDP and even then theyre 6th.... I thought my Aunts friends (she's an ex-pat, they're aussies) were taking the piss when they started coming up with those kind of stats in 2008, I didn't realise until you said that, that it was real. Lots of return comments about "medals per head of population, or those competing?" "how about medals per hectare of arable land?" were met with an offended silence from Wally and Sheila (yes, I checked, those are their names). Digging out the email thread from then shows the chain of events (early lead, postering and piss taking re GB team being crap, GB team starting to do well at same time as GB press put the boot in, poor Aus reaction) to be the same. Ah, this brings back fond memories of the innings and 71 runs ashes victory email exchange. Cricket Australia rather dropped themselves in it there with "history will be made". Great stuff.
|
|
|
Derek Smith
16,056 posts
117 months
|
el stovey said: Exactly the same will happen to us because we won't keep up the funding or retain all the best coaches/facilities/sports boffins. There: fixed that for you. The funding will be cut but we can hope that some of the fallout from this Olympics will stay. Since Thatcher's government changed the rules, thousands of school playing fields have been sold off, with only local objections. Perhaps now there will be a stop. Perhaps, or perhaps not, new sports facilities might be built. Cycling was increasing in popularity well before our success in China but that gave it a boost and our current success will hopefully get a few councils increasing facilities for those who want to be competitive. The Olympics are inspiring. My son has said that he's taking up kayaking and canoeing and wants to enter the DW next year. (Good luck with that.) There seems little doubt that someone who takes a sport seriously is less likely to end up in gangs and such. They might still get into trouble, especially after a jar or two, but it’s not planned or done for gain. In my youth they started a judo club in the wilds of Charlton, just on the border between the nice and the not so nice area, and it all but cleared the street corner mobs and not only during training. Much as I was impressed by the 49ers the cost puts it out of the reach of most, and the same with poncy horses. But whilst a decent bicycle is not cheap, you can compete at a lower level and then get some form of sponsorship. Or borrow boxing gloves. A swimming costume is a few quid and most track and field is the cost of spikes. The riots last year was blamed on lack of goals for the youth. (An easy excuse and perhaps one that is not supported 100% by some of those who were captured.) Sport, although utterly pointless I suppose, does focus the mind. If youths can drag themselves from the street and be motivated to perform at their best then competitive sport is the thing that can do it. One thing which must be accepted. Most crimes are committed by a small hard core. Nothing will change them. However, petty crime, including vandalism, is much less likely if kids have something to do. If they aren't standing around outside the local Co-op until the wee smalls then life gets better for lots of others as well. Sports facilities for youths, together with those to encourage and train, is not a panacea for all the ills of youth, but it will certainly help.
|
|
|
robm3
3,404 posts
96 months
|
TheHeretic said: Bit of a sidenote here... So I read the article, and the author mentions Sydney being one of the aknowledged 4 great citis in the world. Now, maybe it is, maybe it isn't, bit I thought I would have a quick google to see if it considered such. Anyway, I found this article by Time magazine about the best cities in the world. http://www.timeout.com/travel/features/362/the-wor...How on earth can new York beat London on architecture? Is it purely based on modern skyscrapers, and the like, or what? Seemed odd. Sydney is =9th by the way, along with Rome. I'll take the 10/10 lifestyle thanks... And they can keep things like 'world status' yawn...
|
|
|
rogerthefish
Original Poster
835 posts
100 months
|
|
|
XCP
10,499 posts
97 months
|
I wish track and field was just the cost of a pair of spikes!
I spend about £2500 a year on subsidising my sons athletics. Most is spent on travel.
|
|
|
Caulkhead
4,938 posts
26 months
|
Derek Smith said: Since Thatcher's government changed the rules, thousands of school playing fields have been sold off, Gentlemen of PH, I hereby propose a new internet law in the vein of Godwin's Law, which you will recall states; "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." I now propose Caulkhead's Law - "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of Margaret Thatcher being blamed approaches 1." 
|
|
|
Caulkhead
4,938 posts
26 months
|
XCP said: I wish track and field was just the cost of a pair of spikes!
I spend about £2500 a year on subsidising my sons athletics. Most is spent on travel. You should make him run there and back, it would save you the travel costs and he'd get in extra training. . . . .
|
|
|
vonuber
3,903 posts
34 months
|
Caulkhead said: I now propose Caulkhead's Law - "As an online discussion on Pistonheads grows longer, the probability of Labour being blamed approaches 1."
|
|
|
uk66fastback
9,546 posts
140 months
|
Caulkhead said: XCP said: I wish track and field was just the cost of a pair of spikes!
I spend about £2500 a year on subsidising my sons athletics. Most is spent on travel. You should make him run there and back, it would save you the travel costs and he'd get in extra training. . . . . How do you know he's a runner? Might be a shot putter - those guys don't run so easily!
|
|
|
Caulkhead
4,938 posts
26 months
|
uk66fastback said: Caulkhead said: XCP said: I wish track and field was just the cost of a pair of spikes!
I spend about £2500 a year on subsidising my sons athletics. Most is spent on travel. You should make him run there and back, it would save you the travel costs and he'd get in extra training. . . . . How do you know he's a runner? Might be a shot putter - those guys don't run so easily! I guessed from the spikes comment. Maybe shot putters use them as well?
|
|
