Anyone Watching The Olympics?

[JB4310]

Or should I say the Commercials,

I like the Olympics, but man the commercials are relentless. If you want to watch the actual events you better DVR it so you can FF thru all the crap.

One of the interesting competitions is the snow board Cross, where 4 boarders go down the track together, pretty good action there, always enjoyed the downhill skiing

Of course my wife and daughter love all the skating, My daughter skates so I'm forced to sit through it. Though it's definitely not my bag, you gotta give them credit for the incredible athleticism.

Guy holding a woman (minuscule as they may be) over his head in one hand while spinning around on one skate, or when he throws her so high in the air and catches her after she spins 3-4 times.

JB

 

[20 20]

I remember back when cable was comming to be{atleast in this area} they said because we'd be paying{for the programs} commercials would disappear. I get sick of TV because of commercials. Even if I like a show, I'll get half way through and shut it off, because of greed/commercials. With that said I have DVR'ed some of the olympics to watch when I get a chance.

 

[dave1949]

We watch for a couple hours in the evening. Although tonight is the Group judging at Westminster Dog Show, I like to see the dogs. Even if some are a little too poofy for my tastes

I seems like figure skating pairs have fewer falls overall than individual skaters. I don't know if the moves are not quite as challenging or it's the psychology of not being alone out there. Either way, there is an incredible amount of athleticism involved. Just like a MLB short stop snagging a ground ball, they make things look a whole lot easier than they really are.

Sometimes when watching the individual skaters trying to do triple-double combinations you see one after the other falling. That sort of detracts from the beauty of the sport IMO.

The commercials are off-putting for sure. I think the only good way around that is to Tivo everything and then skip the commercials on playback. It is a little entertaining to compare the products being advertised and guess which demographic the ads are aimed at for a given program. From that, you can infer who is watching what you are watching
Dave.

 

[ToadHill]

20-20 My wife and I were talking about the pitch of the cable company just the other night. Yes it was "If you switch to cable you will pay for the service but you won't have to watch the commercials." That lasted less than a year.

 

[mjfox6]

I DVR and skip the commercials and all of the commentary and background hoopla. I watch 4 hours in about 1 hour, sometimes less if the events aren't very interesting.

I hate watching live tv, but have trouble hitting the pause button some times for bathroom breaks when DVRing!

 

[jinman]

I love the Olympics (all of it) and figure I can put up with the commercials instead of a huge amount on Pay-Per-View. An incredible amount of money has been spent on the Olympics. They have to get paid back somehow. My biggest argument was and is the amount of money spent on the opening ceremony. Is it going to be continual one-upmanship for each of the successive opening ceremonies? I love the atheletes and their stories of how they came to be Olympians. I wish they would spend more on telling us about these remarkable people and less on a show that means nothing.

 

[DANOCHEESE]

This will make you wonder. Cable/Dish companies were forced to pay more for olympic coverage. If they declined, they only get the local NBC coverage. The FEE was almost $2 per customer.

And yes you still get the commercials.

 

[dave1949]

Jim,

They really piled on the commercials last night during the men's skating. I flipped back and forth between the dog show and Olympics.

Danocheese,
Any idea how much NBC is paying the IOC for broadcast rights? I haven't run across any mention of that figure.
Dave.

 

[jinman]

I think if I were NBC, I'd be pretty miffed to be paying all this money for coverage and be scooped by Yahoo! with coverage of the women's downhill run and Lindsey Vonn winning gold. Julia Manusco also won silver. See, even TBN has news before you see it on NBC. Why didn't NBC carry such a big event live so they couldn't be scooped? It must be another bad, bad NBC decision.

Sorry if I ruined everyone's prime time Olympics coverage. At least it was good news instead of bad news.

 

[JB4310]

I have been really enjoying watching this year, even with zapping the commercials I spent a few hours watching last night.

The women's downhill was absolutely awesome last night, those incredible crashes show the speed and risk involved

The speed skating short track is pretty cool to.

Don't really get that 2 man luge thing, kinda makes me uncomfortable, more of a European thing

JB.

 

[MossRoad]

....The speed skating short track is pretty cool to.....

Did any of you stay up and watch the short track mens' relays last night? Man, 20 guys on the ice in close proximity going fast on 18" long razor blades!!! If that ain't an adrenalin rush, I don't know what is.

 

[jinman]

Did any of you stay up and watch the short track mens' relays last night? Man, 20 guys on the ice in close proximity going fast on 18" long razor blades!!! If that ain't an adrenalin rush, I don't know what is.

Herding cats would be my name for that event. How they keep it straight and know what to do is beyond me. I love the excitement, but I couldn't help but think of a bunch of Shriner clowns on little motorcycles doing their routine.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I've been watch. Shaun White was unbelievable in the half pipe. I wish they would show more of the events and less of the fillers.

 

[Alan L.]

I enjoy most of the games, wow first to watch winter olympics in high def. Love the skiing and snowboarding especially, and speed skating too. Is it me, or some of the men skaters looking really feminine what with their frilly attire and mannerisms?

 

[dcyrilc]

The thing which has made me laugh the most is when NBC runs a commercial for a TV show and says "Right after the Olympics!" and I get up at 4:30 and the Olympics are still on. They must be pre-empting the 5:00am news for the show.

I did really enjoy watching the women's downhill. I like watching short track speed skating as well since Apolo lives about 20 miles from us.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I DVR and skip the commercials and all of the commentary and background hoopla. I watch 4 hours in about 1 hour, sometimes less if the events aren't very interesting.

I hate watching live tv, but have trouble hitting the pause button some times for bathroom breaks when DVRing!

Same here, but there aren't 3 hours of commercials per 4 hours. Anyway it makes watching the Olympics enjoyable. You just have to make sure that you don't watch any news to spoil the endings.

 

[jinman]

Is it me, or some of the men skaters looking really feminine what with their frilly attire and mannerisms?

When Kathy saw Johnny Weir in his pink lace-up outfit for the short program, her response was, "You gotta be kidding!" Last night when he was waiting for his score with his rose garland around his head and a bouquet of roses in his hand, she just said, "This is so embarrassing!" He's an excellent skater, but his mannerisms and dress really throw me for a loop. From the many restrained comments about him by the commentators, you have to believe that he is pretty outrageous all the time. "Free spirit" is the term that I hear most.

I liked the Japanese skaters last night. I felt sorry for Oda when he fell and his shoelace broke. Oda and Takahashi had two of the most entertaining programs. They were really fun to watch.

 

[dave1949]

Is it me, or some of the men skaters looking really feminine what with their frilly attire and mannerisms?

It must be you Alan

Times change and people become more open about their 'free spirits' as Jim said. Personally, I am split between Kathy's embarassment and the academic knowledge that 'free spirits' have always been there, just in hiding, even within the NFL. So, I guess it is the open expression of 'spirit' that is new and can make folks a bit uncomfortable.

Think of programs like 'So You Think You Can Dance'. Another highly athletic and artistic activity.

I'm for tolerance.
Dave.

 

[Tig]

I love sports and have been watch any event that is on. The dedication and skill of even the last place finisher is something to be respected.
Last night among other events I enjoyed watching an inspired performance by the Swiss hockey team. Hiller was amazing in net and the entire game was fun to watch.
My heart sank in the shootout when the Swiss players were booed by a vocal minority. What is wrong with some people?
Thankfully fans cheering the game did mostly drown out the morons. I'm not sure if I will watch any more hockey involving our team.

 

[jinman]

My heart sank in the shootout when the Swiss players were booed by a vocal minority. What is wrong with some people?
Thankfully fans cheering the game did mostly drown out the morons. I'm not sure if I will watch any more hockey involving our team.

Watching hockey in the winter olympics is like watching basketball during the summer olympics in my opinion. The players are mostly pros that come together under the banner of olympic sports. You have to consider that their skin is a little thicker than raw amateurs. Even so, I don't think booing is in a true olympic spirit. I'm sure that Canadians feel like they own the sport of hockey just like we in the USA believe we own the sport of baseball. There are some who will not reflect true sportsmanship because they react the same way they do watching professional games. The majority will cheer for their team but honor the opponents. Hopefully, the boo-birds will be drowned out.