I pit the Olympics. This is the final straw.

[Colophon]

What's really fucking stupid about the Olympics is that in every city they always seem to build a new stadium for every single event, even when there are perfectly good venues that could be used. Then they end up rusting away after the Games because nobody in Athens wants a 5,000-seat dedicated hockey arena, or Beijing has no call for a 500,000-capacity tiddlywinks dome, or whatever.

So insanely wasteful. I think it should be a prerequisite of an Olympic bid that only existing facilities can be used.

[mhendo]

Originally Posted by Colophon

So insanely wasteful. I think it should be a prerequisite of an Olympic bid that only existing facilities can be used.

I agree. The problem is that it works in almost the exact opposite way. The IOC looks far more favorably on bids that promise a whole bunch of brand new, state-of-the-art facilities.

[Greg Charles]

Originally Posted by Colophon

What's really fucking stupid about the Olympics is that in every city they always seem to build a new stadium for every single event, even when there are perfectly good venues that could be used. Then they end up rusting away after the Games because nobody in Athens wants a 5,000-seat dedicated hockey arena, or Beijing has no call for a 500,000-capacity tiddlywinks dome, or whatever.

Hockey stadium, not arena. Arena implies ice hockey, which isn't played in the summer games. Also, I don't see how it could be "dedicated" to field hockey since it's just seats around a grass field. According to that article though, it is derelict. Maybe it's in an inconvenient location? Or the Greeks don't like outdoor sports?

[lisiate]

Hockey's played on artifical surfaces these days. If it was grass you could just convert it to soccer.

Oh and while I agree in general about how wasteful and ridiculous the Olympics are, don't forget that Greece is in the throes of near total economic collapse, so Athens might not be the most typical example of a post-Olympic city.

[Chessic Sense]

Originally Posted by Randy Seltzer

False. "Sic" just means "thus." It should be used to indicate that something unusual in the text was intended to be as it is. It need not be limited to quotations.

Hey, its (sic) you're (sic) fault: your (sic) asking for it by nitpicking.

Yes, "sic" just means "thus," which is precisely why it only makes sense when referencing something else. It means "It was written thusly when I saw it." It does not mean "Something unusual in the text is intentional."

[Kimstu]

Originally Posted by Chessic Sense

Yes, "sic" just means "thus," which is precisely why it only makes sense when referencing something else. It means "It was written thusly when I saw it." It does not mean "Something unusual in the text is intentional."

Actually, nowadays it can:

While chiefly used in text that is not one's own, occasionally a sic is included by a writer after his or her own word(s) to note that the language has been chosen deliberately for special effect, especially where the writer's ironic meaning may otherwise be unclear. Bryan A. Garner dubbed this kind of usage of sic as the "ironic use," providing the following example from Fred Rodell's Nine Men...

[Grumman]

I'd like to take this opportunity to say "Fuck off and die" to the whiny vermin throwing a fit because a couple of Australian swimmers posed with some guns in an American gun shop.

In case you've forgotten, shooting is an Olympic sport.

[mhendo]

Originally Posted by Grumman

I'd like to take this opportunity to say "Fuck off and die" to the whiny vermin throwing a fit because a couple of Australian swimmers posed with some guns in an American gun shop.

In case you've forgotten, shooting is an Olympic sport.

I think they should make all the swimmers carry guns during their races.

Personally, i don't give a flying fuck about the picture they took in the gun store, but those two swimmers sound like a pair of prize assholes:

It is not the first time the swimmers have been embroiled in controversy.

Last year Monk made a false complaint to police claiming he was the victim of a hit and run when he had actually fallen off his skateboard and broken his elbow in two places.

In 2008, D'Arcy was charged over a king-hit on teammate Simon Cowley during a brawl on the night the Australian Olympic team was named.

Cowley suffered a broken jaw, eye socket, cheekbone and nose in the attack.

D'Arcy later declared himself bankrupt saying he was unable to pay $370,000 in damages and costs.

[SciFiSam]

Originally Posted by Really Not All That Bright

My brother and sister-in-law are Londoners and were able to get tickets to all the events they wanted to see at face value.

That's just luck, applying for the tickets same as anyone else. Londoners don't get any special access to tickets. I don't actually know anyone who got any tickets.

My daughter's birthday's on the same day as the opening ceremony (she'll be 14) and we live in an olympic borough. I'm a bit stuck for what to do - we usually do a day trip with her friends, but transport's going to be hell. A party at home would basically be the same five friends that are here every weekend but with candles in a cake, nothing special. Having a bit of a dull birthday is not the end of the world, but it's yet another reason for me to dislike the olympics.

We're going to get out of london for the rest of the olympics, basically. And we live here because it's our home - telling us to fuck off to bradford is really bloody stupid. It is an actual city with several million permanent residents - it's not just for tourists.

[Equipoise]

Originally Posted by SciFiSam

My daughter's birthday's on the same day as the opening ceremony (she'll be 14) and we live in an olympic borough. I'm a bit stuck for what to do - we usually do a day trip with her friends, but transport's going to be hell. A party at home would basically be the same five friends that are here every weekend but with candles in a cake, nothing special. Having a bit of a dull birthday is not the end of the world, but it's yet another reason for me to dislike the olympics.

Jesus fuck! I hope she isn't as whiny and petty as you. It's her 14th BIRTHDAY, on the OPENING DAY OF THE OLYMPICS! If you don't ruin it for her with your whining, excuse me, whinging, it'll be a day she'll remember for the rest of her life, and tell her grandkids about. But, not unless you shut up and start thinking creatively and figure out some way, even if it's a small way, to include the Olympics in the day. I can't even imagine being in the same city as the Olympics on my birthday. Or, ever, really. It's just not going to happen. It will never happen. It's happening with your daughter and unless she takes after you, it can be an incredibly special memory.

[Gyrate]

Originally Posted by Equipoise

Jesus fuck! I hope she isn't as whiny and petty as you.

Pot, meet kettle. Case in point:

It's her 14th BIRTHDAY, on the OPENING DAY OF THE OLYMPICS! If you don't ruin it for her with your whining, excuse me, whinging, it'll be a day she'll remember for the rest of her life, and tell her grandkids about. But, not unless you shut up and start thinking creatively and figure out some way, even if it's a small way, to include the Olympics in the day. I can't even imagine being in the same city as the Olympics on my birthday. Or, ever, really. It's just not going to happen. It will never happen. It's happening with your daughter and unless she takes after you, it can be an incredibly special memory.

Maybe they could go outside and watch the fly-by of magic unicorns that fart rainbows, because obviously the first day of the Olympics is such a special event that everything will be sunshine and lollipops all day long.

Jesus, Equipoise, you seem utterly clueless about the effects of adding a few million people to an already overcrowded city with a geriatric transport system already running above capacity (and that's not counting things like the recent flooding of Stratford station). But that's okay! Because it's "special"! And anyone who doesn't like it is unmutual and bad!

And you'd better hope that if SciFiSam does want to go out and do something that she has a Visa card or Visa debit card, because the Olympics sponsors have, in their wisdom, decreed that all ATMs within a certain distance of the Olympic sites must be Visa-only. But it's all for the greater good, right? We should all be happy to pay for the privilege of standing vaguely near the corrupt corporate money vacuum that is the Olympics, right? Because it's "special"!

Yay, us.

<fwee>

At least I had a nice Jubilee weekend.

[clairobscur]

Paris was the main contender of London for these Games. When London was picked it has been a major disapointment in France.


This Paris resident and French taxpayer at least was extremely pleased, and is conforted in his original opinion by the OP.


I want to thank British people, and in particular Londoners, for their dedication to the Olympic cause. Have fun!

[Gary Kumquat]

Originally Posted by Equipoise

If you don't ruin it for her with your whining, excuse me, whinging, it'll be a day she'll remember for the rest of her life, and tell her grandkids about. But, not unless you shut up and start thinking creatively and figure out some way, even if it's a small way, to include the Olympics in the day.

Oh aye? Tell you what, what suggestions do you have for olympic themed birthday events that a group of teenagers will enjoy, that will make up for the surrounding area (which as I recall Sam lives in) effectively being locked down for the opening ceremony? Something that doesn't work out at a $1500 per head, which as of today is the cost of ceremony tickets.

[Nancarrow]

Originally Posted by Really Not All That Bright

My brother and sister-in-law are Londoners and were able to get tickets to all the events they wanted to see at face value.

Meh. Big deal. I'm a Londoner and I got tickets to all the events I wanted to see FOR FREE!

Yep. All the events I wanted to see. Every single member of that set, no exceptions.

[SciFiSam]

Originally Posted by Equipoise

Jesus fuck! I hope she isn't as whiny and petty as you. It's her 14th BIRTHDAY, on the OPENING DAY OF THE OLYMPICS! If you don't ruin it for her with your whining, excuse me, whinging, it'll be a day she'll remember for the rest of her life, and tell her grandkids about. But, not unless you shut up and start thinking creatively and figure out some way, even if it's a small way, to include the Olympics in the day. I can't even imagine being in the same city as the Olympics on my birthday. Or, ever, really. It's just not going to happen. It will never happen. It's happening with your daughter and unless she takes after you, it can be an incredibly special memory.

Er, off we could get into an olympic event on that day it'd be great. I'm not sure why you think merely brunch near the olympics will nd so good, though - what exactly do you think is going to happen?

[SciFiSam]

Originally Posted by SciFiSam

Er, off we could get into an olympic event on that day it'd be great. I'm not sure why you think merely brunch near the olympics will nd so good, though - what exactly do you think is going to happen?

Damn phone. Being, not brunch, though brunch may well be involved.

[suranyi]

Originally Posted by Gyrate

Pot, meet kettle. Case in point:

Maybe they could go outside and watch the fly-by of magic unicorns that fart rainbows, because obviously the first day of the Olympics is such a special event that everything will be sunshine and lollipops all day long.

Jesus, Equipoise, you seem utterly clueless about the effects of adding a few million people to an already overcrowded city with a geriatric transport system already running above capacity (and that's not counting things like the recent flooding of Stratford station). But that's okay! Because it's "special"! And anyone who doesn't like it is unmutual and bad!

And you'd better hope that if SciFiSam does want to go out and do something that she has a Visa card or Visa debit card, because the Olympics sponsors have, in their wisdom, decreed that all ATMs within a certain distance of the Olympic sites must be Visa-only. But it's all for the greater good, right? We should all be happy to pay for the privilege of standing vaguely near the corrupt corporate money vacuum that is the Olympics, right? Because it's "special"!

Yay, us.

<fwee>

At least I had a nice Jubilee weekend.

Well, by total coincidence I happened to be living in two different cities when they each hosted the summer Olympics: Montreal in 1976, and Los Angeles in 1984. I won't get into the issues of financing, or the long term consequences. But the actual experience of being there during the games was magical, both times.

In Los Angeles, in particular, people were friendlier and traffic was better during the games than ever before.

[Simplicio]

Originally Posted by ralph124c

Most of the Olympic ceremony mumbo-jumbo (the torch running, the kindling of the Olympic fire, etc.) seems to have come from Nazi Germany-isn't it time to retire all that stuff?

Once we're done disassembling the autobahn.

[Fiendish Astronaut]

SciFiSam - why not try to throw an Olympic-themed house party? Encourage guests to come in Olympic fancy dress, put the opening ceremony on in the background (the kids will largely ignore it but will retain a memory of having seen a bit of it and the adults who care can sit and watch it), make an Olympic rings birthday cake. Embrace the event because trying to ignore it will probably ruin the day. I'm willing to bet large sums of money that the streets will be completely deserted during the opening ceremony, and fairly quiet either side of it.

[Grumman]

Originally Posted by Fiendish Astronaut

...make an Olympic rings birthday cake.

Is it a legally sanctioned Olympic rings cake? I don't think the IOC would like that...

[blondebear]

How about some Olympic Onion Rings instead?

[Fiendish Astronaut]

Originally Posted by blondebear

How about some Olympic Onion Rings instead?

Ooh I'm going to suggest that to my local Indian restaurant. Though the IOC copyright thing is a consideration.

[SciFiSam]

Originally Posted by Fiendish Astronaut

SciFiSam - why not try to throw an Olympic-themed house party? Encourage guests to come in Olympic fancy dress, put the opening ceremony on in the background (the kids will largely ignore it but will retain a memory of having seen a bit of it and the adults who care can sit and watch it), make an Olympic rings birthday cake. Embrace the event because trying to ignore it will probably ruin the day. I'm willing to bet large sums of money that the streets will be completely deserted during the opening ceremony, and fairly quiet either side of it.

Parties have always been awkward for her birthday anyway, since it's the first week of the school holidays and loads of people go on holiday. we also don't have family who'd come - it'd be the same five people who are here every weekend, plus their parents maybe.

I think I'll just do the usual day trip on another day before thee olympics start and then see who we can get over here on the actual day. But she would hate an olympic-themed party - I just asked her and she was horrified. :-D it'd be good maybe for a child or adult, but not a teenager.

[Fiendish Astronaut]

Ah for some reason I was thinking she was a child rather than a teenager. Yeah, probably not as important to do something on the actual day itself then!

[SciFiSam]

Originally Posted by Fiendish Astronaut

Ah for some reason I was thinking she was a child rather than a teenager. Yeah, probably not as important to do something on the actual day itself then!

I've been looking up travel times and TBH, TFL is making it all sound worse than I ever thought - waits of half an hour plus to get to the platform at our local tube station. And you know that's going to be an underestimate. Half an hour to get to the platform. On the tube. In Bethnal Green. In late July. Fun, fun birthday!

The waits for subsequent days are worse.

Bring the water bottles lest you die of thirst! They actually put signs up on the tube in the Summer saying pretty much that, and that's without the waits. Some stations have predicted 1 and a half hour waits to get to the platform during the Olympics. Good Christ, I'm glad I work from home.

I'm hoping it will all be sunshine and roses and everything will be wonderful and then I can come here and say I was wrong. But I am not going to plan anything which requires travel for fun - for us or anyone visiting us - on a day that TFL says will be pure, pure hell, as anyone who's ever travelled on the Central Line at rush hour in Summer will attest.

And like I said, all it means is one dull birthday, but it doesn't exactly make me like the Olympics more.

The Olympic Park from the outside also still looks really unfinished. I mean, stuck in a traffic jam you can still see builders actually building, cement mixers mixing and stuff. That's a little worrying. Since we're stuck with the thing, I'd much rather it go well than be crap.

[BigAppleBucky]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkTqp...ture=g-all-rec

[BigAppleBucky]

http://lunaticoutpost.com/Topic-Isra...-below-stadium

Nice to know the rich and famous are taken care of.

In preparation for an Olympic terror assault, panic rooms for VIPs and spectators have been set up beneath London’s Olympic Stadium to protect them from being taken hostage or killed, according to The Sunday Times.

The paper also claims that if an attack occurred on the stadium, security forces would “invacuate” key people, rushing them to safety inside the attack zone.

[Darth Panda]

Originally Posted by Colophon

What's really fucking stupid about the Olympics is that in every city they always seem to build a new stadium for every single event, even when there are perfectly good venues that could be used. Then they end up rusting away after the Games because nobody in Athens wants a 5,000-seat dedicated hockey arena, or Beijing has no call for a 500,000-capacity tiddlywinks dome, or whatever.

So insanely wasteful. I think it should be a prerequisite of an Olympic bid that only existing facilities can be used.

Atlanta made out really, really well:

Beyond international recognition, the Games resulted in many modern infrastructure improvements. The mid-rise dormitories built for the Olympic Village, which became the first residential housing for Georgia State University (Georgia State Village), and is now used by the Georgia Institute of Technology (North Avenue Apartments). Centennial Olympic Stadium was converted into Turner Field, which became home of the Atlanta Braves baseball team for the 1997 season. Once the Braves moved, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was demolished, and the site became a parking lot for Turner Field; the Omni was demolished that same year to make way for Philips Arena. Centennial Olympic Park, which was built for the events, is the city's lasting memorial of the games. The park initiated a revitalization of the surrounding area, and now serves as the hub for Atlanta's tourism district.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Summer_Olympics

Good article: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/04/138926...-olympic-games

[6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast]

12 years on, from my memory of a 16-day event that I'd rather forget, the Sydney Olympic Games cost about $AU6.5 billion - about a third of which was paid by the government.

Greed ruled, everything became basically 'tourist prices'; and visitor generated revenue finished at around $AU6.5 million.

Overall, the big fucking hole in the pocket was almost $AU1.5 billion.

So yeah. Fuck that.

My sympathies, London; you'll probably be looking forward to something comparable. Durex should be handing out condoms to the residents, not the athletes...

[Darth Panda]

If it makes you (the OP) feel any better, I have to flee Charlotte when the DNC comes to town in a few weeks, as I live inside the secure area and have no inclination to put up with all of the bullshit that that entails.

[jabiru]

Originally Posted by mhendo

...And yet most of them who were in Sydney for the Olympics said the same sort of thing that JohnT said about Atlanta: that it was actually not a problem at all.

The traffic was fine (in part because people were encouraged to take their annual leave and go elsewhere and the school holidays were also moved for the convenience of the Games. The traffic wasn't a huge problem but NSW has been broke ever since (not completely down to the Olympics but that little circus certainly added to our debt.)

[6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast]

Oh!
Like
You
Predict
Injected
Cash?
SUCKO!!

[mhendo]

Originally Posted by 6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast

12 years on, from my memory of a 16-day event that I'd rather forget, the Sydney Olympic Games cost about $AU6.5 billion - about a third of which was paid by the government.

Greed ruled, everything became basically 'tourist prices'; and visitor generated revenue finished at around $AU6.5 million.

While i have no doubt that the state ended up in a financial hole, i have a LOT of trouble believing that visitor-generated revenue was only $6.5 million.

According to this story, Sydney received almost 100,000 foreign visitors during the Games. If your figures are correct, that means that each of those visitors spent a total of $65 in the city.

Seems rather unlikely.

[Really Not All That Bright]

Originally Posted by 6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast

Oh!
Like
You
Predict
Injected
Cash?
SUCKO!!

What happened to the M?

[Darth Panda]

Originally Posted by Really Not All That Bright

What happened to the M?

Something special I'm sure.

[6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast]

Originally Posted by Really Not All That Bright

What happened to the M?

..you don't know of the Olympic Brand Police..?

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

Originally Posted by John Mace

Sick [sic] semper tyrannus!

I didn't know Gloria was sick.

[6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast]

Originally Posted by mhendo

While i have no doubt that the state ended up in a financial hole, i have a LOT of trouble believing that visitor-generated revenue was only $6.5 million.

According to this story, Sydney received almost 100,000 foreign visitors during the Games. If your figures are correct, that means that each of those visitors spent a total of $65 in the city.

Seems rather unlikely.

Apologies mhendo - you're quite right (it was late over here!)

That should have been $AU653 million

[johnpost]

Originally Posted by 6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast

Oh!
Like
You
Predict
Injected
Cash?
SUCKO!!

Originally Posted by Really Not All That Bright

What happened to the M?

Might

[BigAppleBucky]

Originally Posted by Darth Panda

If it makes you (the OP) feel any better, I have to flee Charlotte when the DNC comes to town in a few weeks, as I live inside the secure area and have no inclination to put up with all of the bullshit that that entails.

During the 2004 RNC held at Madison Square Garden, I had to commute through Penn Station which is located under the Garden. Walking to the station I felt like I was entering Mordor with helmeted Orcs along every approach. It added about 15 minutes to my Wednesday and Thursday evening commutes.

[Darth Panda]

Originally Posted by BigAppleBucky

During the 2004 RNC held at Madison Square Garden, I had to commute through Penn Station which is located under the Garden. Walking to the station I felt like I was entering Mordor with helmeted Orcs along every approach. It added about 15 minutes to my Wednesday and Thursday evening commutes.

One does not simply walk into Mordor.

[BigAppleBucky]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201....ap/index.html

LONDON (AP) -- Blocks of seats at premier Olympic events are empty, and organizers promise to find out why. They say they might set up new systems to ensure those seats are filled, even if they have to be given away.

There was widespread criticism from Saturday's opening day of competition. Whole sections of lower-tier seats were largely empty at events, including tennis, gymnastics and swimming. By contrast, an estimated 1 million people lined the route of Saturday's outdoor cycling, an unticketed and free event.

Apparently corporate big wigs have bought out the seats and then not bothered to attend.

[brazil84]

Originally Posted by BigAppleBucky

Apparently corporate big wigs have bought out the seats and then not bothered to attend.

From what I hear, the problem is not corporate sponsors so much as the so-called "Olympic Family." So for example, IOC rules would require that the delegation from the Central African Republic would be allocated X tickets for each event -- presumably all for excellent seats. If nobody from the Central African Republic's delegation is particularly interested in watching men's table tennis, then the seats at that event will go empty.

I do think that the system needs to be reformed. It's disgraceful that hard-core fans are locked out while excellent seats sit empty.

[MsWhatsit]

Originally Posted by brazil84

I do think that the system needs to be reformed. It's disgraceful that hard-core fans are locked out while excellent seats sit empty.

Have all "Olympic Family" ticketholders check in, in person, 24 hours before the event, and if they fail to do so, release the tickets for sale to the general public. That's just an idea; but I agree that the situation as it stands is ridiculous.

[lisiate]

Just to really grate the UK dopers, here's a breakdown of the total Olympics funding.
All figures in billions of pounds:

Total funding - 11.3
Corporate sponsorship - 0.7 (6.19%)
IOC payments - 0.7 (6.19%).


Public Sector funding 9.3 (82.30%).

Fuck that.

[SciFiSam]

Originally Posted by brazil84

From what I hear, the problem is not corporate sponsors so much as the so-called "Olympic Family." So for example, IOC rules would require that the delegation from the Central African Republic would be allocated X tickets for each event -- presumably all for excellent seats. If nobody from the Central African Republic's delegation is particularly interested in watching men's table tennis, then the seats at that event will go empty.

I do think that the system needs to be reformed. It's disgraceful that hard-core fans are locked out while excellent seats sit empty.

I'd be surprised if that accounted for many of the empty seats - there just are so many of them, and other big events like wimbledon have problems with corporate buyers not turning up too. It's something I predicted would happen but I'm sure lots of other people did too, just apparently not the people organising ticket sales.

[brazil84]

For what it may be worth, here is a snippet from an article I found this morning:

What has caused the problem?

While some empty seats were those reserved for dignitaries who did not turn up, others were among 120,000 unsold tickets allocated to foreign countries which have not returned them. Around eight per cent of tickets have been made available to sponsors and three quarters to the public. Another 12 per cent go to National Olympic Committees five per cent to the “Olympic family” of athletes and officials. While some of the unused seats are those reserved for the “Olympic family” who simply do not turn up to events they are not interested in, the greater problem comes from the agencies who handle the sale of the tickets abroad. Up to 70,000 of those tickets could be simply thrown away because it is not cost-efficient for ticket agencies to return them. Another 50,000 premium tickets are being held back by foreign ticket agencies hoping to make a killing by selling them at grossly inflated prices at the last minute. Of the 8.8 million tickets for Games sessions, around 1.2 million go to the national Olympic committees of foreign countries. Most of the Olympics main sponsors denied they had failed to use their allocation.

[brazil84]

Originally Posted by lisiate

Public Sector funding 9.3 (82.30%).

Fuck that.

Yes, I'm so glad that my city did not get the Olympics. The taxpayers cough up billions so that they can be treated like second-class citizens for a few weeks. Not to mention the risk of terrorism.

[lisiate]

So I'm guessing you're not from Rio then?