# Everything Beijing '08 Olympics Games **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 5, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960 "2008-08-05T20:57:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/301 "2008-08-23T00:45:04Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] Well, the thread title says _everything_, so: [Olympic Village as Sex Central](http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article4582421.ece). [/QUOTE] I _really_ have to step up my training… ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/302 "2008-08-23T12:41:19Z")
Wow, the Decathlon winner was so far ahead he could be last in the 1500m and still win by ~200 points. Brian ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/303 "2008-08-23T13:10:36Z")
[QUOTE=N9IWP] Wow, the Decathlon winner was so far ahead he could be last in the 1500m and still win by ~200 points. Brian [/QUOTE] Yeah, definitely impressive. Soon, he’s going to have the company of the Cuban, Leonel Suarez. He’s only something like 21 years old. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/304 "2008-08-23T14:00:53Z")
Kicking the judge? That’s deffinately a paddlin’ > **[Latest News & Current Event Updates | Yahoo News Singapore](https://sg.news.yahoo.com/)** > > Discover the latest news and headlines on breaking news stories and in-depth coverage with photos and videos from trending hot topics to viral news. First really disgusting thing these olympics ☹ Ill try to find video, I saw it on TV. Bad. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/305 "2008-08-23T16:13:34Z")
The best (worst) part was that him OR HIS COACH don’t feel like they have anything to apologize for. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/306 "2008-08-23T16:29:57Z")
Pics of the incident available here: [http://www.nbcolympics.com/taekwondo/photos/galleryid=251421.html](http://www.nbcolympics.com/taekwondo/photos/galleryid=251421.html) [may not work outside US]. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/307 "2008-08-23T17:02:50Z")
The Norwegian women’s handball team takes gold! Andreas Torkildsen defends his gold in the javelin! And Nina Solheim wins the silver in taekwando! WOOT! You understand, here in Troll Country we’re only used to two golds and a silver in the same day in the _Winter_ Games 😛 I felt a bit sorry for the Russian handball team, though. Their coach - who doesn’t look like he’s played handball in a long, long time - kept chewing them out. I mean, I don’t speak Russian, but his body language was clear and there wasn’t a bit of encouragement about it. I wonder if he intends to keep screaming at them all the way back to Moscow… One of the Norwegian tabloids called him an “angry bull”; another described him as a “spit fountain” 😃 Now we need the Icelanders to take the men’s handball gold tomorrow, and it’ll be a Double Viking Victory! ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/308 "2008-08-23T17:32:51Z")
Here’s a video of the kicking the ref thing. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS18rGRrxJs) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/309 "2008-08-23T18:13:50Z")
[QUOTE=yojimbo] Here’s a video of the kicking the ref thing. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yS18rGRrxJs/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/yS18rGRrxJs?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque [/QUOTE] Wow, how disgraceful. I wonder what happens when that guy gets back to Cuba? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/310 "2008-08-23T18:40:52Z")
I love the Alan Partridge style commentary - “Angel Matos has had a brain explosion!” ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/311 "2008-08-23T20:48:15Z")
I must admit to being blown away by synchronized swimming. It’s so simultaneously impressive, spectacular and silly (all that waterproof makeup). It looks like the opening scene of \*Jaws \*if it had been directed by Busby Berkeley. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/312 "2008-08-23T21:12:46Z")
[QUOTE=flodnak] One of the Norwegian tabloids called him an “angry bull”; another described him as a “spit fountain” 😃 [/QUOTE] spit fountain! love it. how does one say it in norwegian? i’m sure it sounds impressively bad. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/313 "2008-08-23T22:01:38Z")
[QUOTE=jsc1953] I must admit to being blown away by synchronized swimming. It’s so simultaneously impressive, spectacular and silly (all that waterproof makeup). It looks like the opening scene of \*Jaws \*if it had been directed by Busby Berkeley. [/QUOTE] I kind of agree with this. I’m not sure that synchronised swimming should be considered an Olympic sport but man, some of those team synchro routines are impressive. The Russian and Spanish team routines are things of beauty, leaving aside the question of how on earth they do it. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/314 "2008-08-23T22:06:11Z")
Would anyone be interested in seeing some form of “le parkour” or “free running” event? It’d have to be more entertaining than rowing? eta swift typo correction. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/315 "2008-08-23T22:32:27Z")
No. The Olympics should be a showcase for simple sports that can be performed with minimal equipment. Faster, higher, stronger (and longer, in the case of long jump and triple jump). Such sports tend to be rather dull to watch, which is where the Olympic Games come in - they sprinkle a bit of fairy dust over events that few people would otherwise ever watch. “Free running” is not a sport, it’s a minor pastime with no authoritative rules or governing body. I’d like to think that that would be enough to keep it out of the Olympics, but the presence of Beach Volleyball and BMX makes me wonder. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/316 "2008-08-23T23:26:57Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Kicking the judge? That’s deffinately a paddlin’ [It’s a well-deserved lifetime ban!](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/sports/olympics/24taekwondo.html) If this were a comic book, he would go on to become an elite assassin. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/317 "2008-08-23T23:28:57Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] “Free running” is not a sport, it’s a minor pastime with no authoritative rules or governing body. I’d like to think that that would be enough to keep it out of the Olympics, but the presence of Beach Volleyball and BMX makes me wonder. [/QUOTE] Especially considering that baseball and softball were removed for 2012, and possibly beyond. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/318 "2008-08-23T23:33:14Z")
[QUOTE=ivan astikov] Would anyone be interested in seeing some form of “le parkour” or “free running” event? It’d have to be more entertaining than rowing? [/QUOTE] [How about Steeplchase?](http://www.nbcolympics.com/trackandfield/photos/galleryid=218546.html) ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/319 "2008-08-23T23:34:54Z")
On behalf of Sweden, I’d like to thank Angel Matos for making [Ara Abrahamian](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2557320/Swedish-wrestler-Ara-Abrahamian-throws-away-medal-in-Olympic-hissy-fit.html) look practically sane. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960/320 "2008-08-24T02:01:04Z")
[QUOTE=LilyoftheValley] On behalf of Sweden, I’d like to thank Angel Matos for making [Ara Abrahamian](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2557320/Swedish-wrestler-Ara-Abrahamian-throws-away-medal-in-Olympic-hissy-fit.html) look practically sane. [/QUOTE] It’s not so bad for Abrahamian, looks like he was [right.](http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/wrestling/news;_ylt=Aqrq46CXK8jIOAj6jL5kZaude5p4?slug=ap-wre-abrahamian&prov=ap&type=lgns) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-beijing-08-olympics-games/458960.md?page=17)