Australians all let us rejoice.
For that is not a knife.
We’ve Kangaroos and Thorpe will lose,
So eat your vegemite;
Our Opera House we think looks swell,
Not like cracked egg shells;
In history’s page, let every stage
Advance Oh Michael Phelps!
As Ian strains, Australia sings,
“Advance Oh Michael Phelps!”
While I’m sure they will love this version you might want to wait till after the race:D
Nahhh.
Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed ere the beginning of the night?
Phelps bag of gold so full it is tight,
Sitting next to his bottle of rectal vegemite?
Then the Torpedo, then the race, he takes it well, he takes it bright,
Cries Phelps to the Aussie: “Oh Lordy I was shite”
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
At the first sight of Thorpe, forename Ian not Dave
Well done, down unders. Now can you please apologize for Paul Hogan and Fosters?
And the Torpedo Prevails. Sorry Phelps.
Why that no-good, koala-eating, barby-shrimpin’. . .uh. . .koala-eatin’, slow-swimmin’,er, um, koala-eating. . .
U S A !
U S A !
U S A !
Fosters is an Australian secret weapon.
Those who know beer don’t drink Fosters.
It should now. Phelps was looking at his ass when he was coming in for a gold medal
Only a bronze for Phelps. Awww. He is still going to rack up a pretty good medal haul though so he shouldn’t be too unhappy but probably will after all the pre-games hype the kid generated.
When he was coming in for a bronze medal :smack:
Maybe he thought there was vegemite on it. . .
I’m happy for Thorpe. It usually annoys me when a young athlete comes along and is proclaimed the best before he’s accomplished anything. Thorpe should’ve been the guy to beat, and he proved he still is.
Whoever is to blame for the tizzy over Phelps, it got way out of hand. I felt it was the press, but maybe he could’ve downplayed it more or not accepted an offer of $1 million from Speedo in event that he really did it, I’m sure that didn’t help.
Who the fuck pissed in your Tooheys?
Anyways. Well done Thorpie, a deserved win. Van den Hoogenband peaked too soon in the race, and admitted as much afterwards. Still, a silver medal in this field is nothing to be ashamed of, and it’s obvious he doesn’t begrudge his good friend Thorpe the gold.
I haven’t had the backstory on this, so please help me out, my American friends (I say this to keep up my Uncle Tom image of a Yankee arse kissing Dutch pushover pansie): who’s responsible for the whole “Phelps is going to equal Spitz’ record” shit? What pressure on that boy! Truly, he seems to only be able to disappoint this way. It’s his first Olympics, fercryinoutloud! If he comes home with just the two bronze medals, that’s impressive enough as it is.
Actually, he’s already one won gold as well, breaking his own world record in the process. But I completely agree; by any reasonable standard he’s already wildly successful and it’s only the third day. But the headlines only say he’s failed. How stupid.
Who knows who is responsible for it.
It could be his agent, his sponsors, NBC, himself.
It’s more of a marketing ploy than a real goal, I think. NBC loved it – its a way for them to create drama (“tonight on NBC, the showdown between Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe, as Michael Phelps closes in on Mark Spitz’s Olympic record”). Phelps downplayed it a little right before the games (saying he’d be happy with just 1 gold), but then got rolling with it again after winning gold on saturday (saying “6 more”).
There are articles here (one in the New York Times magazine recently) about how he is perfectly built for being in the water, trains so hard, more natural in the water than on land.
When stories like this appear in baseball, let’s say, there will always be writers who say “he’s not going to break the record” or “the record isn’t really valid”. Lot’s of people to shoot down the HYPE.
With swimming, there is little general knowledge of it, and with Phelps being sort of an innocent olympian instead of a traditional pro, no one was looking at it realistically and tempering the enthusiasm.
Also, there is less focus on the track & field this year, so every olympic preview seemed to be focussed on Phelps.
Don’t forget he did some pretty amazing things, too. He did set 5 world records at one meet, including 2 in one day, IIRC.
But, his olympic trials weren’t as good as they should have been (he didn’t even win some of those events at trials that he was supposed to win at the Olympics), but that didn’t slow any of the “Spitzers” down at all. Why would it? It’s still the marketing story.
That’s just my take on why the hype seemed so great. Myabe there was an initial salvo from somewhere. Maybe it was an innocent statement by a reporter that they all just ran with.
He still has a chance to win a lot of gold here, though. I think the medley is his best, but the freestyle is his worst and he still snagged a bronze. We’ll see how he holds up.
I think of Coldfire as really being more the Uncle Sam of Holland.
It’s probably the striped pants and top hat he’s always wearing.
Back to the OP - what was that about vegemite and asses (I mean asses and not arses)?
Gloat, gloat, gloat… congratulations on your bronze though 
Nobody. It was pure Heineken. Easy mistake to make.
Now where is that “rubbing it in” smiley?
:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:)
May I merely state that all this nationalistic tribalism really pisses the competitors themselves you know.
At the pool level, or in my case, on the road in a field of 180 road cyclists, we all know who the great guys are. We all know who’s done the hard work, and who’s a deserving winner, and also, who’s unpopular because they’re a dickhead.
On Saturday, I had the pleasure of watching one of the most magnificent road race wins I’ve ever seen. Absolutely brilliant riding, backed up by the best “team interference” you ever ask for back in the chasing pack. The winner wasn’t Australian but I didn’t give a shit, coz I’m a competitor myself, and also, that was the very same event I rode in 1984.
So, all you guys taking a free ride on Thorpe/Phelps/Van den Hoogenband’s backs to get your nationalistic tribalism jolleys - just remember something - you guys AREN’T the one’s who did the hard work.
Good point, BBF, you fucking Uncle Tom, you traitor you.
And TLD, let it be known that I’ve never defended Heineken, and I have no intentions to start now.
Now, point at him and say “I want YOU to stop drinking Heineken!” I love that.