Olympics

[comic boy]

And America drop the batton in the 4x100m

Would that be the men or the women ?

[gdeangel]

The Jamaicans all train in the US. With how little respect track starts get in the US, why would anyone with a choice run for team USA when you can train here, at the collegiate level on same athletic scholarships that are available to team USA prospects, and still run for your home country. Did any American general public even know the names of any of the track athletes who were contenders? Would they be remembered for more than a week after the event had they actually won any sprints? I'm sure the sponsors are lining up with big money endorsements to put Brown Trafton's pictures on the Wheaty's box after she took gold in the discus, right? What about women's volleyball?? The winningest team ever plays for USA (took gold again last night), and I doubt that even 1% of Americans know who they are. If they played for someplace like the Bahamas, they'd be national icons.

You've got to respect China though. I watched them diving last night in the women's semifinal, and no one else was even close to looking as good. In gymnastics they got a couple of breaks but still they know how to mobilize a program, unlike the decentralized US systems where everything falls on parents and kids to get into a sport like diving or gymnastics (and the "free market" sponsor money all goes to professional sports spots - NFL, MLB, NBA, even NASCAR, has more selling power than gymnastics in a non-Olympic year).

Maybe that will change when China walks away with more gold this year than the US, but, being a bunch of losers, we'll probably just point out that we took more total medals, etc. etc. And if they take more total medals, Americans will say, well, we took more medals on a per capita basis. And so on. But the sad truth is that American dominance has fallen, and in their heats, most Americans have lost confidence that they are (or even should try to be) the best. It's been said before, but America has become, now not only in execution but in spirit, a country of mediocrity. We have nothing to offer a guy like Usain Bolt any more.

[DAZMCFC]

:shock: 16 Gold medals. count them, GB are doing brilliant. Christina Ogharohu(spelling) was fantastic in the 400m. the American woman went to fast over the first 300m and ran out of steam.


Cycling squad 7 golds on the track and 1 on the road, plus a chance of 1 in the womens BMX. The Mighty Chris Hoy 3 Gold Medals. he's has 4 gold and a bronze in his Olympic career, the 2nd best Brit of all time and the best Scot.

I think you can stick your mortgage on him to win the BBC sports personality of the year award.

prawn, you know he should win that hands down, but i have a sneak feeling that Christina Ogorohu will win it.