The Beijing Olympics
08
August
8/8/2008:
The whole world will be watching, will you?
7/29/2008:
Has the popularity of the Olympics changed?
20-30 years ago, I feel the “importance” of the games was much bigger. Of course, we didn’t have a million other things fighting for our attention. We didn’t have 600 satellite channels, the interwebs, can countless other distractions. It seemed to be “the only game in town.” At least as far as I saw.
However, maybe it’s just me, or just our area? While I don’t feel the “buzz” about the Olympics on the street, I still see it everywhere on TV, on the web, the news, etc. Tons of marketing, and they’re predicting that up to FOUR BILLION people worldwide will tune into the Olympics at some given point. Do you feel that buzz?
The entire event will be broadcast in High Definition and you can catch each and every video on the web, too.
NBC is going all out, calling this the “most ambitious single media project in history.”
What is your interest in the 2008 Summer Olympics?
Anyway, here’s a creative video that BBC Sport used to market their Olympic coverage. Features a Monkey King character and all sorts of “enemies” (who are they, protesters?)
Hoboken, 2008, Olympics, Summer Games, Beijing
121. bradykp | August 12th, 2008 at 11:08 am
thebinatwork2 wrote:
good point in comparison to shot put and discus, but does bigger necessarily mean better in those categories? not always.
in weight lifting, like in wrestingly, a 160 pounder competing against a 220 pounder would not be a fair match, i don’t think. do you?
the problems with parents forcing their kids to do those things and stunt their growth is a major issue though. i recently read about an american olympian who’s 6 yr old daughter lifts a ton of weights. she’s gonna look like a little stump.
but you definitely have some good points about the weight classes.
122. thebinatwork2 | August 12th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
It is missing the point to say that bigger isn’t ALWAYS better in shot put. Lightest isn’t always fastest in sprinting- in fact those guys are pretty jacked. There is in all sports an ideal stregnth and agility and endurace ratio. In the shot, strength is huge. You are NOT winning the shot put at less than 200 pounds, just never happening. Of course nobody is saying the heaviest weightlifter would always win- I am just saying I only care about the one who would win overall. Let the athletes who are not even in the discussion go play other sports where they might excel rather than giving 11 different golds in an event where we know by cold hard numbers which gold is the real one. Either that or I want to see a super heavy weight 10KM race and 100 pound dicuss.
123. thebinatwork2 | August 12th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Remember that unlike in boxing or wrestling, a 150 pound weightlifter isn’t competing against a 250 pound weightlifter. THey are all competing against the weight they are lifting. Of course the 250 pounder will do this better. Just like the 6′5′’ long jumper will be better than the 5′5′’ long jumper that he is NOT competing against.
124. MidnightRacer | August 12th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Used to be that the ancient olympics were about the best athletes across the world - period.
Now it’s all political, kinda like the Nobel.
125. MidnightRacer | August 12th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I like the The World’s Strongest Man Competition. Doesn’t matter what size you are, it’s about who is the strongest regardless of size - and that’s all. Don’t have to speak any specific language, it’s international, you just have to lift the most.
That’s more authentic than the crap of the Olympics.
126. bradykp | August 12th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
thebinatwork2 wrote:
lol. i guess. i get the point, and i think it makes sense, but if a 150 pounder can lift 3x his weight, and a 250 pounder can lift 3x his weight….they are kinda equally as strong. i’m just trying to look at both sides of it.
127. MidnightRacer | August 12th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
But the problem is that the Olympics was founded upon the concept of the best athletes in the world. Not best of class or size, but best (perdio) of all athletes as distinguished by measures of being the fastest of all, the strongest of all, with the most endurance all, etc.
It was to find out who the best of the best athletes are.
128. bradykp | August 12th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
MidnightRacer wrote:
wrestling is one of the older sports, when did it add weight classes?
129. thebinatwork2 | August 12th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
bradykp wrote:
Don’t know, but of course what Midnight is talking about is the original olympics, before Christ. Well before. Then the took a few thousand years off before the modern olympics started, so to answer your question- sometime since the 1890s.
130. Sidd Finch | August 15th, 2008 at 12:12 am
USA’s Shawn Johnson’s number during the individual women gymnastic all around competition….411. Nice sponsorship 411!