Sir Rols

The argument that "The US (NBC) pays most for the rights so they are within their rights to dictate WHEN events should be held" is such a facetious one anyway. If you accept that, then you would have to also accept "NBC pays the most for the games, so they are within their rights to dictate WHERE the games are being held". That would solve everything _ no need for any country to campaign to the IOC to win the games, the decision only need be taken at NBC boardroom in NY whether this time around the games will go to a US East Coast or West Coast city. It all comes down to what are the Olympic Games _ a gathering of the elite athletes of the world to compete in a spirit of friendship and togetherness to hopefully foster international cooperation, or a schedule filler designed to meet ther needs of the NBC programming department?

Of course, but it's their problem if they bid for and land the rights for the games before the hosts are chosen. When NBC bid for and won the rights for the games from 2008 up to 2012 they must have decided that the price they were willing to pay was a fair one even before they knew what time zone they were going to be in. If any of those games were in the American time zone, it would have been a big bonus. If not, well, that's the risk they took. Anyway, you still didn't answer the big question _ why are Americans the only ones in the world who can't cope with the idea of watching events live no matter when they're held? Why does NBC think tape delay highlights are preferable to actually shopwing the events when they're happening then showing the highlights later on again in prime time? The live coverage model seems to affect ratings less in the Oz and European markets than the delay everything model does in the US. Why shouyld the comfort and laziness of Mr and Mrs Fat-Arsed Couch Potato in Wichita need to outweigh the needs of the the elite athlete wanting the conditions that help them produce their personal best in Europe or Asia.

And so have we _ but we don't whinge about it and try to get the times changed to suit us. That's the point, the games move around and at any one time, two thirds of the world have to accomodate their lives to watch events out of their time zone. For those of us in the same time zone, it's a bonus _ it doesn't happen all the time and that's one of the big incentives to want to have such events in our time zones. Actually, a correction. We haven't been dealing with tape delay because we simply DON'T do it. What is it about US viewers that they can't cope with the idea of switching on their TVs outside of evening prime time to watch events? That's part of the fun of watching the games. We broadcast the games live whatever time their on, and if our athletes have a good chance in an event that's being broadcast at 3am the keen ones wake up to watch it live. And if we win, we watch it and watch it and watch it again throughout the next day. It actually works to get the viewership up the next evening for highlights as well _ there's no better advertisement for olympics coverage than to go into work in the morning and get greeted by comments like: ""Did you get up to watch Thorpie's win last night? It was amazing!''. It seems to only be Americans (or rather, the scheduling execuitives in NBC) who seem to think that if an event falls outside of 7pm-11pm US eastern time nobody is going to watch. Then they complain that viewer numbers are down for their tape delays because people already know the results off the internet, or Canadian TV, or whatever. Well, hello!, why not actually broadcast the events for once live for those who are really keen, and then you can use the highlights in promos during the day to get people's interest up for the night's highlights. It just might actually be better marketing than trying to enforce an artificial and unworkeable news blackout. Anyway, as has been pointed out time and time again on this thread, the comfort and convenience of couch potatoes in whatever particular segment of the world should be way down the list of considerations when scheduling events anyway. At the end of the day, for an organisation that trumpets so much that their decisions and choices are supposed to be in the best interests of the athletes, the IOC should be heeding what the athletes say in this matter.

Well, it looks like the athletes are ghoing to mobilise against it! Athletes want records before ratings! And they must surely be the final arbiters on the issue.

Sydney followed the standard FINA program _ heats in the morning and finals at night.

Interesting. Wonder if it will delay construction work?

Thanks. I always assumed it would be Happy Valley or Sha Tin, but then saw the station and wondered. Great pics. What about the Three Day Event cross-country course? Where will that be? Can't imagine either of the racecourses would have that sort of area needed nearby.

Maybe Pui or one of the other Chinese posters could help me. I was in Hong Kong last week and was wondering where the venue for the equestrian events was going to be. I noticed a stop on the MRT line between Kowloon and the airport called "Olympic" (or something like that) and the station was decorated with Olympic sports scenes. Is this the location? I had no luck finding official Beijing 2008 gear. Everyone I asked had no idea. The only stuff I saw was the odd t-short with the old bid logo on it (which I have already). I was really surprised not to see the "Friendlies" for sale in any form. Oh well, hope the Beijing website puts gear up for sale soon.

The Australian team was 629-strong in Sydney. I'm finding it hard to dig up the 1996 US team size.

I'm getting triple posts on GamesBids at the moment _ not all the time and not on all threads, but it's embarassing and annoying (it also happens to some of my PMs). Any idea if this is a GamesBids server problem? And is it possible to deleteb some of my triple ups (like from the Eurovision thread)?

I'm getting triple posts on GamesBids at the moment _ not all the time and not on all threads, but it's embarassing and annoying (it also happens to some of my PMs). Any idea if this is a GamesBids server problem? And is it possible to deleteb some of my triple ups (like from the Eurovision thread)?

I'm getting triple posts on GamesBids at the moment _ not all the time and not on all threads, but it's embarassing and annoying (it also happens to some of my PMs). Any idea if this is a GamesBids server problem? And is it possible to deleteb some of my triple ups (like from the Eurovision thread)?

Australian is planning to be the third largest team at Beijing 2008.

Are we gonna get another special forum section for WC 2006 like we do for the actual Olympics (and I think was done for Euro 2004)?

Hi Mod, I always like when we shift to actual games mode, with the special forum sections like we did for Athens and are doing for Torino. Just wondering if there's any similar plans to do the same for the Melbourne CWGs?

Thanks for that, I'll give it a try.

I'm still waitingg to see Greenspan's turn on Sydney _ it showed here for like about one day in a cinema on the first anniversary of Sydney 2000, I think, then disappeared. Anyone know if it's available on DVD or (heaven forbid) VHS anywhere in the world.

Hehehe, I just looked at the beginning of this thread and answered my own question _ I'd forgotten "Chariots of Fire" of course!

Now that "Munich" is going to be out in cinemas soon, might as well resurrect this thread. Now here's a question _ if "Munich" _ as per current Hollywwod buzz indicates _ does end up getting an Oscar, would this be the first Olympics movie to get an Academy Award?

I notice there's still a few threads relating to the Commonwealth Games _ such as "Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games update" and a couple of Melbourne 2006 ones still hanging around in the Other International Games" forum _ is it possible to get these shifted over to the dedicated Commonwealth Games forum as well?

Is anyone else having problems getting onto the Paris forum? Whenever I try I get the message "Ikonboard logged off due to a ridiculously large data request". It doesn't happen on any other forum here. What have the Paris boys been doing on there?????

OMG, I didn't see this one posted. This is one of my all-time FAVORITE Camp movies - but the Olympic connection is so tenuous. You should be ashamed to even mention it, rol. Oh, and this was before Jenner had the bad facelift. You think that was tenuous? I was going to post some of Mary Lou-Retton's attempts at big screen immoratality. At least Jenner had a substantial role(?), well sort of, in CSTM.

Thanks for the list, Kendegra. I'd forgotten all about "Golden Girl" from 1979 with Susan Anton as the Bionic Woman-type competitor going for gold at Moscow. Also starred current Desperate Househusband Robert Culp. And going back to my TV question, that list also mentioned "The Games", an Oz TV series made in the run up to the Sydney 2000 games (all the Aussies here will sure remember it _ I sure don't know how I could have forgotten it). It was actually a very funny, very satirical, very dark look at the politics going on in SOCOG. Very similar to that brilliant UK comedy series "The Office".

I know a lot of the Asterix books have been animated. Have they ever got around to animating "Asterix at the Olympic Games"?

Yeah, I don't trust Spielberg with it _ the guy just can't help himself when it comes to sentimentality. On a related stream, what about TV shows (fiction, of course)? These seem to be few and far between, apart from the odd "special episode" of a series (I remember a "Murphy Brown" episode set in Lillehammer, for example. About the only other one I can think of was an Australian teen serial/drama based around a bunch of young athletes (cyclists, swimmers and gymnasts) at an Institute of Sport type set-up. It's name escapes me, and it didn't last on TV here for long, but it was notable for launching the career of Heath Ledger.