dave199 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 The CBC coverage does suck. The reason being that there isn't enough coverage being offered on tv. They prefer to show the Calgary Stampede today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterSG1 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 The CBC coverage does suck. The reason being that there isn't enough coverage being offered on tv. They prefer to show the Calgary Stampede today. Yeah, there's a Calgary Stampede every year, just as there is a CNE every year, or a US Open every year (you get my point). However, there will be only ONE Pan Am games in Toronto and it is absolutely disgusting that TLN is showing way more coverage than CBC. How many of these gold medals that Canadian athletes have won have been seen live on CBC Television, so far I believe it's a goose egg, you had to watch the streams. If they want to create a lot more positive reception about these games, they should at least be accessible to watch easily. There is absolutely no reason why we don't have access to live streams for every single event going on in our region. Even when the Stampede wraps up, there won't be any more coverage of the Pan American Games here, also would have been great to get the public to familiarize themselves with Rugby Sevens as it will be in the Olympics next year, and the Canadian teams have pulled off a double gold, yet those were not seen on live television. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacre Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) But again, that cost of 2.5 billion, is there any reason why that cost couldn't have been 10% of that, 250 million? The security cost alone is $225 million. There's no way the organizers can snap their fingers and reduce the cost by 90%. Almost half of the figure is the athletes village housing, which is itself a public good. Many other expenditures are going to universities, community athletics facilities, etc. If you never want any subsidy for athletes and sports, that's fine. I don't agree, but that is a reasonable opinion. This is not really needlessly extravagant, though. This is not comparable to the World Cup, which results in countries building huge stadiums that won't be able to pay their own maintenance costs. This is not comparable to Montreal's Olympics, where the city's taxpayers were stuck paying for debt for a generation. The one area where you can argue that money is being thrown away is on security, but that is still an unavoidable cost for hosting any kind of major event. Edited July 13, 2015 by Nacre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatinXTC Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Incredible, even the usually grouchy and anti-Pan Am, anti-everything cheapo Sun Newspaper and its readers are turning pro-Pan Am, this bodes very well for a future Summer Olympics bid... http://www.torontosun.com/2015/07/12/weve-turned-pan-amiable There's nothing incredible about that. That's about on average what happens most of the time when an event like this happens. It happened in London. Leading up to the games, the headaches of construction and costs were giving the residents buyers remorse, and once the games came in they had this sense of pride and enthusiasm from the games come out of nowhere. It'll happen with the residents of Rio next year. On a more morbid comparison, when 9/11 happened the city and its residents had this unity that no one have ever seen before from that city. A couple of years later, everyone was back to there douchebaggy a**holeish self. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistercorporate Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Wasn't the Athlete's village over $1 billion? They built a brand new community that was once a wasteland. Yup, and not to forget the rail infrastructure and waterfront revitalization...these games have been a game changer, not just to the sporting landscape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throne Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 I love the atmosphere of the crowds. Very supportive. A true plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apple Posted July 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Not liking the CBC coverage. It's all re-cap and highlights. I wanna watch some live sports dammit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTHarner Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 I don't want to go back home. We are loving our time in Toronto. There have been some issues though. Here is a quick recap of our first four days. The opening ceremony was a very memorable experience and very much worth the price. It was ironic that on the bus we chatted up a nice gentleman and after a while I noticed he was with GB. He showed us around Union Station and escorted us to the Dome and even waited outside our section after the ceremony to get our impressions. The trip to BMX on Saturday was an adventure. I followed the directions on the triplinx app and wound up getting off at a stop the was separated from the walkway by a construction site which required some navigation that might have qualified as trespassing. The venue had seating for only 1000 so many of us sat on the hill opposite the grandstands which turned out quite nice. We were able to stretch our legs that were still a little cramped from the OC. The trip to judo was far more conventional and hassle-free. Attended the rugby finals on Sunday and had a few hours to explore Pan Am Park. The park is nice enough, but I would have thought there would be more interactive activities and more food options. The atmosphere at the rugby was incredible. BMO Field was rocking and it seemed that the roughly 25000 people in attendance were giving all the games-haters a collective middle finger. Today started at field hockey at the bucolic campus setting of the University of Toronto. Getting there via St George Station was great, leaving through Queens Park Station not so. The Games website said that station was 800 meters from the venue gate. It seemed like 800 miles. The Games signage disappeared halfway through the walk and I needed the help of the locals to find it. Beach volleyball was our second stop and that temporary venue is simply horrible. Take a seat cushion because the seats are uncomfortable (My backside still hurts) and flimsy (put any pressure on them and you'll think they might snap in half. It was an unpleasant experience and we left early. One major gripe I have is the lack of assigned seats for most venues. It seemed they printed about 10000 tickets for section 108 at rugby and you had people clogging the aisles asking if the empty seats were taken. That is just laziness on the part of TO2015. Overall, though, it has been a lot of fun. I'm feeling a little fatigued from constantly catching trains and buses and sitting out in the hot sun for hours on end, but I have a day and half break after the canoeing tomorrow to recharge my battery and see the sights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 You're just providing the latest reason why I want to go live up in Toronto as a lifelong fan of the city, BTH Radio-Canada's coverage isn't much better on the French side. At least Rogers Sportsnet channels are showing some Pan Am soccer, albeit limited until the semifinal round. Does indeed suck that CBC isn't giving it the respect it's due since it's right on Canadian soil and that TLN/Univision gives it better coverage. CBC perhaps assumes these games are perhaps viewed to many Canadians as third-rate and not worth the substanial coverage, and that there's other things of sports interest higher in priority in the Canadian sports calendar like the Calgary Stampede. Maybe the CBC thinks since the Pan American Games have a very strong Spanish/Portuguese flavor institution-wise, it thought it would make sense to allow the better coverage to TeleLatino and Univision Canada. Don't many Canadians want to see potential Canadian Olympians trying their hand internationally? Another reason why there should at least be 2 CBC channels Rogers Sportsnet's and Sportsnet ONE's Pan American Games 2015 soccer TV schedule that was sublicensed from the CBC: http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/soccer-pan-am-games-canada-men-and-women-hamilton/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacholympic Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 I am sorry to say that te Pan Am coverage in Chile is only concentrated in one TV channel which only give some highlights twice a day... Just on Saturday was full of coverage, and anything else... I can not enjoy the Pan Am by different channels on the Internet as I did in 2011.... Sadly!!!!! I have not watched almost anything... ANNOYING!!!!!! :angry: :( :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterSG1 Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 I don't want to go back home. We are loving our time in Toronto. There have been some issues though. Here is a quick recap of our first four days. The opening ceremony was a very memorable experience and very much worth the price. It was ironic that on the bus we chatted up a nice gentleman and after a while I noticed he was with GB. He showed us around Union Station and escorted us to the Dome and even waited outside our section after the ceremony to get our impressions. The trip to BMX on Saturday was an adventure. I followed the directions on the triplinx app and wound up getting off at a stop the was separated from the walkway by a construction site which required some navigation that might have qualified as trespassing. The venue had seating for only 1000 so many of us sat on the hill opposite the grandstands which turned out quite nice. We were able to stretch our legs that were still a little cramped from the OC. The trip to judo was far more conventional and hassle-free. Attended the rugby finals on Sunday and had a few hours to explore Pan Am Park. The park is nice enough, but I would have thought there would be more interactive activities and more food options. The atmosphere at the rugby was incredible. BMO Field was rocking and it seemed that the roughly 25000 people in attendance were giving all the games-haters a collective middle finger. Today started at field hockey at the bucolic campus setting of the University of Toronto. Getting there via St George Station was great, leaving through Queens Park Station not so. The Games website said that station was 800 meters from the venue gate. It seemed like 800 miles. The Games signage disappeared halfway through the walk and I needed the help of the locals to find it. Beach volleyball was our second stop and that temporary venue is simply horrible. Take a seat cushion because the seats are uncomfortable (My backside still hurts) and flimsy (put any pressure on them and you'll think they might snap in half. It was an unpleasant experience and we left early. One major gripe I have is the lack of assigned seats for most venues. It seemed they printed about 10000 tickets for section 108 at rugby and you had people clogging the aisles asking if the empty seats were taken. That is just laziness on the part of TO2015. Overall, though, it has been a lot of fun. I'm feeling a little fatigued from constantly catching trains and buses and sitting out in the hot sun for hours on end, but I have a day and half break after the canoeing tomorrow to recharge my battery and see the sights. Just a question though, if you actually have been using the transit offer, I do indeed commend you. I have been to the Pan Am Park now for three days straight, and driving from Brampton, which is just north of Mississauga, I have parked in my usual spot I park at for TFC games, just north of the Exhibition GO station, which I pay a mere $5 to park. I saw them assemble the Beach Volleyball venue, and those seats actually look fairly comfortable.....try going to one of the venues inside the Direct Energy Centre (ahem, Exhibition Centre or EXC if you will), I have been attending the Toronto Indycar race the last few years (I never went when it was a HUGE event back in the 90s) and those temporary bleachers they use for that race that are very uncomfortable are indeed used inside the EXC. I hope you do not have an event in there, or it will be a painful experience. As for the Pan Am Park, I do indeed agree with you, they could have made it MUCH better. They do have that cool slot car track, but that's all of interest there is to show there, other than the venues there is not much there. In case you didn't know, Exhibition Place, where the Pan Am Park is gets its name because it is home to an event that happens at the end of August called the "Canadian National Exhibition" or CNE if you will, it's kind of comparable to a large state fair minus the agricultural competitions. There could have been better food options in the Pan Am Park, perhaps more of the vendors that usually appear at the CNE could be there, I don't know, it's just wishful thinking. I just wish there was like a games central that showed every single event in progress in the Pan Am Park. Just wondering, which route did you take to get to Centennial Park, and the Hershey Centre, if I recall that was CEB and MIS respectively. As for me, I'll be going down to the area again tommorow, but to BMO Field for a series of gold cup matches, I noticed today that they easily took BMO Field out of the security zone quite flawlessly. As for Section 108 in BMO Field, the problem lies with the BMO Field ushers (who were working the Rugby matches when I went on Saturday) who weren't checking tickets for people entering sections (or so it sounds from what you say). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 Attended the rugby finals on Sunday and had a few hours to explore Pan Am Park. The park is nice enough, but I would have thought there would be more interactive activities and more food options. The atmosphere at the rugby was incredible. BMO Field was rocking and it seemed that the roughly 25000 people in attendance were giving all the games-haters a collective middle finger. One major gripe I have is the lack of assigned seats for most venues. It seemed they printed about 10000 tickets for section 108 at rugby and you had people clogging the aisles asking if the empty seats were taken. That is just laziness on the part of TO2015. I was at the rugby finals too, just one section over in 109. The reason they did section seating and not assigned was because it would mean that people can concentrate in one area of each section to make it look like the venues are more full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTHarner Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 I do have handball at Direct Energy Centre, so I will come prepared. I took the 95 pan am express to hershey centre. I can't remember what number I took to BMX but I think I got of at skyline and orbitor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor Mata Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 It's been a great games so far, despite the terrible judges and the usual empty seats of the first days. TV coverage is bad here too, which is uncommon, since the games from 2003 onwards had good coverage. Cable TV is great, with 3 live channels covering all our bronze medals and 4th places. Two very strange facts: Canada is so firm up in 1st place in a summer sports event. Beach volleyball was so empty... How's that possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatinXTC Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 Two very strange facts: Canada is so firm up in 1st place in a summer sports event. Beach volleyball was so empty... How's that possible? Canada being 1st is not a shocker. As the host country, they're kind of obligated to send in their A-team to make a large impression, even if this is a lesser games than the more glorious Summer Olympic Games. The US have athletes that don't want to risk injury so they can compete at worlds and be ready for the Olympics next year. Just look at gymnastics, a Canadian female won the all-around competition, while they won silver in the team event. Both US men's and women's team won the gold, but over on the lady's side you don't have the big names competing at all. Over on the men's side, you have at least 3 that have competed internationally, and Sam Mikulak, who is normally a pretty strong competitor, won the all-around by only 5/100 points. I'd really like for a US to host a Pan Am games soon so A-list athletes would be more likely to participate and annihilate the competition. As for beach volleyball, maybe everyone is waiting for it to get to the quarterfinals and finals. I know if I'm going to spend money for tickets, it's going to be for one of the more important games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterSG1 Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 I do have handball at Direct Energy Centre, so I will come prepared. I took the 95 pan am express to hershey centre. I can't remember what number I took to BMX but I think I got of at skyline and orbitor. I have handball on Friday by the way, and it is in Hall B of the Direct Energy Centre....that's where they had the Roller Figure Skating, you have absolutely no back support on those metal bleachers. Mississauga Transit or MiWay run the Pan Am Express 95? Can I assume you took the GO Train to Port Credit station and took the 95 from there, or did you go to Kipling Subway Station and transfer there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyelBrazil Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 TV Record, the one with rights to broadcast it in open air in Brazil, is showing almost nothing.Globo is showng a 3-minute recap in main news but since Globo does not have rights to show footage, it's a very cold report with few interviews. In fact, few Brazilians realized there are PanAms games under way right now... Maybe Toronto 2015 is one of the less known PanAms ever, at least here in Brazil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 Canada won 30 golds at Guadalajara in 2011, already won 22 this time around. Gymnastics was a little disappointing today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatinXTC Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 Canada won 30 golds at Guadalajara in 2011, already won 22 this time around. Gymnastics was a little disappointing today. I'll say. I was hoping the US would take more medals, especially women's vault gold, but none of the American women wanted to compete in the discipline. I believe in order to qualify you have to give 2 vaults during the qualifications and/or team competition. All women did a 14.9 or better during the team event which would have easily given them the gold. The winner, Videaux Jimenez from Cuba, averaged a 14.737 on both her vaults, silver averaged 14.25. But with the vault being one of the more riskier events for injury, I can see how none of the ladies wanted to participate in that. Still though, they should have gone for it because at best these girls would be alternates in Rio, or even worlds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Canada is doing fantastic. At least 62 medals coming out of today. So Day 1 8 Medals Day 2 16 Medals Day 3 17 Medals Day 4 18 Medals plus 3 more guaranteed (water polo, judo and squash) This is beyond expectations and this is with some major misses and disappointments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTHarner Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 I have handball on Friday by the way, and it is in Hall B of the Direct Energy Centre....that's where they had the Roller Figure Skating, you have absolutely no back support on those metal bleachers. Mississauga Transit or MiWay run the Pan Am Express 95? Can I assume you took the GO Train to Port Credit station and took the 95 from there, or did you go to Kipling Subway Station and transfer there. Actually it stops at Square One on the way. That's where we caught it. The last day of canoe/kayak was a mixed bag. Another oversold venue in which you had to scramble to get a seat, even if you arrive early. The weather was miserable, but you had the athletes mingling all about you, which was fascinating. Tomorrow Is our day off to do some sightseeing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor Mata Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 I wonder if Canada ~owns the podium~ if the US and other nations will pour more elite athletes on the Pan American Games. The competition this year is very interesting so far, despite the bad coverage almost everywhere. Or maybe nothing will change if Toronto 2015 ends like Winnipeg '99 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 CBC's coverage is awful. Nothing but highlights and beach volleyball. Brazil and Mexico both sent their top teams in 2007 and 2011 respectively. If the Pan Ams served as an almost universal Olympic qualifier instead of having the regional and Pan American qualifiers later in the summer/fall/early next year it would bring so much more relevance to the Games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatinXTC Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Tomorrow Is our day off to do some sightseeing. If the weather is nice, the zoo is amazing I suggest you check it out! It's usually ranked in the top 5 in the world, with most lists putting it at #3. It's a bitch to get to either by public transportation or by car. As for indoorsy stuff, the Art Gallery of Ontario is nice, but a lot of focus Canadian painters and not enough from more well-known artists. They do have a few gems in there, and possibly one Picasso painting lol. CN tower is nice, but if you're not planning on doing the skywalk I don't think it's going to be all that exciting. I did it because I had one of those city passes I think it's a bit overpriced to pay to go all the way up only to come back down. And that restaurant is pricey too. Ripley's aquarium is really nice, and I love that it's linear so you don't have to worry about missing anything. Across the other side from there is a brewery that is worth checking out! It's an old train station. Oh and Casa Loma, which is north of the center but easily accessible with the subway, is also a pretty cool place to visit. It's not a real castle but a mansion that resembles one. The inside is so nice, and they've even filmed some films in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceman Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 I haven't been able to catch much. Has anyone stateside been watching ESPN's coverage? How are they doing compared to everyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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