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6 hours ago, MisterSG1 said:

I hope any Canadian athlete who was selfish enough to participate in these games gets blacklisted from any kind of employment in the future.

Excuse us!? You are disrespecting their athletes and their families (that's like saying that any FIFA players should get blacklisted from their jobs just because they played in the Qatar's 2022 FIFA World Cup). No good, man.

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5 minutes ago, Quaker2001 said:

We learned this last year with the NBA and NHL.  Only qualifies as a true bubble if access is strictly controlled.  That's not the case here.  It was never going to be 100% secure

Red-teaming it, China will be watching it knowing the optics are bad and that they cannot replicate this.  I think that their COVID bubble will be exponentially more rigid than Japan's.  It could be a very miserable winter olympics for the athletes as a result.

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4 minutes ago, iceman530 said:

Red-teaming it, China will be watching it knowing the optics are bad and that they cannot replicate this.  I think that their COVID bubble will be exponentially more rigid than Japan's.  It could be a very miserable winter olympics for the athletes as a result.

That what I was going to say.

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The final match of Euro 2020 was attended by a lot of crowds. Guess what the crowds do, they close contacted with each other and now Europe has more positives (https://inews.co.uk/news/wembley-variant-covid-cases-england-fans-euro-2020-final-1107370). Back on topic, I don't think the early 2020s are going to be a good time for sports (especially the Olympics).

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38 minutes ago, iceman530 said:

and I couldnt be happier that China has to deal with that burden either.  Theyve earned this Olympics in spades, and every logistical difficulty that comes their way as a result. 

 

Okay, threadjack over, that was my bad.  Back to Japan, who I feel bad for.

Japan is going to host the 2022 FINA Aquatics Championships one year after the Olympics.

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Well the Olympic Games are now underway in Tokyo.....and I am  NOT happy about it and as a lifelong Olympic fan that's something I thought I would never say about the Olympics, but with this horrible pandemic both the Olympics and Euros should have been scrapped....if only UEFA and the IOC weren't selfish greedy clowns, and I'm supposed to like clowns,  but these dumbasses....maybe I better stop before I really have a meltdown..

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21 minutes ago, LinkParkFn said:

Well the Olympic Games are now underway in Tokyo.....and I am  NOT happy about it and as a lifelong Olympic fan that's something I thought I would never say about the Olympics, but with this horrible pandemic both the Olympics and Euros should have been scrapped....if only UEFA and the IOC weren't selfish greedy clowns, and I'm supposed to like clowns,  but these dumbasses....maybe I better stop before I really have a meltdown..

And you are absolutely right! Before I write a lengthier response to Quaker, let me say that I’m appalled by all of this.

Caanda says to avoid all non essential travel, and the Olympics are essential? Tell that to the potentially thousands of families split between the Canada US border who can’t see each other, yet a bunch of selfish athletes can jet to Tokyo for no real purpose?

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1 hour ago, MisterSG1 said:

And you are absolutely right! Before I write a lengthier response to Quaker, let me say that I’m appalled by all of this.

Caanda says to avoid all non essential travel, and the Olympics are essential? Tell that to the potentially thousands of families split between the Canada US border who can’t see each other, yet a bunch of selfish athletes can jet to Tokyo for no real purpose?

You know, down here in Oz at the moment, we’re probably locked-down and locked in tighter than you guys. We can’t get out at all - even of our homes much less the country, and 34,000 of our citizens are stuck overseas and aren’t allowed to come home. And you know what, when Ash Barty won a Wimbledon two weeks ago, you wouldn’t find anyone who had anything to say against her. Absolutely zero resentment that she was on the other side of the world playing her chosen sport. No, she was feted for having done the country proud at a time when we need a bit of spirit lifting.

And despite the fact our Government’s stuffed up our vaccination rollout, I’m not seeing complaints hat our swimmers, cyclists, sailers, surfers or other Olympic hopes managed to get their Pfizer shots ahead of the queue in order to compete in Tokyo. Hopefully we’ll b celebrating medals soon and they’ll be as feted as any of our past Olympians were. With a captive locked-down audience in the same time zone, I expect these are gonna be a well followed games down here.

I think most of us feel a bit sorry for Japan. They invested so much - cash and emotion - into these games but they’re not going o be exactly what hey old have expected just two years ago. But what’s the alternative - all that investment for NOTHING. ?The world can’t live on dread alone - I think that now even more than ever, it needs a bit of diversion.

But i realise you won’t be convinced. But neither will most here by you. You seem to not regard the Olympics as having any value at all. But trying to convince this board of your views is like a vegan preaching on a Steak Afficonado’s forum. 

Edited by Sir Rols
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On 7/17/2021 at 11:08 AM, Victorian said:

Why do we have a problem with Bach? I reckon he is great and has done a terrific job as President helping reform for the Olympic movement and making the games for sustainable.

Only time will tell how effective the reforms are. Some seem positive, some I'm less sure of, and transparency has been sacrificed on their altar. The big black mark against Bach will be how he dealt with Russia and Sochi earlier in his presidency and that won't wash off easily.

Edited by Rob.
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4 hours ago, Quaker2001 said:  It was never going to be 100% secure

Apart from that being implicitly claimed by the IOC and the Japanese government and organisers of course.

Today at the IOC session Bach put on a show with WHO Dr Tedros even. It‘s all very silly PR.

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20 hours ago, Quaker2001 said:

The only thing that gives me hope, and maybe this is a myopic view as an American, is that Los Angeles is on the horizon.  And while I'm not counting on them to be the same kind of savior to the Olympics that the `84 Games were, at least I remain cautiously optimistic that it can be successful enough to silence some of the critics, even if it's only temporary.

Ahh, but you know that a certain so-called journalist & Angelina cheerleader, will try & convince you that LA28 will be the next best thing since sliced bread! :lol:

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19 minutes ago, FYI said:

Ahh, but you know that a certain so-called journalist & Angelina cheerleader, will try & convince you that LA28 will be the next best thing since sliced bread! :lol:

Oh, I already engaged with him on Twitter.  I almost hesitate to give him the attention here, but...

I feel like we should put MisterSG1 and AA in a room together and see what happens.  That would be some great theater!

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7 hours ago, StefanMUC said:

Apart from that being implicitly claimed by the IOC and the Japanese government and organisers of course.

Today at the IOC session Bach put on a show with WHO Dr Tedros even. It‘s all very silly PR.

If public relations was an Olympic sport, the IOC wouldn't even have the qualifying standard.  They are terrible at messaging and it doesn't help the cause when the underlying function of their organization is swamped in corruption and greed from the get go.  And this continues to be their downfall, because in a situation like this, they'll want you to hear the positive spin about how they're making the Olympics happen during a pandemic.  But when we get to China next Winter, they'll want to silence any notions of negativity that they tried to push China to improve on their human rights record after 2008 and it didn't happen

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11 minutes ago, Quaker2001 said:

I feel like we should put MisterSG1 and AA in a room together and see what happens.  That would be some great theater!

We should also do a PuFF V. AusFan. They can duke it out with all their blather, which Olympic Games - LA28 or if BRB32 will be the next "savior" of the Olympic Movement. lol

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8 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

You know, down here in Oz at the moment, we’re probably locked-down and locked in tighter than you guys. We can’t get out at all - even of our homes much less the country, and 34,000 of our citizens are stuck overseas and aren’t allowed to come home. And you know what, when Ash Barty won a Wimbledon two weeks ago, you wouldn’t find anyone who had anything to say against her. Absolutely zero resentment that she was on the other side of the world playing her chosen sport. No, she was feted for having done the country proud at a time when we need a bit of spirit lifting.

And despite the fact our Government’s stuffed up our vaccination rollout, I’m not seeing complaints hat our swimmers, cyclists, sailers, surfers or other Olympic hopes managed to get their Pfizer shots ahead of the queue in order to compete in Tokyo. Hopefully we’ll b celebrating medals soon and they’ll be as feted as any of our past Olympians were. With a captive locked-down audience in the same time zone, I expect these are gonna be a well followed games down here.

I think most of us feel a bit sorry for Japan. They invested so much - cash and emotion - into these games but they’re not going o be exactly what hey old have expected just two years ago. But what’s the alternative - all that investment for NOTHING. ?The world can’t live on dread alone - I think that now even more than ever, it needs a bit of diversion.

But i realise you won’t be convinced. But neither will most here by you. You seem to not regard the Olympics as having any value at all. But trying to convince this board of your views is like a vegan preaching on a Steak Afficonado’s forum. 

1 important thing to keep in mind IMO that has both a positive and a negative aspect to it.

It's hard to ignore the fact that there are different rules in place for Olympians (and everyone associated with the Games) and the rest of Japan's citizens.  Understandable and if I were a Japanese citizen, I would be upset by that.  But I would be upset at the system that created that, not at the people entering my country who are subject to stricter protocols than everyone else.  I've been reading stories about 6 or 7 hour waits at the airport to clear through all the COVID protocols and everything else needed just to leave the airport.  And this is in a country where, to my knowledge, there aren't strict lockdowns and it's more that the state of emergency reads like a bunch of suggestions than enforceable rules.

Maybe it's my arrogance as an American where some of our sports leagues have so much money to throw around that they were able to create a proper and secure bubble for the NBA and NHL playoffs.  And managed the MLB and NFL seasons through the pandemic.  Obviously I understand the size and scope of an Olympics is much greater, but did Japan not plan properly for this?  If their safety protocols aren't secure, then who is responsible for that?  Either way, the idea that all these people are bringing COVID to Japan with them.. well, this is what testing is for, to help prevent it from spreading further.  And from the numbers I've seen, the Olympics have NOT exacerbated the numbers or the percentage of positives anymore than was already there. 

Time will tell.  It's going to be very easy for Japanese to blame the Olympics for their woes.  But the flip side of that is that their leadership might just be pushing through with the Games as a cover to deflect for their poor management and vaccination rollout.

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I forgot to add on this:  Japan is smart for banning all fans from the events including the outdoor events...even though the wonderful CDC said that COVID19 can't spread as easily outdoors as indoors, which I don't buy for one second.  I'm fully vaxxed, but I will keep masking up...indoors AND outdoors, thank you very much.

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5 hours ago, Quaker2001 said:

Maybe it's my arrogance as an American where some of our sports leagues have so much money to throw around that they were able to create a proper and secure bubble for the NBA and NHL playoffs.  And managed the MLB and NFL seasons through the pandemic.  Obviously I understand the size and scope of an Olympics is much greater, but did Japan not plan properly for this?  If their safety protocols aren't secure, then who is responsible for that?  Either way, the idea that all these people are bringing COVID to Japan with them.. well, this is what testing is for, to help prevent it from spreading further.  And from the numbers I've seen, the Olympics have NOT exacerbated the numbers or the percentage of positives anymore than was already there.

The Big 4 Sports Leagues, for starters can put on a much better show than anything the so called best sporting event in the world could put on so there's that. Even while the Big 4 sports usually use a political racket to sucker cities to build stadiums, the costs of that are like comparing phytoplankton to whales. When you see Olympic events, based on my experience of seeing the Pan American Games and researching how games are usually set in the Olympics. They almost have the feel as if the government is running sports with their cheap graphics and what not.

Even with the money juggernaut the Big 4 is, Canada stuck up a hard no in allowing teams to cross the border constantly. As it is defined as non-essential travel. If you recall, last summer, the NHL Bubbles were held in two cities, Toronto and Edmonton, with Toronto hosting the eastern conference and Edmonton hosting the western conference. There were 12 teams in each bubble with everyone essentially being locked down only to the arenas and hotels. Scotiabank Arena in Toronto I remember had those security fences surrounding it.

Now remember that we had only 12 teams in each bubble, and we're talking about ONE SPORT. I think you understand the huge difference between this and the Olympics, there are many team sports in the Olympics alone that would need their own bubbles. I understand Tokyo is the largest city in the world by metro area, but even then, where do you place all these people in the bubble, not only athletes but media on top of that from all the countries around the world?

The NHL didn't have a normal season at all during 2020-21, because of the hard border restriction, the NHL basically divided the league into 4 mini leagues and had all the Canadian teams in one of the mini leagues. The Toronto Raptors haven't played a game in Toronto since Mar 2020, and as for the Blue Jays, they are to play a home game on July 30.

Even with the MLS, just last Saturday, the first ever Toronto club sporting event involving a US based team occurred when Toronto FC took on Orlando SC in BMO Field.

The fact that these mighty juggernauts couldn't get the Canadian government to budge shows you the absolute serious situation of this pandemic.

NFL wasn't hunky dory either, for the first time ever, there were NFL games on all days of the week at one point last season.

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14 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

You know, down here in Oz at the moment, we’re probably locked-down and locked in tighter than you guys. We can’t get out at all - even of our homes much less the country, and 34,000 of our citizens are stuck overseas and aren’t allowed to come home. And you know what, when Ash Barty won a Wimbledon two weeks ago, you wouldn’t find anyone who had anything to say against her. Absolutely zero resentment that she was on the other side of the world playing her chosen sport. No, she was feted for having done the country proud at a time when we need a bit of spirit lifting.

And despite the fact our Government’s stuffed up our vaccination rollout, I’m not seeing complaints hat our swimmers, cyclists, sailers, surfers or other Olympic hopes managed to get their Pfizer shots ahead of the queue in order to compete in Tokyo. Hopefully we’ll b celebrating medals soon and they’ll be as feted as any of our past Olympians were. With a captive locked-down audience in the same time zone, I expect these are gonna be a well followed games down here.

I think most of us feel a bit sorry for Japan. They invested so much - cash and emotion - into these games but they’re not going o be exactly what hey old have expected just two years ago. But what’s the alternative - all that investment for NOTHING. ?The world can’t live on dread alone - I think that now even more than ever, it needs a bit of diversion.

But i realise you won’t be convinced. But neither will most here by you. You seem to not regard the Olympics as having any value at all. But trying to convince this board of your views is like a vegan preaching on a Steak Afficonado’s forum. 

So why should people playing a silly game be ahead of vaccine queue of older seniors who need the vaccine right now? Yes, Australia is in a severe lockdown that resembles a police state and I'm not surprised more people there would be angry on this silly double standard. Athletes can freely leave and reenter Australia while Joe Public cannot. As you have said, there are 34,000 Australians in other countries who are currently barred. How does this not make you angry at all?

So tell me, just because some athlete from Australia swims across a pool faster than someone else, how does that make your life better at all? Olympics cause unnecessary hatred between nations, it is as Peter Gabriel put it "War without tears".

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5 hours ago, LinkParkFn said:

I forgot to add on this:  Japan is smart for banning all fans from the events including the outdoor events...even though the wonderful CDC said that COVID19 can't spread as easily outdoors as indoors, which I don't buy for one second.  I'm fully vaxxed, but I will keep masking up...indoors AND outdoors, thank you very much.

This is an act of self-sacrifice as Japan has to give up spectators attending the Olympics. I maybe wrong about this but that what it is.

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10 minutes ago, MisterSG1 said:

Olympics cause unnecessary hatred between nations, it is as Peter Gabriel put it "War without tears".

That's true about any sports league, though. NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, & certainly the UEFA. The FIFA World Cup I'm sure makes the Olympics pale in comparison in that regard.

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Just now, FYI said:

That's true about any sports league, though. NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, & certainly the UEFA. The FIFA World Cup I'm sure makes the Olympics pale in comparison in that regard.

The club sports leagues, that is the Big 4, other than when a "Canadian team" gets far and during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, you see nationalism in Canadian media, but not so much stateside. Remember that when the Raptors won in 2019, based on Facebook opinion, the Toronto Raptors were "Team America" as who they wanted to see win.

The NFL can't have nationalism as all its teams are based in the US.....I always prefer to say "based in Canada' or "plays home games in Canada", because using the term "Canadian team" means nothing. Not a single Canadian played a second for the Raptors in the NBA Final against the Warriors.

The nationalism seen in Canadian media is merely a selling point for the networks here to draw viewers across all of Canada and not just the Toronto area.

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The kind of nationalism you see among the teams in Canada, just this year, historically the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens are bitter rivals. The Canadiens beat the Leafs in a humiliating 3-1 series comeback against the Leafs in the first round of this year's playoffs. Yet, because the Montreal Canadiens are "Canadian", I'm supposed to drop the rivalry and root for the Canadiens? Absolutely not, but so many people fell for it, the CN Tower even lit up in Montreal's colours at one point, same with Niagara Falls. This is the kind of NHL nationalism I speak of that's entirely silly when Canadian players make up a majority or near majority on all teams within the NHL.

Tell me this Quaker, would you root for the Boston Red Sox because you want to see the World Series "stay in America", there's practically no one with that silly thought process and oddly enough those that are quickly get hammered by the media up here.

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