yoshi Posted July 25, 2017 Report Share Posted July 25, 2017 So, 12 years after initially intended (take a look at this Wikipedia page if you want to remember one of the biggest farces in British sporting history/have a laugh), London finally has a permanent, settled athletics stadium that isn't falling down, & is now about to host one of the few major sporting events never to be held in this country yet. I'm quite surprised that there isn't a thread that I can see yet, especially as it marks the track farewell of Bolt & Farah. Here is the championship schedule, hopefully we can have some discussion here from the 4th to the 13th, before the IAAF heads off to Qatar & Nikeland. PS: Any news about any kind of opening ceremony? The schedule says there'll be something (called Opening Night curiously) from 6 to 7pm on the 4th...anyone know more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Tickle Posted July 25, 2017 Report Share Posted July 25, 2017 I have been trying to find out if there is a ceremony myself. The last few have had one so you would think. The Para's had speeches and I think that was about it. Obviously Channel 4 didn't show it because they were probably showing repeats of Big Bang Theory at the time. Moscow did a whole space themed thing didn't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted July 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2017 Well there's something described as an opening ceremony being broadcast on BBC2 from 6 to 7 on the 4th. I agree it's quite odd because somebody should've probably released something - even if it's just a call for performers. But then, the IAAF are probably the only sports body whose ceremonies have got LESS elaborate since the 90s so who knows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexjc Posted August 6, 2017 Report Share Posted August 6, 2017 Anyone else interested in these games...Especially after what happened in the 100m yesterday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTHarner Posted August 7, 2017 Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 I'll watch most days, but with a healthy dose of skepticism. I wasn't pleased with Gatlin's win. He may be clean now, but I'll never really be able to believe it. Almaz Ayana's obliteration of the field in the women's 10,000 also doesn't sit right with me. She only races a handful of times and wins handily. Are her infrequent appearances because she is hiding something? Why do I watch? Because I'll see an athlete from the Northern Mariana Islands get left in the dust, which causes me to feel sorry for them, only to find out that they actually set a personal best, and I feel an admiration for them because they did their best and did it better than ever before. I can understand the antipathy on these boards about the event. Why get too excited about a competition that recently has been a giant fraud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted August 7, 2017 Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 (edited) 14 hours ago, Alexjc said: Anyone else interested in these games...Especially after what happened in the 100m yesterday? One upside, I've just realised, is that I saw Bolt's last individual track win when I was in the stadium Friday evening. @daveypodmore, @yoshi, not sure if it was shown on tele but the 'opening ceremony' was basically a couple of songs from the Games Maker Choir and Khan's and Coe's speeches followed by a quick burst of fireworks. Not much more. Didn't realise we had a thread on this. Might as well post my pics in this one as well: Edited August 7, 2017 by Rob. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted August 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 Did they have an OC at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted August 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 I love how you're replying to my post in a post before my post 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexjc Posted August 7, 2017 Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 You see...This is why London should've hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Tickle Posted August 7, 2017 Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 The OC was shown, very, very, very low key. I was expecting something but not sure what and this wasn't it. A few songs and speeches one by Prince Andrew looking quite sombre and bored. The crowds have been great though. That 100 metres was a travesty and the medal ceremony straight after Jessica getting her Gold upgrade was just pants. It sounds like Coe wants change with lifetime bans but there is no appetite for it. Really sad. Looks like you have been having a great time though Rob, I went to see some of the Parras and decided to watch this one from home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexjc Posted August 8, 2017 Report Share Posted August 8, 2017 Tom Walsh got New Zealand's first ever Mens Gold at the IAAF Champs in the Shot Put. But the two American participants tried to appeal the judges over faults given to two of their throws that would've been a Gold winner. They have fallen through but kind of ruins it. And now there is a Nora gastro virus outbreak. Overall though, still a great games and Seb Coe really needs to push through hardline reforms to clean up the dodgy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted August 8, 2017 Report Share Posted August 8, 2017 Been really disappointed with the BBC studio pundits (Gabby Logan, Radcliffe, Lewis and Johnson), who are normally pretty good. Really patronising towards crowd re: the whole Gatlin thing and just now I've watched them practically bully an IAAF medical professional of 30 yrs experience and try to explain her job to her. Horrible TV. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacre Posted August 8, 2017 Report Share Posted August 8, 2017 (edited) It is a shame that athletics cannot attract crowds large enough to fill this stadium outside of the Olympics or world championships. It really is magnificent for its original intended purpose. Back when Seattle had a 72,000 seat athletics stadium I never minded the track at American football games because of the high seating rake and most of the seating on the sidelines. With 3/4ths of seats on the sidelines with good views and the ultras at one end an athletics stadium is fine for football. But I think that the only time it ever sold tickets for athletics was for the Goodwill Games. If only athletics could attract good crowds like this for the Diamond League or some other world tour of athletics it would be easier to justify building these stadiums. Edited August 8, 2017 by Nacre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 Track and Field is one of the lesser sports in America these days. Think about it. If there's a male athlete who runs really fast on the track, but also plays another sport very well, he'll go more towards that other sport. Outside of the diehards, how many people knew that Willie Gault and Bob Hayes were track stars? Plus, there have been a ton of NFL players who ran track in high school or even college that chose to play in the NFL. If there was a US born male athlete who had Justin Gatlin's speed, but also had the football skills of a Deion Sanders or Jerry Rice, which sport do you think the athlete would go to? Track and Field, where even if he's successful, nobody will know who he is? Or the NFL, where he has a chance to become a major star if everything goes his way? He'd likely take the latter. Track and Field is so irrelevant in the United States, Allyson Felix should have been a household name in America with all of the medals she has won. Look at Simone Biles. The Gymnast with 4 Olympic gold medals was on Dancing with the Stars this last season and has had commercial endorsements. Serena Williams is one of the top female athletes in America, if not the world. Plus there are a ton of stars in the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. The casual American sports fan will recognize names like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Cam Newton, Sidney Crosby, etc. They don't know who Allyson Felix is. Felix is a very beautiful woman, is reportedly super nice and super charming, wins a lot of medals and has marketability to be the face of the sport in America. Perhaps it has a lot to do with the drug scandal that affected Team USA after the Sydney Olympics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacre Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 The problem is that team sports are monopolizing the sports market. Tennis is also slowly withering in the USA outside the US Open and the tournament in Palm Springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted August 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 Well that was a very strange event all round wasn't it - right down to how the day of Bolt & Farah ended up belonging to the unheralded relay teams*. What did everyone else make of the championship - especially those who were there? *except, of course, that the whole week belonged to Hero the Hedgehog Oh, & before I forget: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 Isn't the next World Championships in Doha in September? If so, it'll get destroyed ratings wise in America going opposite College and NFL Football. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.