Who's ready for 2020 Olypmics in Tokyo?

[Messishadow]

Okay I know it's a tad bit early but we are almost half way done with 2019.

As expected, I think the Tokyo olympics are going to set the standard for what the games should be (At least management wise).

If you're as excited as me, then please share.

My only concern is the number of tourist  have increased dramatically which is hurting the local culture (Especially in Kyoto).

So if you're planning to attend, please be a respectable tourist. We only have one Japan on this planet (I wish we had more).

[Forever Blue]

It's Oct 2019 & we're 9 mos away!  What have you got accomplished so far for anyone traveling there?

- flight tickets plan to get that this wk of 10/21/19

- passports early Nov

(Already got hotel.)

What else do I have to do?

 

[anthonyliberatori]

I am very excited for Tokyo 2020! Not only will this be my first-ever Olympics, it will be my first time to Japan, so I have a lot to be excited for. I am going to be staying at a family friend's house in Yokohama, so I'm happy to have her help me navigate the area, and enjoy local Japanese culture. I am going to Japan alone, and I'm pretty young, so I'm hoping to meet others in my situation and maybe make some lifelong friends to travel to the Games with for a while. I think that's what I'm most excited for: the Fan Zones and opportunities to meet new people.

 

Question, what is typical of Olympic Fan Zone culture? Is there usually something like pin trading to help bring people together? How are the locations of the zones distributed? I'm hoping to meet people from both the US but also many other countries, so I'm hoping they're diverse and it's easy to communicate. Also hoping for a women's football ticket, but I'll take what I can get

[Messishadow]

 

 

 

1

On 10/25/2019 at 9:36 AM, anthonyliberatori said:

I think that's what I'm most excited for: the Fan Zones and opportunities to meet new people - Question, what is typical of Olympic Fan Zone culture?

AWESOME!!! Hope you have a wonderful time. I highly recommend learning some basic Japanese. As far as fan zone culture goes, they love their teams! I was in Dubai during FIFA (Mens) and in Vancouver (Women's FIFA) and both times the crowd was wild. Loud and supportive but not like disorderly like "Hooligans" at England soccer matches. They come with their friends, the kids and all that. You will have a phenomenal time! You will probably hear them chant "Nippon! Nippon!" which is how the Japanese refer to their country. I do remember they had these blue slim balloon like things that when you slap together, it creates like a clapping sound. That was fun too. 

[Moose69]

Hmmm… Anyone who knows anything about football (soccer) doesn’t bother with the Olympic versions. The  Olympics is just an under 23 year olds kickabout.

 

Canadians should stick to daft sports like ice hockey.

[anthonyliberatori]

10 hours ago, Moose69 said:

Hmmm… Anyone who knows anything about football (soccer) doesn’t bother with the Olympic versions. The  Olympics is just an under 23 year olds kickabout.

 

 

 

Canadians should stick to daft sports like ice hockey.

 

Welcome to Gamesbids, love your positivity!

 

To be fair, the women's tournament has no restrictions, The same USWNT that just won the World Cup, as well as Lionesses, Dutch women, and Swedish women that had a shot, will go at it again (minus 5 players given the decrease in roster space). The Olympic tournament can be just as exciting as the WWC, because the matches are very tight from the beginning, given that there are only 12 teams. Further, given that it's in Japan, a country that loves their women's team, any game against Japan will have an insane atmosphere. 

 

As for the men, it can be a good view into the future. I know countries like Italy, the USA (if they qualify), Romania, Egypt, etc will be excited to see the future state of their teams, given that their current teams have been disappointments. I know as an American, the U23 roster we could produce would include all of the "stars" we talk about in the American soccer community (Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, Weah, Soto, etc), so should the USA qualify, I know it would be highly anticipated. Obviously a country like France is not going to care all too much about the state of their U23, because their senior team just won the World Cup and have a good shot at Euros right before the Olympics. 

[Moose69]

Regarding the men’s game, ticket prices are high considering the quality of the players. Coupled with the heat, I don’t think many will get too excited by it.

 

Interestingly, ticket prices aren’t dissimilar to World Cup prices. Some people have had their pants pulled down by paying $500 for final tickets.

 

Also, most of the games are far from Tokyo. Foreign visitors need to be careful that they don’t buy ticket to games hundreds of miles from the capital.

 

Agreed, the Japanese female team will be a draw for local supporters.

 

 The conduct of the female  US team in the last World Cup left a lot to be desired. They are more obsessed about money than anything else. Trying to get similar contracts to the male professionals is ridiculous. On a day-to-day basis nobody much cares about the women’s game. In France, most of the stadiums had tons of empty seats even though ticket prices were 10 Euros (about the price of a sandwich in Paris).  

[anthonyliberatori]

On 11/20/2019 at 7:43 PM, Moose69 said:

The conduct of the female  US team in the last World Cup left a lot to be desired. They are more obsessed about money than anything else. Trying to get similar contracts to the male professionals is ridiculous. On a day-to-day basis nobody much cares about the women’s game. In France, most of the stadiums had tons of empty seats even though ticket prices were 10 Euros (about the price of a sandwich in Paris).  

 

Funny you bring this up, considering it was Australia who just granted their women's team equal pay, not their men's team. And while many on the USWNT do enjoy and thrive off of the attention they receive, they most certainly earn their platform. It's not like they get loads of attention for walking away with nothing .... they've won half of all women's world cups ever. Come in 2nd or 3rd at the other half. If I knew I was a part of a dynasty like that, hell I would be loud too.

 

Further, in terms of attendance in France, it should be noted that particular countries filled the stadium each and every time they played. The USA (who actually had more people at its group game in the Parc Des Princes vs Chile than the French did on their opening night), The Netherlands, Japan and Brazil packed all of, or nearly every, stadium they played in, and all of these teams have qualified for the Olympics (not USA yet, but cmon). You can guarantee that these large fanbases will show up and support their teams. While the attendance will certainly be low at some games, especially considering many games will not be in Tokyo, I wouldn't rule out the growth of women's football worldwide. This women's World Cup was viewed by over 1 billion people, and many traditional soccer nations like Spain, Argentina and Italy have begun to invest a hefty sum of money into the game and their domestic leagues, and they are seeing growth in its following. I would not be surprised if the average attendance is higher in Paris 2024 than this past World Cup, because by then, the women's game will continue to grow. 

 

With ticket prices, also consider that certain teams that are known to have large fanbases, like the aforementioned ones, did not see tickets that low. The USA's cheapest group stage game started at around $45, and it just went up more and more. We aren't even at playoffs yet, which you had to buy without knowing the teams, but once the USA was released as the opponent, ticket prices went into the three digits. So, it goes to show that if certain teams were able to pack a stadium with heightened prices, they'll likely do it again for the same team a year later. Many of the $10 games featured teams like Jamaica, New Zealand, Cameroon, etc. But, if I am wrong come the summer, you can personally come back and tell me, but I expect to see walls of orange and flying USA flags all about women's soccer venues in Tokyo. 

[Moose69]

As you say, the ladies of Team USA will have a lot of support at their games. I hear some US supporters specifically come to the Olympics to see the women’s team. Other nations will have support but most of that support will be Olympic fans who happen to get tickets for the games.

 

As a side note, I noticed there are actually a total of 38 Olympic sessions for football (some sessions include 2 games). Most of the games are to be held at stadiums with 50,000 plus capacities. That’s roughly 2 million tickets by my calculations. Tickets are as cheap as 3,000 yen.

 

Contrast this with swimming, 15 sessions in an Aquatics Centre with a 15,000 capacity. There are basically ten times as many football tickets as swimming tickets. And the sponsors and VIP will siphon of many the swimming tickets.

 

The football competition, will enable local people who can’t watch any other events to see at least something at their ‘home’ Olympics. I’m sure the stadiums will sell out although a lot of the games are far from Tokyo.

 

For me, the Olympics is mainly about the core events such as athletics and swimming. I already have  some tickets secured including for the athletics. Swimming might be more difficult. But I have diving tickets so at least I can get to see an Olympic event at the fabulous new Aquatics Centre.

[anthonyliberatori]

4 hours ago, Moose69 said:

For me, the Olympics is mainly about the core events such as athletics and swimming. I already have  some tickets secured including for the athletics. Swimming might be more difficult. But I have diving tickets so at least I can get to see an Olympic event at the fabulous new Aquatics Centre.

 

I am one of those fans itching to see the USWNT! Been a lifetime supporter. I currently have one women's football ticket in Yokohama, which is where I will be staying for the Olympics, but I'm looking to buy more. I will keep any ticket that has the USWNT attached to it, but I would also like to see teams like Japan, the Netherlands or England depending on who they're playing. Football has been harder for me to come across, especially the lower-tier seats, so I think you're right in that regard. Lots of locals and tourists are grabbing football tickets as overflow tickets, just to make sure they get to see something. 

 

I feel you there though. I would kill for a women's gymnastics ticket but that would burn through my budget. I would also want to see men's basketball, because after the US's embarrassment without the NBA stars when every other country had theirs, it's clear that the game is getting tougher, so I would like to see the American men work a bit for a win. I'm also a big volleyball fan, got two tickets already. The aquatics venue does look fabulous though, and I'm glad you were able to secure something in it! Not sure what country you're from but hopefully you even get to see your own country.

[Moose69]

I am looking for a gymnastics ticket as well. The venue looks superb. But as you know they will be difficult tickets to grab especially since the Japanese are well into the gymnastics.

[anthonyliberatori]

On 11/27/2019 at 2:22 AM, Moose69 said:

I am looking for a gymnastics ticket as well. The venue looks superb. But as you know they will be difficult tickets to grab especially since the Japanese are well into the gymnastics.

 

Yes. I will be staying with some family friends in Yokohama while I'm in Japan, and they are huge gymnastics fans, and they are struggling to get some tickets. I invited them into the Facebook group so hopefully they can find some there and something works out.