Reporter comparing Vancouver Olympics to 1936 Nazi Olympics

[MWR34]

Originally Posted by oniyou

i just finished reading the article, and i can see why he'd write negatively about us canadians.

first of all, i've lived most my life in canada, whenever i hear or sing the national anthem i get an immense feeling of pride for my country, and i am in no way anti-canadian so just because i expressed an opinion different from most people in this thread, please do not flame the shit out of me. i'm probably gonna get failed as well but i dont give a shit.

i can see where this journalist is coming from since i was here for the 2010 vancouver winter olympics. Don't get me wrong though, i do not agree that canadians remotely deserve to be related to the nazis. I think the journalist kinda fucked up there, but i agree with some of his other points.

Vancouver was probably my first real olympic experience, because i never really did look into the others like beijing 2008, or athens 2004. I watched certain events on TV but i don't remember how their cities were decorated for their olympics. I also don't really know much about olympics, but to me, i think its a world gathering of the world's top atheletes which help strengthen relations among the various nations around the world. My perception of the olympics was changed when they came to my city. Now, i'd think olympics is a world gathering event in order to show the world how awesome the host city's country is.

Vancouver is decorated with two themes : red and the maple leaf. Everywhere i go, i see waves of red and it seems like its autumn with the abundance of maple leaves everywhere. I can't seem to remember seeing anything that stood out which didnt scream canadian. Now, i'm not saying this is a bad thing, patriotism is a wonderful thing, but an excessive amount can lead to undesired criticism, just like that article. We are to welcome the world, but i think we might have produced the opposite effect, due to the overwhelming national pride we have. I watched the men's gold for hockey on TV, and i was quite surprised that the stadium was literally painted with red. It seemed like 90% of the spectators were canadian. If i was from a different country and i came to vancouver for the olympics, i'd feel really welcomed due to the friendly atmosphere in the city, but i wouldnt feel the "welcome world".

Too much of national pride can give off the wrong idea, and sometimes even come off as intimidating. I heard that after canada won men's gold, many people ( i assume they are americans ) who raised the american flag had quickly taken down the flag and hid it. Now, if i was an american who came to support my country play in the finals, i'd still be immensely proud of the team to even compete for gold. I'd like to raise my flag to show my pride for the US, but i fear my life would be endangered due to the mobs of red.

Patriotism is a great thing and should be practiced, but we must also learn to be considerate.

I see where your coming from with all this, But you also have to realize, They brought this Event to Vancouver.

Vancouver is probably the most Multicultural City in North America. We have every ethnicity and background living between Whistler and Abbotsford.

The Olympics couldn't have gone to a more diverse City. We mostly saw Seas of Red Clothes and accessories but the skin tones were in full spectrum.


We can't help celebrating over our success and show our patriotism, we did;

1, Break our curse of Zero Golds on Canadian Soil.
2, Break an Olympic Record of Most Golds ever won at a Winter Olympics.
3, Break an Olympic Record of Most Golds ever won by a Hosting Country.
4, And owning the Podium as we referred it by the Most Golds over the other Countries.( Quality over Quantity )

To the journalist, I dont really care if not many people did or did not rock the Olympic Rings, For a Tourist, Sure, Memorabilia, but for Canadians its National Pride.

Our Country is Huge, its not hard to see how much and how far across the red flags are being waved, but dont forget, USA is what... 5 x more populated.. So the amount of flags per country being waved at a host country, we would be out numbered if you look back at salt lake city and the country that hosted it.


Im rambling now, but you get the point.

[goo3]

Originally Posted by fatman

I'm still mystified that Canada fans were able to grab what seemed to be 98 percent of the tickets at the hockey venue. Olympic crowds have always been more inclusive.

If it wasn't for Canadian hockey fans, most of the games would have been 3/4 empty.

His whole article is lazy.. not just the Nazi part. He sounds the type of person who voted for Bush twice.

[jackmeister]

do people really wear clothes w/ 5 colourful olympic rings??

i also didnt know that bronze and silver medals were worth as much as gold medals..

[SMDBICH]

Originally Posted by 1exotic

that guy is a fucking complete retard.

someone should beat the shit out of him because hes such an idiot.

I think someone should beat the shit out of you.

[saint16]

I'll chime in here.

There are multiple short sighted issues in this writer's article, the very least of which being the nazi reference. To me personally, this comes off as sour grapes completely. Basically in the same breath he criticizes the whole Canadian population for cheering on the their countrymen and then immediately brags about how well Texas residents did, two of which weren't even born in Texas!

He bashes on Canadian broadcasting, despite the fact that NBC has always been extremely one sided, and has been in my perspective unwatchable, due to the American propaganda which is constant.

Of course there were a much larger number of tickets available in Beijing, just compare the sheer number of events involved. In no event in Vancouver was there a venue as large as the Bird's Nest (opening ceremonies excluded).

Loose marijuana laws are something I could care less about either way, but my question is: How's prohibition working out for you US in the war against weed? Overpopulated prisons on possession charges? Ya I thought so.

As for the hockey, what else would you expect? Is someone from Florida, or China for that matter willing to outbid Canadians for preliminary hockey? NOT A CHANCE IN HELL. It was inflated with Canadians because they were the only ones willing to pay ridiculous prices from scalpers.

One last thing, I was lucky to be at an event where a Canadian won gold (Ashley McIvor in women/s skicross) and it was amazing. Never once did I not make noise for anyone just because they weren't Canadian.

I'd be very curious if this writer actually took part in any events or just watched on tv. It's two very different atmospheres.

[InvisibleSoul]

But a lot happened that didn't make the front pages of the Vancouver newspapers or find its way into the Canadian TV network's opening montage.

Norway's Marit Bjoergen won three gold medals, a silver and a bronze in cross-country skiing to become the ninth athlete to win five medals at a single Winter Olympics.

Skier Maria Riesch finished in the top 10 in all five Alpine events. Her native country, Germany, won at least one medal on every day of this Winter Olympics.

American short track speedskater Apolo Ohno won three medals, giving him eight and making him the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian of all time. But that's nothing -- Norway's Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, at age 36, won two biathlon medals and now has 11.

Well, definitely didn't know most of that!

China sold 6.8 million tickets to its 2008 Summer Olympics. Vancouver only made 1.6 million available. The Canadians wanted to "Own the Podium," but organizers made sure that they owned the grandstands at each venue as well.

Hey dumbass, you can't compare summer Olympics with winter Olympics.