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Whistling (booing) at the Olympics
Sorry if this has been brought up before.
Is it usual in other countries to have the constant whistling and heckling that I hear at the Olympics? When watching the US perform, I'm astounded by both the volume and consistancy of whistling and booing that occurs every time the US is in control. Be it basketball, volleyball or track and field like last night, I can't believe how much "negative" cheering I hear. It seems to me that this is poor sportsmanship on the part of fans and it goes against the whole "brotherhood" the Olympics are suppossed to convey. Then again, maybe this is normal in other parts of the world, but in the United States I have never seen or heard nearly as much fan action against the oppossing team, at least kept up through an entire match. Thoughts?
I think I wrote about this somewhere in this mighty jungle of posts we call Traceforums but yes I think it's a deliberate statement against the United States.
Example: I watched the US/Spain basketball game the other day and when the US won I was angry at how the Spanish fans booed the U.S team afterwards, the same was the case with the Men's volleyball team victory over greece.
I watched the Greece/Argentina game today and heard almost no booing by the greek fans like they did when Greece played the U.S team.
People, Europeans in particular will make the argument that the U.S basketball team is arrogant but this year I can hardly call that a point as they seemed to have realized after the Italy and Puerto Rico games that they weren't the favorites and I don't think arrogance came into play at all.
When I watched the olympics in Atlanta I can't recall ANY booing by Americans against foreign people at all during victory, and to me its a shameful display by not only the host country but from what it seems the European countries in general. Booing may be a part of life in everyday sports but in the Olympics where the world is supposed to come together in competitive sport and not have personal agendas against other nations I think it's out of place.
I agree with you BadBadNeil. What shocked me is not so much the booing during the men's basketball game, but during other sports in which th US was particpating. I watched the US/Greece men's indoor volleyball game yesterday and not just a couple of times, but every time the US was serving or had the ball on their side of the net, the whistling was constant. Then, yesterday before the 200 meters (I think that's the right event) every US athlete participating was booed as they were introduced. It's disgraceful to hear such negativity at the Olympics...I can't remember anything nearly like this at Sydney or Atlanta.
Actually all that whistling came back to bite the fans in that US vs. Greece volleyball match. I don't know if you remember but near the end something in the audience had a whistle and the greek players thought it was an official and the US scored on them in one of the final points of the final game!
The 200M final is tonight, I will have to listen for the boos.
The thing that bothers me the most I think about booing is that many of these foreign people who are booing don't know the individual competitors from the United States so they aren't booing the individuals, they are booing the country and for these athletes who come to participate the same as any other country they shouldn't be singled out for what country they belong to.
I was thinking, what if they brought back golf to the Olympics. Tiger woods gets crazy enough with hearing just a camera click, imagine airhorns and whistles in the background! He might just lose it.
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| Originally posted by BadBadNeil Actually all that whistling came back to bite the fans in that US vs. Greece volleyball match. I don't know if you remember but near the end something in the audience had a whistle and the greek players thought it was an official and the US scored on them in one of the final points of the final game! The 200M final is tonight, I will have to listen for the boos. |
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| Originally posted by NeoPhono Sorry if this has been brought up before. Is it usual in other countries to have the constant whistling and heckling that I hear at the Olympics? When watching the US perform, I'm astounded by both the volume and consistancy of whistling and booing that occurs every time the US is in control. Be it basketball, volleyball or track and field like last night, I can't believe how much "negative" cheering I hear. It seems to me that this is poor sportsmanship on the part of fans and it goes against the whole "brotherhood" the Olympics are suppossed to convey. Then again, maybe this is normal in other parts of the world, but in the United States I have never seen or heard nearly as much fan action against the oppossing team, at least kept up through an entire match. Thoughts? |
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| Originally posted by BadBadNeil When I watched the olympics in Atlanta I can't recall ANY booing by Americans against foreign people at all during victory, and to me its a shameful display by not only the host country but from what it seems the European countries in general. Booing may be a part of life in everyday sports but in the Olympics where the world is supposed to come together in competitive sport and not have personal agendas against other nations I think it's out of place. |
Yes Very bad again tonight in the 200m. They booed when the American runners where announced and all that booing was rediculous.
If they honestly think its the American's fault for their "prized runner" being a total fuck up then they need some serious help.
I heard that about the Greek papers and was laughing. I guess all the problems in the world can best be summarized as, if its a problem you can't accept blame it on the USA.
I hope China has more respect, although I wonder if Taiwan will be an issue against the US and with China probably getting a boost from home team, they may boo the US once again because they will want the top medal count. I guess we will see in 4.
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| Originally posted by ierxium Just try to think like a person that is not from the US for a minute. Something should come to mind. Or even try to think that there are more fans of one team in the arena than the other. Therefore, booing will occur. It's sports. Olympics are controversial this time around. I admit that. But it's happening. Competitiveness. Let's just eliminate cheering and booing, wait, aren't those two the same? |
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Well, there's isn't much passion for sports in the US of A. That's a fact. In most sports, I mean. Extra note: I'm cranky |
the booing hasnt just been for the US but anything that the fans have questioned. im not sure if anyone else saw the boxing match when the ref stopped it because the greek boxer had a cut above his eye. the fans went nuts and were hurling half full bottles into the ring trying to hit the ref and the other boxer. it was horrible.
but the olymipcs have always been a chance for countries to make a political statement. i know some of the olympics have been protested in the past (cant remember off the top of my head). theres not much we can do about it except go out there and do our best. i doubt whats going on now is nothing compared to what jesse owens had to go through. so just sit back and enjoy the rest of the games because they are almost over.
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| Originally posted by BadBadNeil Just because we as a nation don't like soccer(futbol) and hockey and don't start riots in stadiums over our favorite teams doesn't mean we aren't passionate about sports. In fact I'd say as a country we like MORE sports than any other nation in the world. |
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| Originally posted by BadBadNeil Just because we as a nation don't like soccer(futbol) and hockey and don't start riots in stadiums over our favorite teams doesn't mean we aren't passionate about sports. In fact I'd say as a country we like MORE sports than any other nation in the world. Therefore instead of liking just one or two sports we like multiple. If that means we are less passionate then so be it. |
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| Originally posted by BadBadNeil Cheering is directed at the country you like as a show of support. Booing and jeering in this case isn't directed at the athletes but as a political statement and that is wrong. There is no place for that in the Olympics. It's a fact that they single the USA out and systematically boo them only, no other countries. You have to see it as a person from this country, otherwise you just think of booing as a normal activity. |
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I really hate these types of remarks, what about. College football? College basketball? March Madness? Super Bowl? Golf Majors? Baseball? Nascar? Volleyball? Have you ever been here when people are flying flags of their teams on their cars, partying in the streets, having parades for their sports heroes, buying more sports memorabilia than any nation in the world? |
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Just because we as a nation don't like soccer(futbol) and hockey and don't start riots in stadiums over our favorite teams doesn't mean we aren't passionate about sports. In fact I'd say as a country we like MORE sports than any other nation in the world. Therefore instead of liking just one or two sports we like multiple. If that means we are less passionate then so be it. |
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You have been watching the Olympics right? If you see the thousands of American flags, the coverage on 4 channels here, and the medal count and still say we aren't a sports oriented country then I don't know what is. |
) So passionate you die for your team. But when alive, you boo those who attack your team. It's the way it's supposed to be.
Haven't you stupids got it?
Everybody hates the US!
If its not your foreign policy its the attitude of your citizens to the rest of the world. You guys think you are bigger and better than anybody else, and most countries bear the stain of US influenced globalisation.
Death to the US!!
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| Originally posted by ierxium If it was an attempt to make a political statement, the opening ceremony was the perfect set for the booing to take place. Didn't hapen from what I heard. So you see, it's not political. Your team is playing against the US(a dominant force in many sport disciplines, you will boo when it's right. Your team does something good, you cheer. US makes a comeback, you boo. Booing is just cheering in reverse. |
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There is passion is football, truly American. A sport not in the olympics like rugby(I wonder why). You're talking about sports as they reach the final parts of the respective tournament. Of course, there's going to be some hype in that. But that's it. If your team wins, you go out and buy yourself a flag to put in your car to show your team pride(happens everywhere). By the way, it would be interesting to identify the race that gets the most excited about a certain win by a team. When the Los Angeles Lakers won the cup all I saw was Latinos and Blacks, for the most part, out in the streets damaging police cars and so on. I generalized in the last statement. Damn, it came down to race on that. My bad. Baseball: I won't talk about, too complex for me to understand. All I know is that a team blames a bad end to a fan that happens to catch a ball preventing a player to catch the it to avoid a homerun. Wait, I also happen to know that the Angels winning the world series was one of those rare events that would not happen again any time soon. And college sports usually have students who get their stress out (because they just failed an exam or because mom and dad are no longer going to pay for tuition in a private university) by chanting throughout any particular game. And also those famous sorority and fraternity members getting all excited because they know what's going to happen after the game hoping they will drink and get laid or either of those two. |
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That's just like saying I like all types of music from pop to polka and from trance to freeform. Stick to a sport and a team. But be sure to know about other sports. Or atleast know enough to hate on them. And the reason the nation likes so many sports is because you have so many people from so many different nations or have roots from other nations don't like playing football or baseball. Luckily, they have a choice, even in futbol which apparently is getting some more fame there. Soccer, as they call it, the only sport where the US gets booed when they play in their country. Every game against Mexico, it happens. In matches like those you can compare the passion. |
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Yes. People like different sports in the US. Many talented athletes there. Thus, the booing to the Americans and the chanting for the underdogs. Nobody said Americans weren't sports oriented. Americans can do many things, sadly, doing the macarena isn't one. Bush is an example, isn't he? |
yes watching white people do the Macarena is a scary sight indeed. Luckily I'm hispanic so my hips can move.
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| Originally posted by spec Haven't you stupids got it? Everybody hates the US! If its not your foreign policy its the attitude of your citizens to the rest of the world. You guys think you are bigger and better than anybody else, and most countries bear the stain of US influenced globalisation. Death to the US!! |
You do find booing in the US, but it is usually for totally different reasons. The main time you will find spectators booing in the US is for a bad call, almost never because of the actions of a player. You will almost also never find a time where fans will boo another team for the entire game, even in such heated rivalries as Ohio State vs. Michigan (I live in Columbus). This is not because we do not have passion, but we have at least some respect for the opposition. Instead of using our "energy" to cheer against another team, we use it to cheer for ours. I think when you have the crowd whistling the entire match, from start to finish, during a US performance, it is a disgrace to those doing the booing. Those individual athletes have no reason to be disrespected like that, and it makes those whistling look like asses, if you ask me. The Olympics are meant to be about putting political differences aside in the name of competition, not being an ass and whistling and booing because you're a BAD sport.
As far as American passion goes, it is different because we spread our support out amongst so many different sports. You will find baseball, hockey, football and basketball fans that are all very passionate about their sport. In Europe, where soccer (football) 9reigns king, you don't have the same kind of distribution. If you'd like to find passionate fans though, I urge you to come to an Ohio State football game and tell me the 104,000 people in attendance aren't passionate (while at the same time not booing and disrepecting the other team).
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| You guys think you are bigger and better than anybody else... |
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| Originally posted by NeoPhono I hate to say it, and normally I wouldn't...but when it comes to the Olympics, 83 medals and counting...eat it. |
It is very, very sad that anybody would boo and jeer at competitors from any country at the olympics. It is not in the spirit of the games and it shows no respect for the athletes, who are there to compete.
Unfortunately, it shows an increasing resentment towards the Unites States. Not just the government, but the entire country and all it stands for.
If people are booing the US at the olympics, then what does that show us about the world's attitude towards the US in general?
George Bush has a lot to answer for........
I thought the greek booing at the 200m finals because their star athlete was a fuckup was hilarious. Despite the fact that they tried to direct their ire at the americans it was incredibly disrespectful to all the runners, and they should be ashamed.
I see spec is back to his usual antics ... oh well it wasn't half expected.
I saw the 200m final and yes the delay was ridiculous and it shouldnt have happened. But, whene i heard that the american announcers said that the newspapers wrote that it was an american conspiracy that Kenteris, the greek sprinter didnt compete, I laughed. Because, I read half of those papers and they all wrote that it was a disgrace and shameful what the crowd did, in front of such a large television audience. So, dont believe what any idiot announcer says if you havent researched it for yourself, which applies to practically everything.
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| Originally posted by BadBadNeil Yes that booing we see often here in the US. The booing I was referring to was after a victory by a US team, or booing a US track athlete for no reason, and not booing the other track athletes. |
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Its just a culture difference. Too much to explain here about our sports but many of those things you mentioned seem like generalizations and stereotypes. |
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See here we have sports seasons so most people don't usually just have one sport they watch. Football is Sept. - Jan, College Basketball is October - April, Baseball is April - October, etc etc. Our soccer teams don't get booed here, its just that there are lots of Mexicans here! You are correct though there are lots of races and here and everyone likes a certain sport and therefore you have a country where everyone likes something different, and I like that. |
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Luckily I'm hispanic so my hips can move. |
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| Originally posted by The Greek I saw the 200m final and yes the delay was ridiculous and it shouldnt have happened. But, whene i heard that the american announcers said that the newspapers wrote that it was an american conspiracy that Kenteris, the greek sprinter didnt compete, I laughed. Because, I read half of those papers and they all wrote that it was a disgrace and shameful what the crowd did, in front of such a large television audience. So, dont believe what any idiot announcer says if you havent researched it for yourself, which applies to practically everything. |
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| Originally posted by The Greek I saw the 200m final and yes the delay was ridiculous and it shouldnt have happened. But, whene i heard that the american announcers said that the newspapers wrote that it was an american conspiracy that Kenteris, the greek sprinter didnt compete, I laughed. Because, I read half of those papers and they all wrote that it was a disgrace and shameful what the crowd did, in front of such a large television audience. So, dont believe what any idiot announcer says if you havent researched it for yourself, which applies to practically everything. |
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| Originally posted by ierxium It's known by most people outside the US that the information given to the public there gets manipulated at times. There are so many examples. |
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When Kenteris, a gold medalist in the 200 meters at the 2000 Sydney Games, a man with boats in the Port of Piraeus named after him and also an icon in a land scarce of celebrities, missed his drug test on Thursday, the Greeks were left more tormented than usual. ''It ruins everything,'' said one senior official with the Athens 2004 organizing committee. By Thursday night's end, Kenteris and his countrywoman, Katerina Thanou, a silver medalist in 2000 and also a no-show at drug testing, were in a local hospital with minor injuries after a mysterious motorcycle accident within hours of their missed appointment with the doping police. How much can a Greek psyche take? ''Our enemies, they are coming for us,'' an Athenian cab driver lamented. ''Is this part of an American conspiracy against Greece?'' one journalist seriously asked a United States Olympic Committee official. ''Tell Us The Truth,'' screamed the headline of a local tabloid. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpa...75BC0A9629C8B63 |
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IOC denies drug test bias By Times Online and PA Sport The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have hit back at allegations of bias in their drug-testing programme. Games organisers have faced severe criticism from the Greek media, who claim sprint duo Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou were singled out for sustained testing while American athletes have been left alone. The conspiracy theorists have cited Greek press claims - firmly denied by the IOC - that Maurice Greene, the favourite for the 100 metres, had a "no-show" for a test at the US pre-Olympic training camp in Crete earlier this month as evidence for their allegations. The number of times the United States basketball side have been subjected to testing has also been mentioned, while it is claimed that two testers were arrested in Crete because American officials thought they were involved in terrorist activities. While they have consistently refused to name anyone subjected to tests, other than those who have so far provided positive samples, the IOC are growing increasingly annoyed at suggestions that they have made an example of the hosts� two most famous athletes to prove they are determined to fight the drugs scourge. And, in re-iterating that neither Kenteris or Thanou have ever tested positive for a banned substance and that they voluntarily withdrew from the Games on Wednesday, Giselle Davies, the IOC director of communications, attempted to end the Greek complaints permanently. �American athletes have been subjected to more tests than the Greek athletes even though Greece have a larger team,� she said. �I hope that prompts a change in the line of questioning. �All athletes are subjected to doping controls no matter where they come from. �The IOC is determined to have a clean and honest Games right across the board.� http://www.timesonline.co.uk/articl...1225407,00.html |
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Search for villain in Greece starts and ends with the U.S. Joe Drape and Anthee Carassava It all started with two Greek athletes missing mandatory drug tests last Thursday, then appearing hours later at a local hospital with minor injuries that they said had been caused by a motorcycle accident. Konstantinos Kenteris, a sprinter, the defending Olympic men's 200-meter champion, was supposed to light the Olympic caldron for the 2004 Summer Games. Katerina Thanou was the silver medalist in the women's 100 meters in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. . On Wednesday, Kenteris and Thanou announced they were withdrawing from the games. Wading into reporters and camera crews, Kenteris said it was time to unplug, at least temporarily, the soap opera that had eclipsed the return of the Olympics to their birthplace. . "My country has waited 108 years for the games to come home," he said. "So with a sense of responsibility and national interest I am withdrawing from the Olympic Games." The reaction of many Greeks to the troubles of Kenteris and Thanou has caught the rest of the world by surprise. . Amid the blanket coverage by Greece's top national newspapers and television stations are articles and broadcast reports that portray the sprinters as victims of a plan, mainly involving American Olympic sponsors and officials, to keep them off the track and ensure victories by U.S. sprinters. Last week as Kenteris and Thanou remained hospitalized, the newspaper Ethnos reported that the head of the U.S. delegation had threatened to pull out of the games if the two were not subjected to doping tests before competition. Officials of the U.S. Olympic Committee, which is in the middle of a doping inquiry of its own, denied the accusation. . On Tuesday, the USOC denied a Greek television report that said Maurice Greene, an American sprinter, had missed a drug test here and that doping officials of the International Olympic Committee had ignored it. "We are a small country with an underdog mentality," said Thanos Veremis, a professor of history at the University of Athens. "We have had a syndrome that it's easy for bigger countries to take advantage of us. At various points in our history, we've blamed our problems on whoever was the superpower." . Among Greeks, there is a general feeling of disappointment about the sprinters who were expected to compete for medals. Tickets to the men's 200 final had sold out a year ago. . Some Greeks voiced skepticism about the evasive actions of Kenteris and Thanou, but there was also widespread anger in the city's taverns and on the sidewalks. . "I'm sure the Americans, Australians and the British were involved," said Yannis Zivas, 54, a ceramics salesman. "I'm sure it was a way to get back at the Greeks for not giving them more contracts for Olympics security projects." . It also has brought to the surface anti-American sentiment, which dates back to Washington's tacit support of a seven-year military junta that ruled Greece between 1967 and 1974. . . "He couldn't fight against all these interests," said Ariadne Kallopoulou, a 25-year-old student, of Kenteris. "We don't like Americans. They always meddle in our affairs." . As the case of Kenteris and Thanou dragged through this past week, Athens Olympic organizers and government officials were clearly upset that their supposed torch lighter had commanded the attention of the nation on talk radio, television and in the newspapers. The president of Greece, Costis Stephanopoulos, described the case as a "great embarrassment." . "This whole event spoiled the opening ceremony and what has so far been a smooth running Olympics," said Ted Couloumbis, head of Eliamep, an Athens-based think-tank. Kenteris and Thanou appeared at the Hilton Hotel here on Wednesday, ostensibly to face a hearing before the executive board of the IOC to determine whether or not they would be eligible to compete in the games. After both withdrew, the IOC referred the case to the International Association of Athletics Federations, which will hear it on Aug. 26. Until then, Kenteris and Thanou are likely to be portrayed as fallen heroes, who were done in a fashion Greeks are all too familiar with - at the hand of another. But Couloumbis said that what is at risk is the fragile psyche of a nation. . "The big bet of hosting the Olympics was that we could show that we were a modern Greece and were moving away from the conspiratorial culture of blaming all our misfortunes on a plot hatched somewhere," Couloumbis said. "I think what we need to do is get to the bottom of what Kenteris and Thanou were up to. The IOC or someone needs to tell us if they did anything wrong. "Unless we get that, we're going to get that same old feeling of this poor girl and this poor guy were victimized. We were hoping we had moved past that." http://www.iht.com/articles/534740.html |
i was looking for those sources myself, but couldn't find them
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| Originally posted by occrider Oh really? Mislead and manipulated by propaganda? Ok well I bothered to do the research. This is what the NY Times stated: Don�t like the NY times? How about the London Times: Don�t like the London Times? Ok well how about the International Herald Tribune: |
But you failed to elaborate.
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| Originally posted by ierxium You can cite. But you failed to elaborate. Now ask yourself how many people would bother reading a newspaper. |
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