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Whistling (booing) at the Olympics (pg. 2)
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| 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!! |
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| BadBadNeil |
| quote: | 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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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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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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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. Students don't chant because they are stressed, but because they love their teams. I am a loyal Husky college basketball fan and have been for over 10 years and its not because I'm stressed :)
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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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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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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?
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;) 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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| BadBadNeil |
| quote: | 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!! |
does the stain include the computer software you are using to write your hate mail? |
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| NeoPhono |
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).
| quote: | | You guys think you are bigger and better than anybody else... |
I hate to say it, and normally I wouldn't...but when it comes to the Olympics, 83 medals and counting...eat it. |
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| spec |
| quote: | 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. |
That wasn't half expected... |
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| Vigilante |
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........ |
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| occrider |
I thought the greek booing at the 200m finals because their star athlete was a up 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. |
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| 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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| ierxium |
| quote: | 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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Didn't see that.
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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. |
Of course, I like to generalize and stereotype.
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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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I have to agree with you on that. But unfortunately, the reason the seasons are spread is to the get the most money out of fans, as it is the case in every sport in every country. The more you consume, the better for the people on top.
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Luckily I'm hispanic so my hips can move. |
Good for you. :)
| quote: | 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. |
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. Again, that happens in almost every nation as well, but the skepticism level of what is said in TV is different in every country. |
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| occrider |
| quote: | 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. |
| quote: | 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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Oh really? Mislead and manipulated by propaganda? Ok well I bothered to do the research. This is what the NY Times stated:
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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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Don’t like the NY times? How about the London Times:
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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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Don’t like the London Times? Ok well how about the International Herald Tribune:
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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.
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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.
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"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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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"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."
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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. .
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"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."
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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."
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"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.
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"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
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| BadBadNeil |
| ;) i was looking for those sources myself, but couldn't find them |
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| ierxium |
| quote: | 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: |
You can cite. :) But you failed to elaborate.
Now ask yourself how many people would bother reading a newspaper. |
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