Vancouver considered Worst Olympics Ever. any thoughts?

Question

I'm enjoying the games but, i would like to see your own opinion.

Holland
http://www.rnw.nl/english/radioshow/worst-olympics-ever
UK
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/17022010/58/winter-olympics-vancouver-catalogue-woe.html
USA
http://deadspin.com/5472372/afternoon-olympic-update-worst-olympics-ever
http://www.graffe.com/forums/showthread.php?67378-Worst-Olympics-Ever!
Canada
http://the2008olympics.blogspot.com/2010/02/vancouver-worst-olympics-ever.html
http://www.canada.com/news/Vancouver+Olympics+fighting+title+worst+Games+ever/2575577/story.html

Answer 1

I pay not attention to what the media says. They'll be saying the same thing for the next Olympics. Vancouver has done great.

Answer 2

Can I start by saying Canada is the second largest country in the world divided into multiple provinces and territories. British Columbia, the home of Vancouver and Whistler, is the westernmost province. Us Albertans had very little to do with the Olympics, neither did Saskatchewan, Manitoba etc. To answer the question, yes, the Olympics are sucking hard, mostly because of mother nature, this of course is not so much Vancouver’s fault as it is the IOC's Vancouver's climate is almost always warm/rainy in February, did they think they were going to get lucky? The death is/isn't Vancouver's fault. The designer who designed the luge track has designed 6 successful Olympic tracks before with no deaths. Likewise Canadians, Americans and various other countries have been using the track just fine. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but chances are the crash was as a result of the Georgian athletes inexperience and mis-calculation. The mechanical failing in the opening ceremonies was quite embarrassing. Even more embarrassing was Wayne Gretzky's seemingly bored attitude as he was carrying the torch. Likewise C.O.C. attitudes towards allowing other countries to practice in the venues has been quite alarming. The Vancouver Olympic committee decided they wanted to have the first "Green Games", you know to go with all that environmental pressure the world is feeling lately, as such they decided to go with unproven Olympia electrical (rather than combustible) powered zambonies. As we can see, that was not the best choice. I blame the pinko-commy-enviroterrorists. :D I'm not American so I watch the Olympics on CTV. Can't answer you there. Once again Canada is not ruining the Olympics, blame the weather, blame the I.O.C., blame British Columbia but don't blame Canada.

Answer 3

I hope not.

You know how the cost of an event ultimately is passed to the citizens of the nation hosting it, esp the host city.

The people of Vancouver have enough problems dealing with some protestors holding up signs that this money is better spent on social housing etc.

The weather and the lack of snow is probably the only reason why the athletes will complain.

This is unusual for Vancouver. Global warming? of simply shifts in the normal weather pattern.



You will be happy to learn that it is snowing in WHistler as I type this.

Answer 4

Criticising the Olympics as the worst ever because NBC's coverage has been crap seems grossly unfair. It's not the fault of the organising committee that one of the broadcasters has sucked. The coverage on the BBC has been brilliant.



Yes, these games have been beset by problems, and that means they probably will be remembered as one of the less impressive ones. But, that criticism really is not fair. It's not the organising committee's fault it hasn't snowed enough, unforeseen technical problems can happen anywhere, hardly grounds for savage criticism. Kumaritashvili's death still needs to be properly investigated. Was lack of practice time a factor? Was it simply the track design? Driver error? If it was a mistake on his part that caused it then that raises the question of whether he was skilled enough to be there in the first place. There were limited fields in the skeleton as the FIBT felt it was too difficult for many to do safely, why wasn't that the case in the luge?



The only thing I can think of so far that is a really serious error that can not be pinned on anyone but the organising committee is the injury to Petra Majdic in the training for the sprint cross country. She skidded off the course, fell down a 3 metre slope and ended up with 4 broken ribs and a collapsed lung. The can be no excuse for there not being a fence there to prevent it. The other bad thing that can be blamed on the organising committee is the own the podium crap and the hideously unsporting way non-Canadians were denied training time on the courses. That was a clear breach of the Olympic spirit of fair competition.



Is that enough to call it the worst games ever? Probably not, it's not seen 11 athletes get murdered and it's not been hosted in a country with an atrocious human rights record (as has happened 3 times before, winter and summer games in Nazi Germany in 36 then Beijing 08).



Personally, I've really enjoyed the games, I've not liked the unsporting own the podium crap or the crowds making noise while competitors are trying to concentrate, but there's also been some awesome performances that have made them really enjoyable to watch.

Answer 5

If the athletes and spectators are saying this, then I would agree. What the media says is irrelevant. There job is to sell papers, not the Olympics.



My experience of watching/enjoying the games has been the best yet. That's probably because I'm Canadian and the coverage is outstanding. I've never watched a games before where I could watch so many events happen live and I've been watching the winter games obsessively since 94.

Answer 6

International media is labeling it as such.



In a critical piece written by the Guardian's reporter in Vancouver, headlined "Vancouver Games continue downhill slide from disaster to calamity," the British newspaper said the title of "worst Games ever" is up for grabs.

Answer 7

You say it because it didn't get much snow up in Whistler so they had to waste time and money dumping snow on the hills?



Well, blame El Nino for that warm weather in BC causing the mountain snow to melt.

Answer 8

I'm enjoying the games very much, thank you. I'm not into negativity. I try to look for the best. I almost always find it.