Every time America doesn't win a medal I think...

Individual human beings, not only blessed congenitally with physical and mental abilities but blessed with the opportunity to invest an ENORMOUS amount of effort and dedication in making the most of those abilities, are winning medals.

Does every "American" have such an opportunity, even if blessed with the congenital abilities? Hell no.
Do all the people of Sudan, Bangladesh, or even Egypt have such an opportunity, even if blessed with the congenital abilities? Hell no.

I'd rather cheer for the individual who, FORTUNATE enough to have both congenital, political, and economic gifts, made the most of them, hopefully with gratitude, than those who might have equivalent gifts and DID NOTHING.

The achievements of those individuals are no more indicative of the merits of the political and economic systems of "America" than they are of any other country (China?) in which such opportunities are distributed more or less broadly.

At the Olympics, it is all about representing your Country, not the individual.

There is the athleticism ... the sport. And then there's the CELEBRATION of that athleticism. The "ideal" is for nations to assemble and PROVIDE the context for these individuals.

you know, they send 5 atheletes and one of them wins a medal - friggin' AWESOME! :thumbsup:

We're going to be treated to NBC reports on how we were fucked out of victory at the Games.

Then, we will get someone to plant Yellowcake on the suspect nation, and we will rally the troops for war.

:rofl:

At this time there is 76% "good for the winners" and 18% voted 'NBC announcers are going to declare war'. There are no 'other' votes.

76% + 18% = 94% :wtf: ???

If someone tells/teaches me how to capture and then post a screen shot .... I've got it open in another window.

:scared:

even here on DU.

Great big *sigh* and :mad: too

*clap*clap*clap*

Seriously, still :wtf: is going on with that?

DU's probably 'not what it seems' has been my feeling for quite some time.

Peace,
M_Y_H

An angel falls from heaven, and is hacked to pieces by Mooslims and then deep fried and fed to OBL.

Just sayin'

I just heard Zu-Zu saying "every-time-a-bell-rings" and I ran with it.

from every country, including the US. They've all worked incredibly hard to get there and I'm glad to see it rewarded for whatever athlete perfoms the best when it's all on the line.

I do enjoy seeing smaller countries step up and win.

No matter what fucking country they come from. I applaud success that stems from hard work and dedication. Even if they come from countries where participation is compulsory and failure is rewarded by punishment.

By the way, ever seen video of the Chinese volleyball team training? I wish I could find it for you. I had tears in my eyes watching young girls being physically, verbally, and mentally abused.

on this poll. I think one of the judges has been bought.

We're now at 72/11/14 = 97%

97%, instead of equalling 100%? Does that 'mean' anything to you? Or were you a 'left behind child'?

You've proven and won your point!

sadly I offer 'congratulations'

Count the votes, not just the percentages. There is always one less vote in the poll results than displayed in the total votes counter at the top. That is what I meant. There's a phantom vote skewing the results. The percentages change depending on the number of votes. It was 99% when I wrote the comment last night, hence my joke about the judge. This poll is seriously messed up. No need to get snippy with me about it.

I think, there goes another dumbass who's overhyped and undertalented, fucking up and embarrassing us again.

Did you see the women's gymnastics? They were on their asses and their backs more often than the average hooker.

When you have to pray that these musclebound ditzes manage to stay in bounds, it's pretty pathetic. (Notice how other countries' female gymnasts are actually LITHE and GRACEFUL, and not built like miniature Lou Ferrignos? Maybe they'd have better balance if they weren't holding up 50 extra pounds of muscle!)

It's just ridiculous how our media hypes up these girls, when they're so consistently outclassed by gymnasts from other countries.

:evilgrin:

I think I'm going to be sick. Should we all meet at the airport when these kids come home so we can spit on them? Thanks.
quickesst

That its this concept of 'America' that should be glorified.

First, its the individuals that are competing, not the nation. Its for THEIR love of the sport, not that of their country.

Second, does anyone seriously think about the impact of the 'for the country' stuff? It smacks of totalitarianism. As if we do it all for the fatherland.
Third, athletes in the US are not subsidised by the government. In fact, the athlete has to pay money out of his own pocket in order to be elgible to compete. Lest we forget, the olympic qualifiers have entrance fees.

This being the case, the athletes owe nothing to the US, after all, the US simply slaps a 'team USA' logo, and now all of a sudden, they lose their identity?

Finally, when the athletes come home does George W. Prick get them? Or do the athletes? The last thing George W. Prick should get is a medal that represents *someone elses* hard work, dedication and sacrifice.

If you are going to bother with the olympics (which I'm not) do it for the athletes, ignore the nationalities (if the TV let's you) and enjoy.

in case there is any confusion on this matter. My earlier comment about the recount was a joke about the sum of the votes in each category not equaling the total votes cast. Apparently some took it badly and I apologize for any misunderstanding.

There's way too much interest in organized sports in this country. So much so that people think of real life like it's some sort of sports contest.

But then I don't like the Olympics, except for the marathon, which I like.