Olympics 2012 - the meaning of equality

[Ally]

Yeah bit on the obscure side.

Appreciate the link though. I generally like Brit comedies but that one I've not heard of. And even if I had, I have to say I don't know as I'd have immediately gotten the gag!

[John Casey]

Personally I couldn't really give two hoots about the Olympics, it's only a warm up to the real games anyway! Roll on the 29th! (Oh and that would be a day for equality, when they merge the two games!!)

[Iain Wilson]

Both of the Olympics are great events, and I am just SO proud of the way we have embraced them over here. I was dreading that our classic British cynicism was going to prevail and the haters and doom-sayers were going to be proven right.

What I think is very interesting, is that the Olympics have highlighted what true sportsmanship is all about. There were a couple of events that I watched where an athelete either made a mistake (in the case of a Japanese gymnast who fell off the horse) or got stage fright (an Ecuadorian - I think - diver who made his run up to the board and then froze). In both instances the whole crowd - regardless of nationality - got behind them and cheered them on so that they completed their event.

Compare that to the sort of behaviour that you see over here in football matches every week. It's generally considered the done thing to hurl obscenities at the opposition for the entire duration of the ninety minutes - and Heaven forbid NOT making it abundantly clear to the opposition when they mess up!

Don't get me wrong - I'm a football fan - but when I saw the ideals of sportsmanship being exhalted at the Olympics it got me thinking "Yeah...we really don't do it right, do we?"

Likewise, the atheletes who were interviewed throughout the span of the Olympics were - without exception - lovely, humble people. None of them oozed the sort of arrogance and agression that you get from certain footballers who seem to think they're above the law because they're twenty years old and earning a quarter of a million pounds a week...

[martin wilson]

Football could be better.but over a thousand pro's in the English leagues play every week without any real problems.
Much of it is media hype, every little incident being blown out of all proportion,neither do I see what players can do about the fans,although I agree some of them are god awful.
Olympic sports dont interest me much,good luck to you if they are your bag though, I prefer football and cricket where a supposedly superior team can be beaten by the clever use of tactics.
A 100 metre sprinter can run as fast as they can and no faster,if someone shows up who can run faster,what exactly can they do about it? that's not sport, at best it's competetive genetics.
I certainly think where men and women can compete on equal terms they should do so,
Even in sports where men supposedly have the size and strength advantage you can be surprised, I watched the England womens football team play Holland in a qualifier a while back and I'm not kidding,that Dutch no 4 would have made even Ron 'Chopper' Harris think twice!
All the best

[Iain Wilson]

Olympic sports dont interest me much,good luck to you if they are your bag though, I prefer football and cricket where a supposedly superior team can be beaten by the clever use of tactics.

I'm a footie fan too - I was just really bowled over by the spirit of sportsmanship that the Olympics produced, because it is very rare to see that in the world of football.

That's not to say that every footballer is a cheat, or that every fan is a bubbling bucket of bile - far from it. However, the general atmosphere around a football stadium is not that of convivial camaradrie in the name of sport. When you have some of the highest profile players in the game displaying a distinctly cavelier attitude towards er...gamesmanship and managers refusing to criticise said players for their actions then you can see why the feeling engendered by the sport is significantly less than the Olympic ideal of a love of sport for sport's sake!

The most extreme example of this is found in Glasgow (where I'm from) and the bitter rivalry between Celtic and Rangers. Without going into the specifics and boring those who are not familiar with it, this goes completely and utterly beyond even the most fierce rivalries found elsewhere (and, at times, sanity!). Given the recent hellstorm of financial armageddon that has devoured Rangers the whole circus has become even more crazy than ever, so the Olympics were a complete breath of fresh air.

Saying that, I couldn't wait for the season to start again

[martin wilson]

Well,y'know football club owners, this 'fit and proper person' criteria is a wind up surely? you could have made your money through Columbian grade A and conflict diamonds and still buy a football club.
Down here last season it was all Balottelli,Barton,Terry,Tevez,Aguero ( who missed at least 6 very good chances last weekend) thats all the media were interested in,the majority of decent pros never got a look in,and it distorts perception of the game.
I dont read the tabs so I avoid a lot of it,watching MOTD on a Saturday night I have seen a lot of games I consider very decent,good games of football,if one of the players had been s******g Katy Price,I remained blissfully unaware of it,neither could I care less, I mean Georgie Best appeared for several years as a kind of bonus prize in the Miss World contest but everybody goes 'what a player' now dont they?,none of that stuff matters.
I'm for Man U,cant afford to go of course, you didnt say your team so all the best to both Glasgow teams for the forthcoming season.
All the best.

[Iain Wilson]

so all the best to both Glasgow teams for the forthcoming season.

Ah, I should have mentioned that I'm a Celtic fan, but thank you for your diplomatic response - I'll pass your good wishes onto Sevco5088 FC who are currently inhabiting the void left by Rangers

Well done on your CL group btw. Certainly tastier than that enjoyed by your rivals across the city!

[martin wilson]

I've watched City a few times now on MOTD, there is something wrong at that club (well I would say that) but when they score, there doesnt seem to be any real sense of celebration, I get the impression their dressing room makes Hollands seem like an oasis of peace and calm.
Obviously I'm biased but when it comes to the unacceptable face of football, a lot of it is associated with City.
We will see on the CL, I'm still not happy with the midfield, Scholesy cant go on forever, Cleverley has potential but is still learning,and Phil Jones seems to have disappeared.
TBH I think we are still a bit sus in defence as well, but it's a rebuilding process at the mo.
All the best to the bhoys then,hope I spelt that right, I would love it,absolutely love it to see a couple of ginger teams become a real power in Euro football again.
All the best.