London 2012 recap?

[marie427]

I fell off the wagon towards the end thanks to BIL's wedding weekend but I really want to have a final discussion about everything that happened!

Also, figure I'll own up to the following AEs - Bob Costas, Bela Karolyi, and Usain Bolt. Next time I'll just stick to one AE and go to town with it, that shit was hard to keep track of and I just didn't have the time to go crazy with any of them.

Anyhoo, go Team USA! What a great Olympics. I'm sure the results would have been different, but these were the Olympics that NYC was in the running for and watching these great Olympics was bittersweet in that regard. Unlike what the naysayers were saying about a potential New York Olympics, London survived the Olympics just fine.

Even though he didn't medal, I was really proud of Meb Keflezighi in the men's marathon on Sunday. He was the *only* prior medalist in this event competing this year, and yet he wasn't announced as one of the marathoners to watch for at the beginning, and they didn't even put him at the front of the group or runners, and he mentioned how dissed he felt. He ended up finishing 4th - I know that's often the worst place to finish but he's 37 years old running with twenty-somethings and actually beat his silver-medal time in Athens. Glad he showed everyone that dissing him at the beginning was wrong.

We did so great in swimming and gymnastics, but bummed that the women lost in indoor volleyball. Still no volleyball gold for the women ever.

I had to do a double take when I checked my phone during BIL's wedding (we had a break, don't worry) and saw that David Boudia won gold in diving instead of a Chinese diver lol. That was insane.

I'm sure other things will come up during the discussion but those were just the tail end of the Games. Countdown to Sochi has begun - less than 18 months until February 7, 2014!

[Deleted]

I knew you were Bob Costas!!! Especially when Bob didnt post on the weekend....and you were at a wedding

As usual, the Canadians didn't fare as well as they hoped at the Summer games. LOL.

I thought the closing ceremonies were great!

[marie427]

LG, but you guys won a gold in trampoline gymnastics!!!!!

[emilyj]

I had a feeling you were Bob Costas - you did a great job with him! I also LOVED Bela. He was outstanding.

I was Ryan Lochte and Lolo Jones. Once I had surgery, I couldn't even post as myself, much less the AE's. Too bad...I totally lost the opportunity to come back when Lolo got all dramatic in the media.

I was SO disappointed in the men's gymnastics team - I actually thought in all the lead ups they looked better than the women and I had really high hopes for them this year. Such a bummer.

I agree the women's volleyball team choked in the gold medal game - my husband was so disgusted watching them.

I cried when Boudia got the gold in diving. His reaction was priceless. He looked like he was in total shock. THAT is what the Olympics is all about to me.

I can tell you that the beach volleyball coverage actually did go DOWN from 2008.

I am still pissed over the Korean that lost the medal in fencing due to the official error.

I loved the Oscar Pistorious coverage, and I'm planning on following him through his Paralympics performance.

I got a TON of great stuff for my research, so I am completely stoked on that front.

[Deleted]

-NBC sucks

-wow, NBC really blows chunks

-i love gabby douglas

-NBC can kiss my ass

[marie427]

I am so pro-Korean fencer it's not even funny. I would have reacted the exact same way. That was just plain egregious on the part of the fencing body.

Not only was I really disappointed with the men's gymnastics team, but I was also so disappointed with the men's water polo and men's indoor volleyball teams. Come to think of it, this really was a successful Olympics for our women!

[marie427]

Aug 14, 2012 12:48:38 GMT -5 cville said:

-NBC sucks

-wow, NBC really blows chunks

-i love gabby douglas

-NBC can kiss my ass

Yeah, this. And the problem is, their ratings were THROUGH THE ROOF. They have no incentive to change what they did at all.

[emilyj]

I really want to figure out why their ratings were through the roof. I mean, they had their highest ratings EVER. Yet people were bitching so hard about everything they did. Their coverage. Their editing shit out. Their commentary. Their adding in drama unnecessarily. I don't get it. I really don't. Someone proposed I do a paper on their ethics in editing, which I'm seriously considering, but I. Don't. Get. It.

It doesn't make any sense. Unless it turned into a Howard Stern type thing (they tune in because they want to see what he'll say next, even the haters) - did it just become a train wreck that people couldn't turn away from?

Also, they incorrectly ID'd Mark Zuckerburg:

www.cnn.com/2012/08/13/tech/social-media/zuckerberg-olympics-nbc/index.html?hpt=hp_bn5

[marie427]

NBC did some studies and found that people were more likely to watch if they knew the results beforehand. It didn't stop me from watching after I realized there was no way I could avoid the internet every afternoon and evening for 2 straight weeks.

I think those of us who are Olympic freaks will watch anything, and that includes primetime coverage that is tape-delayed. Plus, the live streaming sucked donkey balls and the only way I was going to see something clearly was to watch it on primetime. Then there's also the working public who may not be able to watch the live streaming during the day, so the primetime coverage, as much as it was packaged a little too pretty for my liking, was better than nothing.

Finally, this is purely based on my experiences and perhaps from the ratings (though there may be other factors involved there), but I sense that the Olympics are more and more popular these days than ever before.