Field Theory by Hadyn Green

The Olympics are dropping right into a Britain in foment. It's going to be a bloody interesting month. Who knows what will happen?

A young Russell Brown showed up as well and we all had a grand old time.

I was just a pup.

Seems just about every modern Olympics have had politics intrude to one degree or another.

1916 - Not held due to WW1
1936 - Showcase for the 3rd Reich, Jesse Owens
1940 & 1944 - Not held due to WW2
1956 - Blood in the Water match
1964 - Suspension of South Africa due to apartheid
1968 - The Black Power Salute & Tlatelolco Massacre
1972 - Munich Massacre
1976 - African boycott (all because of NZ at the time) & The 'Big Owe'
1980 - Western boycott, Władysław Kozakiewicz doing the 'elbow' to Soviet officials
1984 - Eastern boycott & the most commercialised Games in its day
1988 - North Korean boycott, Ben Johnson
1996 - Eric Rudolph
2000 - As above
2004 - As above, & costs likely one of the factors behind Greece's fiscal predicament
2008 - As above
2012 - As above

Double dip recession too.

At least there's Mitt Romney to keep everyone amused.

What a disastrous trip to London -- and what an epic smackdown from David Cameron.

My interesting factoid is that the 1948 Olympics cost GBP600k = GBP17 million in todays money. This one is $9bln (not including aircraft carriers).

234% inflation.

What do we get for all the extra money?

The actual opening ceremony wouldn’t start for a few hours but we had everything we needed to predict what would happen: two bottles of rum, beers and assorted wine.

So, this year we’re doing it right. The aforementioned ingredients, but actually on time. At 8am. This Olympics may kill me.

I adore the olympics. I forget every four years, but I get so excited every time. There’s just something about the prospect of staying up til the middle of the night watching handball, or rhythmic gymnastics, or fencing. Next thing you know, I am an expert in said obscure sport, and have begun yelling “He’s been doing it all day, ref!”.

Which is to say, I take all the grumbling with a grain of salt, and an attitude of ‘fuck off and let me have my fun’.

This year’s crop *is* entertaining, though.

And yet, a master of poetry....

Lo & behold, Banksy strikes again. The good Banksy, that is.

From the first few days of competition, I think one good story is that of Im Dong-hyun who has set the first World Record of this games (in archery) and is legally blind.

Lo & behold, Banksy strikes again.

I hope he continues. Excellent.

m Dong-hyun who has set the first World Record of this games (in archery) and is legally blind.

Report

YAY!
As someone who spent their life up until first cataract operation (3 years ago) as legally blind, I can only shout RESPECT!
(We do sort of see - my dominant eye saw very well- the other one....)

my dominant eye saw very well- the other one…

....not so much :)

Yup!
Actually, it learned to interpret - blurs

-which is what that wonderful archer does (I think!)

(I shoot (guns/shanghais) extremely accurrately and - kind of weirdly - I can chop wooden things within 10 mm- using an ax/adze/machete-

maybe this is why strange seemingly disabling eye conditions continue?

There’s just something about the prospect of staying up til the middle of the night watching handball, or rhythmic gymnastics, or fencing.

I have to stop watching this road race and go to bed. Why can't I?

Paul Lukas from the Uniwatch blog and ESPN said...

Paul Lukas also likes our jackets. Which is pretty cool:

"Be seeing you." The jackets being worn by the New Zealand men for the opening ceremonies look exactly like the iconic jacket worn by Patrick McGoohan in the classic 1960s TV series "The Prisoner." Do people in New Zealand know about "The Prisoner"? Does anyone reading this column know about "The Prisoner"? Even if the answers are no and no, it's still a pretty cool coincidence.