And this comes late.
"We have established August 8 as National Fitness Day to fully embody... the government's loving concern for the life and prosperity of the people," sports minister Liu Peng said in an address outside the iconic Bird's Nest national stadium.
The first anniversary of the Beijing Olympics!
---
Beijing marks Olympic Games first anniversary
AFP
Source - The Times of India, August 8 2009
BEIJING: China marked the first anniversary of the Beijing Olympics on Saturday with its first national sports day that saw up to 34,000 people gather for the world's largest martial arts exercise.
"We have established August 8 as National Fitness Day to fully embody... the government's loving concern for the life and prosperity of the people," sports minister Liu Peng said in an address outside the iconic Bird's Nest national stadium.
"This is a vivid reflection of the legacy that the Beijing Olympics has left for the people, the society and our system."
Liu's remarks came as nearly 34,000 people dressed in white silk performed "taiqiquan," or martial arts shadow boxing, in the drizzling rain outside the stadium early Saturday morning.
Ranging in age from seven to 65, the shadow boxers hope to set a Guinness world record for the largest martial arts exercise, organisers said.
A year after the Beijing Olympics, reminders of the Games' physical impact are visible throughout the capital, but so are signs of the many ways in which the event could not change China.
China has a collection of state-of-the-art venues and can also point to the new Olympic subway lines that now transport millions of Beijingers to work.
But there is also the choking smog that has returned to the city, and the dissidents jailed in the past year for speaking out against a government that had promised "tremendous" human rights improvements in bidding for the Games.
"The successful hosting of the Olympic Games is the result of China's social and economic development," Cui Dalin, vice minister of the general administration of sports said.
"Without a strong nation we would not have had a successful Beijing Olympics."
Saturday night over 60,000 fans are expected to watch International Milan face rival Lazio in the first sporting event to be held in the Bird's Nest since the paralympics ended in September.
The stadium, made of a lattice of cement and steel, has largely served as a tourist attraction since the Games ended, prompting criticism that many costly Olympic venues are sitting idle and not being used for sporting events.
Showing posts with label Beijing OIympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beijing OIympics. Show all posts
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
2008 - A year of tragedy and triumph for Beijing
A year of tragedy and triumph for Beijing
By Kent Ewing
from the Asia Times Online
HONG KONG - The stunning pyrotechnical display that opened the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in August is a fitting image to remember as China closes the book on 2008. A year that was rocked by trial and tragedy ultimately culminated in explosive triumph, with Beijing staging what was, by many accounts, the most successful Olympics ever.
The country reveled in its Olympic glory after the devastating winter storms with which the year had begun and the far more devastating earthquake that followed. And there was also lots of pre-Olympic anxiety and doubt as protests against China's human rights record and stance on Tibet dogged the international leg of the Olympic torch relay and athletes worried about competing in Beijing's foul air.
But the protests mercifully stopped once the torch arrived on Chinese soil, and the Beijing air magically cleared during the Games, thanks to a special traffic scheme and massive government-imposed factory shutdowns. After 17 flawlessly organized days of compelling athletic competition, the international protests had largely turned to praise. Beijing's official coming-out party had been a marvelous success, and the Chinese nation and its worldwide diaspora could breathe a tremendous sigh of relief.
Now, of course, although that grand Olympic memory lives proudly on, it has been undercut by an economic crisis that began with high-rollers on Wall Street but may soon threaten social stability among ordinary Chinese.
On December 18, the Communist Party celebrated the 30th anniversary of the launch of former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms, which have propelled the country into the first rank of nations and generated double-digit economic growth in nine of the past 16 years. But China's economic juggernaut is expected to slow to 7.5% growth next year, a level that authorities worry could spark social unrest as exports slow, factories close and angry migrant workers head home with little money and no hope.
Keeping a lid on social upheaval will be the main preoccupation of Chinese leaders in 2009, which is likely to be a year filled with more trial than triumph for China. The anniversaries alone that mark next year's calendar indicate that there should be no shortage of drama and that potential for crisis is rife.
Consider this: the new year will bring (let's celebrate with more Olympic-style pyrotechnics) the 60th anniversary of the birth of the People's Republic of China, but it will also be (let's worry with arrests of dissidents and, possibly, violent suppression) the 20th anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square crackdown and the 50th anniversary of the flight of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's internationally recognized spiritual leader, from his homeland following its takeover by the Chinese.
While 2009 will not have an Olympic theme, brace yourself nevertheless for more fireworks - both actual and metaphorical.
Here for full article.
By Kent Ewing
from the Asia Times Online
HONG KONG - The stunning pyrotechnical display that opened the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in August is a fitting image to remember as China closes the book on 2008. A year that was rocked by trial and tragedy ultimately culminated in explosive triumph, with Beijing staging what was, by many accounts, the most successful Olympics ever.
The country reveled in its Olympic glory after the devastating winter storms with which the year had begun and the far more devastating earthquake that followed. And there was also lots of pre-Olympic anxiety and doubt as protests against China's human rights record and stance on Tibet dogged the international leg of the Olympic torch relay and athletes worried about competing in Beijing's foul air.
But the protests mercifully stopped once the torch arrived on Chinese soil, and the Beijing air magically cleared during the Games, thanks to a special traffic scheme and massive government-imposed factory shutdowns. After 17 flawlessly organized days of compelling athletic competition, the international protests had largely turned to praise. Beijing's official coming-out party had been a marvelous success, and the Chinese nation and its worldwide diaspora could breathe a tremendous sigh of relief.
Now, of course, although that grand Olympic memory lives proudly on, it has been undercut by an economic crisis that began with high-rollers on Wall Street but may soon threaten social stability among ordinary Chinese.
On December 18, the Communist Party celebrated the 30th anniversary of the launch of former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms, which have propelled the country into the first rank of nations and generated double-digit economic growth in nine of the past 16 years. But China's economic juggernaut is expected to slow to 7.5% growth next year, a level that authorities worry could spark social unrest as exports slow, factories close and angry migrant workers head home with little money and no hope.
Keeping a lid on social upheaval will be the main preoccupation of Chinese leaders in 2009, which is likely to be a year filled with more trial than triumph for China. The anniversaries alone that mark next year's calendar indicate that there should be no shortage of drama and that potential for crisis is rife.
Consider this: the new year will bring (let's celebrate with more Olympic-style pyrotechnics) the 60th anniversary of the birth of the People's Republic of China, but it will also be (let's worry with arrests of dissidents and, possibly, violent suppression) the 20th anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square crackdown and the 50th anniversary of the flight of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's internationally recognized spiritual leader, from his homeland following its takeover by the Chinese.
While 2009 will not have an Olympic theme, brace yourself nevertheless for more fireworks - both actual and metaphorical.
Here for full article.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Wow. China used planes, rockets to prevent wet end of Games
China used planes, rockets to prevent wet end of Games
Mon, Aug 25, 2008
AFP
Source http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20080825-84145.html Date of Access 1 September 2008
---
BEIJING, CHINA - Meteorologists dispatched eight planes to release rain dispersal chemicals and fired 241 rockets into incoming clouds to ensure a dry Beijing Olympics closing ceremony, state media said Monday.
Rain clouds from the north of China had started to move towards the capital on Sunday afternoon, Guo Hu, head of the Beijing Observatory, was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying.
"We decided to use planes to cover a larger area, along with firing rain dispersal rockets from the ground," said Zhang Qiang, an official at the Beijing Weather Modification Office, according to Xinhua.
Meteorologists also fired more than 1,000 rockets into clouds on August 8 to prevent showers from ruining the opening ceremony -- the biggest-ever operation of its kind by China.
China has long dabbled in rain dispersal and rain-making technology, using a vast array of chemicals to either induce or prevent rainfall.
Scientists have viewed the technology as promising, but acknowledge that no method has been developed to objectively prove that such techniques work.
Mon, Aug 25, 2008
AFP
Source http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20080825-84145.html Date of Access 1 September 2008
---
BEIJING, CHINA - Meteorologists dispatched eight planes to release rain dispersal chemicals and fired 241 rockets into incoming clouds to ensure a dry Beijing Olympics closing ceremony, state media said Monday.
Rain clouds from the north of China had started to move towards the capital on Sunday afternoon, Guo Hu, head of the Beijing Observatory, was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying.
"We decided to use planes to cover a larger area, along with firing rain dispersal rockets from the ground," said Zhang Qiang, an official at the Beijing Weather Modification Office, according to Xinhua.
Meteorologists also fired more than 1,000 rockets into clouds on August 8 to prevent showers from ruining the opening ceremony -- the biggest-ever operation of its kind by China.
China has long dabbled in rain dispersal and rain-making technology, using a vast array of chemicals to either induce or prevent rainfall.
Scientists have viewed the technology as promising, but acknowledge that no method has been developed to objectively prove that such techniques work.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Olympics Games show China's strength, mask fragility
Sputnik Moment. Lovely analogy. Here's an article attempting to unravel the facade behind the games. From Reuters.
Olympics Games show China's strength, mask fragility
Wed, Aug 06, 2008
Reuters
Source http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Sports/Story/A1Story20080806-80910.html (Date of Access 10 August 2008)
BEIJING - 'Faster, higher, stronger' is the message from China that will resonate at the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday and during its battle with the United States for global sporting supremacy.
The Games are about much more than sport, of course.
For one analyst, the picture of China's Communist Party basking in national triumph amid glittering stadiums could be a 'Sputnik moment' - akin to the emerging Soviet Union's stunning launch of a satellite in 1957 - one that, for many in the West, will inspire as much fear as admiration.
And yet that picture glosses over the fragility of a nation beset by pollution, energy strains, social unrest and rural poverty, all of which were laid bare in the run up to the Games.
These have become party-spoiling leitmotifs of the Beijing Games story, along with condemnation of China's human rights record, anger over its restrictions on media and Western doubts about its will to reform and act as a responsible global power.
'Whatever the longer-term implications of the 2008 Olympics, what has transpired thus far bears little resemblance to Beijing's dreams of Olympic glory', US-based Council on Foreign Relations senior fellows Ms Elizabeth C. Economy and Mr Adam Segal wrote in a recent paper, 'China's Olympic Nightmare'.
'Rather than basking in the admiration of the world, China is beset by internal protests and international condemnation'.
Sick man no more
China's rapidly expanding economy has become a crucial locomotive as recession looms around the globe. It is no longer the 'sick man of Asia', and Beijing's Olympics will be an in-your-face confirmation.
'For China, this is the crystalisation of three decades of modernisation, a big show and tell, their big moment in the sun', said Prof Victor Cha, head of Asian studies at Georgetown University in Washington, and a former White House adviser on Asia.
For all the dividends of China's burgeoning trade and investment links with the outside world, however, a 'rising China' is seen by much of the West as a threat...
For the full article, go here.
Olympics Games show China's strength, mask fragility
Wed, Aug 06, 2008
Reuters
Source http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Sports/Story/A1Story20080806-80910.html (Date of Access 10 August 2008)
BEIJING - 'Faster, higher, stronger' is the message from China that will resonate at the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday and during its battle with the United States for global sporting supremacy.
The Games are about much more than sport, of course.
For one analyst, the picture of China's Communist Party basking in national triumph amid glittering stadiums could be a 'Sputnik moment' - akin to the emerging Soviet Union's stunning launch of a satellite in 1957 - one that, for many in the West, will inspire as much fear as admiration.
And yet that picture glosses over the fragility of a nation beset by pollution, energy strains, social unrest and rural poverty, all of which were laid bare in the run up to the Games.
These have become party-spoiling leitmotifs of the Beijing Games story, along with condemnation of China's human rights record, anger over its restrictions on media and Western doubts about its will to reform and act as a responsible global power.
'Whatever the longer-term implications of the 2008 Olympics, what has transpired thus far bears little resemblance to Beijing's dreams of Olympic glory', US-based Council on Foreign Relations senior fellows Ms Elizabeth C. Economy and Mr Adam Segal wrote in a recent paper, 'China's Olympic Nightmare'.
'Rather than basking in the admiration of the world, China is beset by internal protests and international condemnation'.
Sick man no more
China's rapidly expanding economy has become a crucial locomotive as recession looms around the globe. It is no longer the 'sick man of Asia', and Beijing's Olympics will be an in-your-face confirmation.
'For China, this is the crystalisation of three decades of modernisation, a big show and tell, their big moment in the sun', said Prof Victor Cha, head of Asian studies at Georgetown University in Washington, and a former White House adviser on Asia.
For all the dividends of China's burgeoning trade and investment links with the outside world, however, a 'rising China' is seen by much of the West as a threat...
For the full article, go here.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Significant Numbers - the Opening Ceremony
100 million - $US spent on the opening and closing ceremonies by Beijing officials.
15,000 - singers, musicians, dancers and other performers used during the three-hour spectacular.
5,000 - of whom were drawn from the Chinese Liberation Army.
1 - electric fan placed in each flag pole, thus circumventing the still conditions inside the Bird's Nest.
29,000 - rounds of fireworks.
230 - Australian athletes who marched at the National Stadium from a squad of 433.
90,000 - spectators, the stadium's capacity, attended the opening of the Games.
205 - nations attending the 29th Olympic games.
08/08/08 - the date chosen for the opening ceremony. Eight is considered a lucky number to the Chinese. The production began at 8.08 pm, local time.
4 billion - viewers worldwide who took in the ceremony.
Source: The Age http://www.theage.com.au/news/latest-news/beijings-perfect-opening/2008/08/08/1218139087755.html?page=2 (date of Access 9 August 2008)
15,000 - singers, musicians, dancers and other performers used during the three-hour spectacular.
5,000 - of whom were drawn from the Chinese Liberation Army.
1 - electric fan placed in each flag pole, thus circumventing the still conditions inside the Bird's Nest.
29,000 - rounds of fireworks.
230 - Australian athletes who marched at the National Stadium from a squad of 433.
90,000 - spectators, the stadium's capacity, attended the opening of the Games.
205 - nations attending the 29th Olympic games.
08/08/08 - the date chosen for the opening ceremony. Eight is considered a lucky number to the Chinese. The production began at 8.08 pm, local time.
4 billion - viewers worldwide who took in the ceremony.
Source: The Age http://www.theage.com.au/news/latest-news/beijings-perfect-opening/2008/08/08/1218139087755.html?page=2 (date of Access 9 August 2008)
The Opening Ceremony
8th August 2008 and 8.08pm local time China. (thanks Shu Ling for pointing it out)
How much more fortunate can I get? 8.8.8.8.8, that's as Chinese as Chinese can be.
So the Opening Ceremony came and went without much of a hitch. The smog lost in its valiant battle to douse the Chinese Olympic endeavour and was seemingly blown away by the massive pyrotechnics and very stunning LED technology put to use. I just wonder if all that fireworks would have possibly added to the pollution the athletes would have to deal with the next day!
Nevertheless, the Ceremony did a more than decent job rousing strong pro-roots, i.e. pro-Chinese sentiments for me as I felt instances of connection with my lost heritage. What I found particularly gripping was when little kids representing the 56 ethnic groups of China passed on the Chinese flag to a squad of Chinese soldiers - symbolic in what direction, I'll have to leave it to the minds of all that saw that.
To digress, I must applaud the dancing/cheering girls for keeping up that energy for like 2 hours cheering on all the marchpast teams. Most looked evidently worn out from the repetitive moves accompanied by repetitive (thematic) music from around the world. But kudos to them for keeping the smiles on. Another point of digression (yet it could be of cultural significance) is how the Chinese love the concept of flying around on wire. Apparent since the days of Wong Fei Hong-esque martial arts flicks, this was clearly extended to this opening ceremony, which coincidentally was directed by Zhang Yimou (famous for his ancient China flicks, with yes, flying people all over the place). We had flying damsels, astronauts and even a flying former Olympic gymnast lighting the Olympic flame.
Another pertinent point was that of Taiwan. For some background on the origins of tension between China and Taiwan, read here. Otherwise, proceed to read below!
Taiwan to boycott Beijing Olympics if status is downgraded
Source http://www.topnews.in/sports/taiwan-boycott-beijing-olympics-if-status-downgraded-22655 (Date of Access 9 August 2008)
---
"Taipei - Taiwan on Thursday threatened to boycott the Beijing Olympics if China downgrades the island's status by calling it "China-Taipei" instead of "Chinese-Taipei" as defined by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
"During the Beijing Olympics, if China-Taipei is used or appears at the Olympics venue, we will walk out the games," Tai Hsia-ling, director of the Sports Affairs Council, told a cabinet meeting.
"Since the Los Angeles Olympic Games, the Taiwan team has been using the name Chinese-Taipei at every Olympic Games. China must respect the IOC decision," she said.
Tai made the remark because in the run-up to the August 8-24 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese media has been referring to the Taiwan team as the China-Taipei team, not the IOC-approved Chinese-Taipei team.
Although the two names look similar to foreigners, it is very sensitive to Taiwan because China-Taipei means Taiwan is part of China, while Chinese-Taipei means Taiwan is part of the Chinese ethnic group."
---
This last point's extremely pertinent as it provokes the question of what it means being Chinese. Is it an ethnic matter, a geographical matter, a socio-geographical matter, the list goes on.
Now the hunt begins to discover the thoughts of overseas-born Chinese after watching this massively "China is Back" rendition of grandeur, exuberance and sheer spectacular.
The Significant Figure of this blog entry is - - -
2008 drummers of the opening act. 110,000 policeman and security forces on standby. Massive figures, no?
How much more fortunate can I get? 8.8.8.8.8, that's as Chinese as Chinese can be.
So the Opening Ceremony came and went without much of a hitch. The smog lost in its valiant battle to douse the Chinese Olympic endeavour and was seemingly blown away by the massive pyrotechnics and very stunning LED technology put to use. I just wonder if all that fireworks would have possibly added to the pollution the athletes would have to deal with the next day!
Nevertheless, the Ceremony did a more than decent job rousing strong pro-roots, i.e. pro-Chinese sentiments for me as I felt instances of connection with my lost heritage. What I found particularly gripping was when little kids representing the 56 ethnic groups of China passed on the Chinese flag to a squad of Chinese soldiers - symbolic in what direction, I'll have to leave it to the minds of all that saw that.
To digress, I must applaud the dancing/cheering girls for keeping up that energy for like 2 hours cheering on all the marchpast teams. Most looked evidently worn out from the repetitive moves accompanied by repetitive (thematic) music from around the world. But kudos to them for keeping the smiles on. Another point of digression (yet it could be of cultural significance) is how the Chinese love the concept of flying around on wire. Apparent since the days of Wong Fei Hong-esque martial arts flicks, this was clearly extended to this opening ceremony, which coincidentally was directed by Zhang Yimou (famous for his ancient China flicks, with yes, flying people all over the place). We had flying damsels, astronauts and even a flying former Olympic gymnast lighting the Olympic flame.
Another pertinent point was that of Taiwan. For some background on the origins of tension between China and Taiwan, read here. Otherwise, proceed to read below!
Taiwan to boycott Beijing Olympics if status is downgraded
Source http://www.topnews.in/sports/taiwan-boycott-beijing-olympics-if-status-downgraded-22655 (Date of Access 9 August 2008)
---
"Taipei - Taiwan on Thursday threatened to boycott the Beijing Olympics if China downgrades the island's status by calling it "China-Taipei" instead of "Chinese-Taipei" as defined by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
"During the Beijing Olympics, if China-Taipei is used or appears at the Olympics venue, we will walk out the games," Tai Hsia-ling, director of the Sports Affairs Council, told a cabinet meeting.
"Since the Los Angeles Olympic Games, the Taiwan team has been using the name Chinese-Taipei at every Olympic Games. China must respect the IOC decision," she said.
Tai made the remark because in the run-up to the August 8-24 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese media has been referring to the Taiwan team as the China-Taipei team, not the IOC-approved Chinese-Taipei team.
Although the two names look similar to foreigners, it is very sensitive to Taiwan because China-Taipei means Taiwan is part of China, while Chinese-Taipei means Taiwan is part of the Chinese ethnic group."
---
This last point's extremely pertinent as it provokes the question of what it means being Chinese. Is it an ethnic matter, a geographical matter, a socio-geographical matter, the list goes on.
Now the hunt begins to discover the thoughts of overseas-born Chinese after watching this massively "China is Back" rendition of grandeur, exuberance and sheer spectacular.
The Significant Figure of this blog entry is - - -
2008 drummers of the opening act. 110,000 policeman and security forces on standby. Massive figures, no?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
An Aussie view on the Olympics
An Australian sporting perspective on the coming Beijing Games.
---
"The chip on China's shoulder
August 06, 2008 | John Birmingham
(Source http://blogs.theage.com.au/olympics/johnbirmingham/2008/08/06/thechiponchi.html Date of Access 05 August 2008)
They were the Middle Kingdom, the cradle of civilisation (yeah, yeah, I know, Mesopotamia and Egypt and all those other guys, but lets just ignore them for now). The Chinese dynasties, they were rockin’ the house when our hapless, barbarian ancestors were still perfecting their whole Dark Ages ignorance thing.
Then it all goes pear-shaped. The Poms whip in to carve off Hong Kong and run a very profitable opium racket. Japan invades and absolutely disgraces itself. Even turning Red doesn’t win the respect of old Joe Stalin who was, like, totally condescending about Chairman Mao’s dictator chops, and then Vietnam, tiny little Vietnam, kicks a whole heap o’ Chinese butt in a short, embarrassing war in 1979.
That’s the sort of history gives a country a chip on the shoulder, and if anyone knows about shoulder chips it has to be us down here in Vegemiteville. We could teach the Chinese a post-graduate course in performance anxiety on the global stage.
Will they notice me will they love me omigod omigod omigod will they even know I’M ALIVE?
There was a comment in one of our earlier blogs from an expat, resident in China for the past five years, who testified to just how important medal success will be for the host country. A comment from a Beijing cabbie summed it up for him.
“China is going to ‘finally beat the foreigners’ at the Olympics.”
It’s an anxious underdog frame of mind that we should be able to understand because it’s so often our natural state of being. Just have a look around the site here and check out how much wordage is devoted to the obsessive, molecular level analysis of how many medals ‘we’ are likely to bring home - when ‘we’ won’t be doing anything of the sort. ‘We’ will be sitting on our fat, hairy butts in front of the teev, inhaling triple cheese pizzas and bags of corn chips, breaking into a rancid sweat and heart flutters every time we have to reach for the magic stick to mute the insufferable waffle of the network commentary.
So yeah. It is kind of embarrassing that the hosts are investing so much face in how they perform in front the world.
But that would make them different from the rest of us because…?
I wonder some days if other countries even do this. Or are we the neediness champions of the world?"
---
"The chip on China's shoulder
August 06, 2008 | John Birmingham
(Source http://blogs.theage.com.au/olympics/johnbirmingham/2008/08/06/thechiponchi.html Date of Access 05 August 2008)
They were the Middle Kingdom, the cradle of civilisation (yeah, yeah, I know, Mesopotamia and Egypt and all those other guys, but lets just ignore them for now). The Chinese dynasties, they were rockin’ the house when our hapless, barbarian ancestors were still perfecting their whole Dark Ages ignorance thing.
Then it all goes pear-shaped. The Poms whip in to carve off Hong Kong and run a very profitable opium racket. Japan invades and absolutely disgraces itself. Even turning Red doesn’t win the respect of old Joe Stalin who was, like, totally condescending about Chairman Mao’s dictator chops, and then Vietnam, tiny little Vietnam, kicks a whole heap o’ Chinese butt in a short, embarrassing war in 1979.
That’s the sort of history gives a country a chip on the shoulder, and if anyone knows about shoulder chips it has to be us down here in Vegemiteville. We could teach the Chinese a post-graduate course in performance anxiety on the global stage.
Will they notice me will they love me omigod omigod omigod will they even know I’M ALIVE?
There was a comment in one of our earlier blogs from an expat, resident in China for the past five years, who testified to just how important medal success will be for the host country. A comment from a Beijing cabbie summed it up for him.
“China is going to ‘finally beat the foreigners’ at the Olympics.”
It’s an anxious underdog frame of mind that we should be able to understand because it’s so often our natural state of being. Just have a look around the site here and check out how much wordage is devoted to the obsessive, molecular level analysis of how many medals ‘we’ are likely to bring home - when ‘we’ won’t be doing anything of the sort. ‘We’ will be sitting on our fat, hairy butts in front of the teev, inhaling triple cheese pizzas and bags of corn chips, breaking into a rancid sweat and heart flutters every time we have to reach for the magic stick to mute the insufferable waffle of the network commentary.
So yeah. It is kind of embarrassing that the hosts are investing so much face in how they perform in front the world.
But that would make them different from the rest of us because…?
I wonder some days if other countries even do this. Or are we the neediness champions of the world?"
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