Highlights of the games

[Spikey]

due to timezones, I don't really see much of the cycling, swimming or the athletics to any real degree. some of my highlights (which includes disappointments) were:

- the men's archery final between Kim Woo-jin/Brady Ellison was insane (https://www.worldarchery.sport/news/201766/brady-vs-woojin-greatest-final-ever). one of my favourite sport things I've seen recently.
- the woman's QF between Lisa Barbelin/Diananda Choirunisa had one of the most amazing chokes I've ever seen (https://www.eurosport.com/olympics/sport/archery/event/women-individual/match/arw070303/). France/Germany in the handball was also a great choke (https://www.si.com/olympics/germany-france-handball-buzzer-beater-overtime-winner)
- all the diving I saw was brilliant. Quan Hongchan & Chen Yuxi are simply amazing. Rikuto Tamai stuffing up one dive and costing him the gold was tough watching.
- both the basketball finals had great finishes
- the peaks of skateboarding & speed climbing were again tip top.

 

[Spikey]

I found the Olympics viewing via StanSports in Australia to be worth the $15 and a highlight, albeit it took a couple of days to 'master' it's strengths which isn't ideal in a 16 day rush. I signed up not knowing it would give me the international feeds and I'd be able to completely miss two weeks of Aussie commentators talking about how pride we are of X athlete. I probably would have paid $115 for that service tbh.

 

[social]

I found the Olympics viewing via StanSports in Australia to be worth the $15 and a highlight, albeit it took a couple of days to 'master' it's strengths which isn't ideal in a 16 day rush. I signed up not knowing it would give me the international feeds and I'd be able to completely miss two weeks of Aussie commentators talking about how pride we are of X athlete. I probably would have paid $115 for that service tbh.

Tbf, I found most of our commentators pretty good

However, I channel surf when there’s a break in the action so don’t cop much of their analysis or interviews

 

[Spark]

I found the Olympics viewing via StanSports in Australia to be worth the $15 and a highlight, albeit it took a couple of days to 'master' it's strengths which isn't ideal in a 16 day rush. I signed up not knowing it would give me the international feeds and I'd be able to completely miss two weeks of Aussie commentators talking about how pride we are of X athlete. I probably would have paid $115 for that service tbh.

Getting the international feed on Stan made it 100% worth the price of subscription on it own, even before the fact that it has actual replays of every event

 

[Tom Flint]

The crowds were amazing, full houses at every event I watched, just like the rugby wc the French really do come out and support all events well. Other than domestic football where games are often abandoned.
The arenas were great to, the set up for fencing was unreal.

 

[Molehill]

The crowds were amazing, full houses at every event I watched, just like the rugby wc the French really do come out and support all events well. Other than domestic football where games are often abandoned.
The arenas were great to, the set up for fencing was unreal.

Very true, landmarks and existing venues were really well used. The location of Paris made it easy for most of Europe to get to too, I know a few English families who did 3 days out there. There were probably sports where the French were less into and they relied on foreign fans to fill up stadia (hockey for example), but it was made easy to do so.

Brisbane, in particular, is really going to struggle on this front.

 

[Tom Flint]

Very true, landmarks and existing venues were really well used. The location of Paris made it easy for most of Europe to get to too, I know a few English families who did 3 days out there. There were probably sports where the French were less into and they relied on foreign fans to fill up stadia (hockey for example), but it was made easy to do so.

Brisbane, in particular, is really going to struggle on this front.

Also doesn't have any landmarks.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

I think people have covered the main ones already: incredible athletes doing ridiculous things (e.g. Marchand, McLaughlin-Levone, Mondo) and dramatic finishes (e.g. men's 100m, Pidcock, Yee, the Bol relay.)

More personally just been a fun event to share with my family. I knew my eldest (7 years old and a sports fan) was gonna love it but my wife and younger two kids really got into it as well. Diving, gymnastics, climbing, triathlon & park skateboarding have all been hits here. My eldest two have staged their own long jump, high jump and breaking contests in our living room, and even my two year old spontaneously started to do handstands against the sofa when the gymnastics was on.

 

[Spikey]

Looks like the Olympics YouTube channell had started uploading non-geoblocked highlights...? That's cool too

 

[shortpitched713]

USA athletics dominance was ****ing cool. Women's 4X400 was insane if you look at how far of the track length our runner ended up being by the end.

And basketball dominance in a year where we were told the world has totally caught up to us, and we'll be lucky to hold off all those superiorly coached, superiorly strategizing Europeans, was just that much more satisfying.

 

[Coronis]

USA athletics dominance was ****ing cool. Women's 4X400 was insane if you look at how far of the track length our runner ended up being by the end.

And basketball dominance in a year where we were told the world has totally caught up to us, and we'll be lucky to hold off all those superiorly coached, superiorly strategizing Europeans, was just that much more satisfying.

Really?

 

[Burgey]

x.com

x.com

 

[ripper868]

Really?

beating Serbia by 4 points is absolute

D O M I N A T I O N
O
M
I
N
A
T
I
O
N

 

[Molehill]

Jemaine Clement on X: "I've been to Australia. That was their best dancer." / X

Still the best thing to come out of NZ!!

 

[flibbertyjibber]

 

[shortpitched713]

Really?

Maybe too strong a word, but we didn't lose.

 

[Ali TT]

Maybe too strong a word, but we didn't lose.

It's probably for another thread but once KD, James, Chef and their generation are gone, Team US unlikely to ever have that same fear factor again.

 

[shortpitched713]

It's probably for another thread but once KD, James, Chef and their generation are gone, Team US unlikely to ever have that same fear factor again.

Eh, the reports of US team demise aren't actually that new. Similar ideas floated around after the Dream Team (and next few iterations) players got old and retired, which reached a crescendo after 2004 Bronze.

I will say basketball as a sport is becoming quite a bit more high variance due to the 3 pt shooting boom, so that randomness factor can certainly undercut the dominance of any great team. But I don't suspect the US to fall from the top spot anytime soon (especially if they continue aggressive recruitment and naturalization efforts ) .

 

[Ali TT]

Eh, the reports of US team demise aren't actually that new. Similar ideas floated around after the Dream Team (and next few iterations) players got old and retired, which reached a crescendo after 2004 Bronze.

I will say basketball as a sport is becoming quite a bit more high variance due to the 3 pt shooting boom, so that randomness factor can certainly undercut the dominance of any great team. But I don't suspect the US to fall from the top spot anytime soon (especially if they continue aggressive recruitment and naturalization efforts ) .

US still has the strength in depth, and it will stay that way for the foreseeable, but unlike twenty years ago, the best players are from the rest of the world.

 

[shortpitched713]

US still has the strength in depth, and it will stay that way for the foreseeable, but unlike twenty years ago, the best players are from the rest of the world.

Embiid plays for us, dawg.