The Olympics has shown me....

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by jhunt223

Just how boring and pathetic most peoples lives are...... People are sitting around watching sports they know nothing about and almost crying just because their own country won. Nothing but sheep. Too much pride. Your country or nationality are nothing to be proud of... you're born into them. You can be happy about those things but.. proud? Thats ridiculous. Be proud of your own accomplishments.... The country didn't win any medals. You didn't win any medals. The athletes won those medals, not Canada. If you think for one second that any of these athletes compete for their country, you're gullible. Also, i learned that the Canadian womens hockey team are hillbillies.

[Art Vandelay]

Originally Posted by Phil Ivey

Also I've learned that swedish women are hotter in person

Were they twins? Riding ponies perhaps?

[jhunt223]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Boring and pathetic as opposed to your wonderful and fulfilling life of going to on the interwebs and berrating people for cheering on their country? You sure showed us! I stand humbled in your presence!

Yup, going on to my favorite hockey teams forum and commenting on something must mean i lead an unfulfilling life. Believe me i wouldn't try to 'show' people like you. I simply put it out there so that anybody else who can see the hysteria surrounding the olympics for what it really is can appreciate my point of view. Or wait.. maybe... im going about this all wrong. Maybe i should go buy 300 dollars worth of canadian olympic clothing and cheer on some people skiing around with guns shooting things because they live in the same imaginary lines as me.

[jhunt223]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i dare you to tell that to any of our Canadian athletes. i'm pretty sure that they would label kicking your ass as representing their country as well

Alright, lets start with the figure skaters.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by jhunt223

Yup, going on to my favorite hockey teams forum and commenting on something must mean i lead an unfulfilling life. Believe me i wouldn't try to 'show' people like you. I simply put it out there so that anybody else who can see the hysteria surrounding the olympics for what it really is can appreciate my point of view. Or wait.. maybe... im going about this all wrong. Maybe i should go buy 300 dollars worth of canadian olympic clothing and cheer on some people skiing around with guns shooting things because they live in the same imaginary lines as me.

But it makes me feel good.

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by jhunt223

Yup, going on to my favorite hockey teams forum

Would you say you're a proud Flames fan? But you don't play on the team? You're not part of management?

Hmm...

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by jhunt223

Yup, going on to my favorite hockey teams forum and commenting on something must mean i lead an unfulfilling life. Believe me i wouldn't try to 'show' people like you. I simply put it out there so that anybody else who can see the hysteria surrounding the olympics for what it really is can appreciate my point of view. Or wait.. maybe... im going about this all wrong. Maybe i should go buy 300 dollars worth of canadian olympic clothing and cheer on some people skiing around with guns shooting things because they live in the same imaginary lines as me.

I'm just demonstrating my point that you're (probably purposely) being a dink in assuming people lead unfulfilling lives just because, unlike you, they have pride in their nation and like to cheer for athletes participating in the olympics.

You don't like the olympics and what it stands for? Fine, all the power to you. But get off your high horse in saying everyone else is sheep because we like having a good time and enjoy cheering on our athletes at the olympics.

I just don't get why people feel the need to cut down other people just because they enjoy different things. Does it make you feel better?

[Coach]

Originally Posted by jhunt223

Alright, lets start with the figure skaters.

you mean the male figure skaters who can life 110 lbs of girl straight over their head with one arm while holding a composed look and then throw them into the air with enough velocity that they can do 3 full spins and land 15 feet away. Yeah those guys arent strong...

[jhunt223]

Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty

Would you say you're a proud Flames fan? But you don't play on the team? You're not part of management?

Hmm...

Yes.. but the difference is that Ive been a fan of them for years. I played hockey growing up. I know everything about the team and the game. Well.. maybe not everything, but a lot. How many Canadians even knew that some of these athletes existed before the CBC I Believe ad campaign?

[jhunt223]

Originally Posted by MattyC

you mean the male figure skaters who can life 110 lbs of girl straight over their head with one arm while holding a composed look and then throw them into the air with enough velocity that they can do 3 full spins and land 15 feet away. Yeah those guys arent strong...

Most of that is technique. It isn't like they're muscling them up from the ground. But, i suppose, if were going to get into a jumping twirling 360 degrees fight i'd run away with my tail between my legs.

[Netskot]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

Your kidding right?

proof?

and I hope you're not referring to the ones dealing with the unrest in Tibet because you KNOW that and this are as different as night and day.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by jhunt223

Yes.. but the difference is that Ive been a fan of them for years. I played hockey growing up. I know everything about the team and the game. Well.. maybe not everything, but a lot. How many Canadians even knew that some of these athletes existed before the CBC I Believe ad campaign?

So some flames prospect that you've never heard of all of a sudden breaks out and makes the team out of nowhere and does well. You dont cheer for him? The sport is the Olympics, the team is Canada. Whether theyre playing hockey or biathlon theyre on the same team. If you dont want to cheer for the team fine dont, but dont chastise people who do.

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by jhunt223

Yes.. but the difference is that Ive been a fan of them for years. I played hockey growing up. I know everything about the team and the game. Well.. maybe not everything, but a lot. How many Canadians even knew that some of these athletes existed before the CBC I Believe ad campaign?

Main Entry: fad
Pronunciation: \ˈfad\
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1867
: a practice or interest followed for a time with exaggerated zeal : craze

People flock. You'll get used to it.

[jhunt223]

Originally Posted by MattyC

So some flames prospect that you've never heard of all of a sudden breaks out and makes the team out of nowhere and does well. You dont cheer for him? The sport is the Olympics, the team is Canada. Whether theyre playing hockey or biathlon theyre on the same team. If you dont want to cheer for the team fine dont, but dont chastise people who do.

Can you honestly say you dont see the difference between me cheering for a new prospect on the flames and me cheering for some travelling extravaganza of athletes that blesses some lucky city in the world with such awesomeness as skiing around and shooting things every 4 years? It's like a circus. I guess i might as well wet myself everytime Canada competes in anything. Spelling bees?
Like i said i wasn't trying to cut anyone who cheers for them down -- just stating my opinion. Some people have challenged it, so im defending it.

[jhunt223]

Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty

Main Entry: fad
Pronunciation: \ˈfad\
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1867
: a practice or interest followed for a time with exaggerated zeal : craze

People flock. You'll get used to it.

I won't, trust me.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by jhunt223

Just how boring and pathetic most peoples lives are...... People are sitting around watching sports they know nothing about and almost crying just because their own country won. Nothing but sheep. Too much pride. Your country or nationality are nothing to be proud of... you're born into them. You can be happy about those things but.. proud? Thats ridiculous. Be proud of your own accomplishments.... The country didn't win any medals. You didn't win any medals. The athletes won those medals, not Canada. If you think for one second that any of these athletes compete for their country, you're gullible. Also, i learned that the Canadian womens hockey team are hillbillies.

Originally Posted by jhunt223

Like i said i wasn't trying to cut anyone who cheers for them down -- just stating my opinion.

Do you care to do some backpedaling now?

[afc wimbledon]

Brian McKeever intent on fun as first Paralympian in Winter Olympics

The near-blind Canadian skier says competing in the 50km cross-country really is all about the taking part for him

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• • Lawrence Donegan in Vancouver
  • guardian.co.uk, Friday 26 February 2010 10.50 GMT
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Brian McKeever trains ahead of the mens 50km cross-country skiing race in Vancouver. Photograph: Todd Korol/Reuters

The multiple medal winners, the glamour pusses of the alpine hills, the Lindsey Vonns and Bode Millers, have taken the glory and sponsors' dollars but the chances are that a Canadian cross-country skier with modest ambition might sneak in at the last minute and take the unofficial title as "athlete of the 2010 winter Olympics".
On Sunday Brian McKeever, the first athlete to compete in the Winter Olympic and the Paralympic games, will get the chance to measure himself against the world's best in the men's 50km cross-country skiing. He is not likely to win gold but given he has less than 10% of his vision the significance of the moment lies not in where he finishes, only that he competes.
"The Olympics, at its ideal, is about the athletes of the world coming together and competing on fair and level playing fields," McKeever said. "That's a really beautiful thing. It really is about taking part." A beautiful thing, indeed.
McKeever, a multi-medal winner at the Paralympic games, normally competes with his brother Robin as his guide but tomorrow he will be on his own – a daunting prospect for anyone involved in the mass start of the 50km but well-nigh unimaginable for the Canadian, who has only limited peripheral vision. "The starts can be kind of crazy but it's kind of organised chaos at times," he says. His tactic will be to find his place and then follow the athlete in front of him round the route. "The main thing will be to remember the other skiers aren't there to help me but to beat me."
Twelve years ago, McKeever – a highly rated cross-country skier at the time – was diagnosed with Stargardt's disease, a genetic condition that affects the central vision ("I see the doughnuts – not the hole in the middle"). His father also has the disease. Two years later, he was declared legally blind.
"After the diagnosis all these emotions rushed in and you try to make sense of it, and sometimes we fear the worst. But I looked at my dad and saw how it never stopped him. I realised it didn't have to be a limiting factor and it's best just to get on living life. To be honest with you, I don't think this has taken much away from me,'' he says.
Five Paralympians have competed in the Olympics, but all have been summer-sport athletes, including the American runner Marla Runyan who, like McKeever, suffered from Stargardt's. She finished eighth in the 2000 women's 1500m final.
McKeever earned his place on the Canadian team in December after winning a 50km able-bodied race in Alberta. His selection was announced in January, and as the world's media descended on Vancouver the skier was overwhelmed with interview requests. "It was clear straight away that this is no longer a nice Canadian cross-country ski story," says Chris Dornan, the press officer for the Canadian cross-country ski team. "Everybody, but everybody, called."
And what those who called found was a self-effacing young man, as modest as he is inspiring. "I'm not going to stand here and say I'm going to win a gold medal. I don't think I have the experience for that. But what I can say is I'm going to go into the race in the best shape of my life and, hopefully, when I hit the finish line I can say that was the best race I could have had," he says.
Confronted by his status as a history maker, or by the suggestion that his Olympic participation speaks to a broader truth about society and its misguided attitude towards disabled athletes, McKeever is almost embarrassed. Others can make bold statements, he prefers quiet reflection. "No one really sets out to be a role model. But what I would say is that I started out doing this for fun and if there is any message I would put out there it is to keep having fun. If you do that you can achieve great things."

That my adopted home is really really fecking cool

[Coach]

Originally Posted by jhunt223

Can you honestly say you dont see the difference between me cheering for a new prospect on the flames and me cheering for some travelling extravaganza of athletes that blesses some lucky city in the world with such awesomeness as skiing around and shooting things every 4 years? It's like a circus. I guess i might as well wet myself everytime Canada competes in anything. Spelling bees?
Like i said i wasn't trying to cut anyone who cheers for them down -- just stating my opinion. Some people have challenged it, so im defending it.

Originally Posted by jhunt223

Just how boring and pathetic most peoples lives are...... People are sitting around watching sports they know nothing about and almost crying just because their own country won. Nothing but sheep. Too much pride. Your country or nationality are nothing to be proud of... you're born into them. You can be happy about those things but.. proud? Thats ridiculous. Be proud of your own accomplishments.... The country didn't win any medals. You didn't win any medals. The athletes won those medals, not Canada. If you think for one second that any of these athletes compete for their country, you're gullible. Also, i learned that the Canadian womens hockey team are hillbillies.

seems like some pretty good cutting down too me.

Don't get on people who enjoy watching these events and don't get on the people participating in the events just because you don't like the sport. You try sitting on nothing but a sled, sliding down a track at 140 km/h without s***ing your pants, or cross-country skiing for 50 km or how ever far they go. Yeah some people can take it over the top just like anything else, but our country rarely has something that the whole country can rally behind.

[Netskot]

The thing I found on out on this site is that people love to argue for the sake of arguing more so than anywhere else.

What? You said A? Well I think B! How can you think A?

it's terrible.

[Mad Mel]

...that Mike Babcock is a pretty smart coach.