The Olympics have started

[chrishornx]

Be ready for the USA part after they've handed over the flame. Red hot chilli peppers and Billie Eilish and possibly Taylor Swift.

and tom cruise

[toon972]

Lets bring the old classic back, the tug of war.

[JontyR]

Lets bring the old classic back, the tug of war.

Absolutely agree with this.

[mr.bluesky]

Lets bring the old classic back, the tug of war.

Would that include men passing themselves off as women in the women's tug of war event 
I think we've seen enough of this shit in the boxing.

[Stevelondon]

Luke Littler carrying the flag in LA…….. so I hear.

That is if he passes the rigorous sex tests that will be introduced by then.

[Blackpool Rock]

I didn't watch much of the coverage unless it happened to be on in the background apart from Keeley Hodgkinson and KJT

So the UK picked up 65 medals which is pretty good against the target 50-70 however we slipped down to 7th in the medal table due to winning 8 less golds than last time

We seemed to pick up quite a lot of golds early on but then kept coming up slightly short, we did pick up a few new ones like rock climbing and mountain biking but our men's cycling and rowing teams who in previous years have won a clutch of golds didn't pick up any
Not sure if other countries have improved or whether we've had exceptional athletes retire etc but i'm sure this will be a focus on how to get back to winning ways

External Link/Members Only

External Link/Members Only

Taking the Golds out then the UK actually finished 3rd in overall medals which is a decent show

The US only just pipped China in the table by winning the last basketball event and as I previously said Australia punch above their weight coming in 4th with 18 golds, another stand out for me is New Zealand with 10 golds and a population of just over 5 Million

[Thephoenix]

We all want to see gold  medals and in this regard it's been disappointing in Paris.
Paris 14
Tokyo 22
Rio 27
London 29.

I might have to come out of retirement for the hop step and fall over event.

[chrishornx]

, we did pick up a few new ones like rock climbing and mountain biking but our men's cycling and rowing teams who in previous years have won a clutch of golds didn't pick up any


Taking the Golds out then the UK actually finished 3rd in overall medals which is a decent show

BR i think you will find we won the men's flagship event in rowing, the Eights, and Tom Piddock won the mountain bike gold as the defending champion

we came third in total medals and are the only country to get over 6o medals at the last 4 olympics other than the US and china

we are only the 5th biggest country in europe and 21 in the world

of the 20 countries above us in population only 3 have won the football world cup and one win a cricket world cup, none have won the rugby world cup - in contrast we have won all 3 so we are pretty good at punching above our weight

[WASA38]

We all want to see gold  medals and in this regard it's been disappointing in Paris.
Paris 14
Tokyo 22
Rio 27
London 29.

I might have to come out of retirement for the hop step and fall over event.

I guess that you, TP, like me, can still remember when we won only three and one gold medals in 1948 and 1952 respectively.

Even more disappointing considering we were the host nation in 1948.

[chrishornx]

I guess that you, TP, like me, can still remember when we won only three and one gold medals in 1948 and 1952 respectively.

Even more disappointing considering we were the host nation in 1948.

many more of us on here will remember only getting one gold medal in 1996 in Atlanta

[bigden40]

many more of us on here will remember only getting one gold medal in 1996 in Atlanta

Pinsent and Redgrave?

[chrishornx]

Pinsent and Redgrave?

yep

[scutty brown]

The Olympics have finished

Thank fuck for that. Now hopefully the press / TV / radio will get back to normal

[chrishornx]

The Olympics have finished

Thank fuck for that. Now hopefully the press / TV / radio will get back to normal

should be great - this week there is Death in paradise (repeats), Celebrity master chef (so compelling), scam interceptors (repeats), Who do you think you are? (repeats) and Daddy issues - plus of course all those daytime gems returning like repeats of Homes under the Hammer, Bargain hunt and the evergreen Escape to the Country - top quality

3 out of about 230 tv channels had the Olympics 2 or 3 out of hundreds of radio stations, surprised anybody would be so  dependent on the BBC

all folk had to do was avoid BBC 1 and everything was as normal

[scutty brown]

should be great - this week there is Death in paradise (repeats), Celebrity master chef (so compelling), scam interceptors (repeats), Who do you think you are? (repeats) and Daddy issues - plus of course all those daytime gems returning like repeats of Homes under the Hammer, Bargain hunt and the evergreen Escape to the Country - top quality

FFS..........time for the razor blades. What a choice!!!!
Just have to rely on youlube. Found "Sink the Bismark" on there last night, decent film.     

[chrishornx]

FFS..........time for the razor blades. What a choice!!!!
Just have to rely on youlube. Found "Sink the Bismark" on there last night, decent film.     

top film

[toon972]

Would that include men passing themselves off as women in the women's tug of war event 
I think we've seen enough of this shit in the boxing.

I am hoping a precedent has not been set but I have my doubts.

[mr.bluesky]

Apparently breakdancing will now not be included in the 2028 LA Olympics after the farce of the Aussie lady competitor (Rachael Gunn) and the bad publicity  it has brought.

[chrishornx]

Apparently breakdancing will now not be included in the 2028 LA Olympics after the farce of the Aussie lady competitor (Rachael Gunn) and the bad publicity  it has brought.

media hype that, it was never going to be in the 2028 games

[catweazle]

media hype that, it was never going to be in the 2028 games

True
 It has, however, been replaced by cricket, run on a T20 basis.

[bigden40]

Do they still call them demonstration events?

Anyway 2028 has: Baseball (men) / softball (women), cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash

[timsussex]

Do they still call them demonstration events?

Anyway 2028 has: Baseball (men) / softball (women), cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash

apparently they are now called optional

[webpunter]

Do they still call them demonstration events?

Anyway 2028 has: Baseball (men) / softball (women), cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash

Had to goggle this
Some bollox game or what !
Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down
Debagging would be more interesting 

[bigden40]

Had to goggle this
Some bollox game or what !
Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down
Debagging would be more interesting 

It’s like tag Rugby.  A game for primary school children.

[webpunter]

It’s like tag Rugby.  A game for primary school children.

Exactly
Fair enuf for school kids
The schools dont wanna get sued
As for a 'sport' in the olympics its on a par with break dancing 

[mr.bluesky]

Had to goggle this
Some bollox game or what !
Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down
Debagging would be more interesting 

Which really goes to show what pussies Americans are when it comes to sport. Rugby 7's is a full contact sport in the Olympics  but then again one of the USA's most popular sports is a much watered down version of Rugby where the participants wear crash helmets and padding and spend 4 hours running into one another , and don't get me started on why this sport is called "football " when the ball is mostly played by the hands  Bloody Yanks 

[chrishornx]

Which really goes to show what pussies Americans are when it comes to sport. Rugby 7's is a full contact sport in the Olympics  but then again one of the USA's most popular sports is a much watered down version of Rugby where the participants wear crash helmets and padding and spend 4 hours running into one another , and don't get me started on why this sport is called "football " when the ball is mostly played by the hands Bloody Yanks 

Just like rugby football is played a lot by hand 

the term 'football' can be traced back to the middle ages to distinguish games played on foot rather than horseback 

[webpunter]

Flag bollox is one of those types of sports which come about in today's wokey PC world
Not much physical interaction so safer & more inclusive so broader in its supposed appeal
When i was at school anyone wanting to play flag rugby would have been singled out for being a big girls blouse

[threechilliman]

Flag bollox is one of those types of sports which come about in today's wokey PC world
Not much physical interaction so safer & more inclusive so broader in its supposed appeal
When i was at school anyone wanting to play flag rugby would have been singled out for being a big girls blouse

Correct.

[scutty brown]

Flag bollox is one of those types of sports which come about in today's wokey PC world
Not much physical interaction so safer & more inclusive so broader in its supposed appeal
When i was at school anyone wanting to play flag rugby would have been singled out for being a big girls blouse

We played full contact indoor rugby on a smooth concrete floor.......taught you not to fall over when tackled.
I've still got chips of floating bone in my elbows fifty years on

[mr.bluesky]

Just like rugby football is played a lot by hand 

the term 'football' can be traced back to the middle ages to distinguish games played on foot rather than horseback

Rugby football originated at Rugby Public school and was called Rugby football to distinguish it from association football. It was still termed football because thats how the sport originated . William Webb Ellis picked the ball up and ran with it . Later became Rugby union then split into two separate sports of Union and Rugby  league . There is a statue of Webb Ellis outside Rugby school today. This is why Union is known as the Public school sport and League the Northern working class sport. Australian Rugby league commentators still refer to Australian Rugby league as " footy"
The ball is kicked more in Rugby union than American football.

[webpunter]

We played full contact indoor rugby on a smooth concrete floor.......taught you not to fall over when tackled.
I've still got chips of floating bone in my elbows fifty years on

Crikey, respec 
We used to play all weathers minus 5 degrees or more proper cold back then a pretty frozen pitch
& when it been tipping down for days so waterlogged pitches were lots of fun, though scrums were moved away from standing pools of water as unsafe
Elf & safety these days would have a heart attack & ban the matches

[timsussex]

We played full contact indoor rugby on a smooth concrete floor.......taught you not to fall over when tackled.
I've still got chips of floating bone in my elbows fifty years on

we never had indoor facilities - always outdoor whatever the weather unless pitches were really waterlogged when games were called off - to protect the pitches !

[JontyR]

Its quite simple why flag football is being showcased, its because kids can then go and play it themselves. You look at the extra equipment that a traditional NFL player wears and thats just not possible for any kid.

The most globally successful sports are those that allow everyone to play. We can all remember using anything as a football. Or indeed the various implements used as a cricket bat. Goal posts and wickets the same. Or in its simplest form...athletics. Just who is the quickest. Who can jump highest and furthest. 

It's not woke.

If there was to be a woke aspect to changes in olympic sport it would be more liekly to focus around those events which aren't easily accessible...all those that require a horse for instance.

[akauya]

It's not woke.

I don't think the people who constantly use the word 'woke' as a pejorative really know what it means.