Japan's obsession with the olympics?

[shotime77780]

hi just watched the olymic entrances for each nation, while i was watching my moms like "OMG THERE JAPAN GO GO JAPAN JAPANS TEH WIN!!!!!11@@#21!!!@$^". Then i remembered all those kirin olymic comercials and all those corny comercials with Ai chan in it (the table tennis player) when i was in japan......hmmm why are the japanese obsessed with the olymics. here in the states the olymics mean squat esp. since football season is around the corner

i think it has something to do with national pride?

 

[DragonChan]

Table Tennis is an Olympic Sport ?!?!

I have no clue, but I've noticed that in a lot of my friends (especially from asian countries) They're always obsessed with how many medals thier country has received. I personally couldn't care less, as long as the athletes are having fun.

 

[Glenn]

Table Tennis is an Olympic Sport ?!?!

Yeah, and so is curling, and I believe trampoline jumping has made it as well! It's a CrAzY world that we're livin' in!

 

[Emoni]

Kendo should be an Olympic sport if anything. None of that wimpy "wooden sword" crap either

 

[Glenn]

Heh, I think the number of participants would dramatically decrease after each games!

 

[Emoni]

Hey, think of it this way.

10,000 crappy Kendo masters... OR!

20 badass, I ate my mutha and spit out bolts, pyscho Kendo gods?

I mean, you could turn this into something quite interesting here! Don't pass up the chance you put shotting wusses!

 

[sima_yi]

How many medals will Japan win this year?

 

[Ewok85]

GOOO AUSTRALIA!

Its a national pride thing. We get right behind all of our atheletes and hope they win.

 

[Hachiko]

Loved the unis at the OC...shawwing!

 

[Maciamo]

They're always obsessed with how many medals thier country has received. I personally couldn't care less, as long as the athletes are having fun.

But don't you realize that for some countries, bringing a gold or silver medal back home might increase significantly their country's GNP ! :bikkuri:

Yeah, medal count suck. How comes Australia (with 18m inhabitants) got 115 medals in Sydney, which is 3x more than Japan (127m inh.) or 2x more than the UK (60m inh.) ? Must be rigged. They also have no less than 625 atheltes in Athens, the 2nd largest delegation of all countries after the US. In comparsion China got 480, Russia 587, Brazil 309 and Britain 339.

Canada has too many atheltes for its population too. 359 of them for 28m people. Even Vietnam, which was brilliant enough militarily to defeat the US (already the world's 1st military power at the time), only got 6 atheltes although there are 3x more Vietnamese than Canadians.

 

[Jean-Francois]

Those uniforms look like pajamas.

 

[Hachiko]

Those uniforms look like pajamas.

You thought those were bad....look at Australia's! WORSE.
(But I still like Japan's. Though, in this weather...they should have had something more shorter and looser...kinda Okinawa weather...)

 

[sima_yi]

LOlz, very nice wording.

Which country will have the most medals this year?

 

[Jean-Francois]

I didn't watch the ceremony. Can someone post more pictures for me to laugh at?

How does China look? Red and yellow again? Arggghhhhh...

 

[sima_yi]

I think they wore black, red, and white. WOW, they even had Hong Kong in it 0.0

 

[Jean-Francois]

Without losers, there is no winner.

Hong Kong is there to LOSE!

 

[Timsan]

hi just watched the olymic entrances for each nation, while i was watching my moms like "OMG THERE JAPAN GO GO JAPAN JAPANS TEH WIN!!!!!11@@#21!!!@$^". Then i remembered all those kirin olymic comercials and all those corny comercials with Ai chan in it (the table tennis player) when i was in japan......hmmm why are the japanese obsessed with the olymics. here in the states the olymics mean squat esp. since football season is around the corner

i think it has something to do with national pride?

American Football is idiotic. I have seen tons of Olympic ads, I dont know what your talking about.

 

[DoctorP]

I know that as I was growing up the Olympics was a big thing. I think that now in this day and age everything is so "instant". People have so many other distractions that they don't have much true interest in the games. I still enjoy them. I actually look forward to the games. Back in the day, we didn't have 120 channels to surf. Most people that I knew watched the games with genuine excitement. I think that the games have become too commercial though! Cities are bidding on hosting the games based on the idea that they can make buuku $! It just seems to cheapen the whole thing.

One thing that is ideal about the games is...you have the greatest athletes in their individual sport all in one place competing against one another. This is not true for all of the team sports (like baseball for example) but it does lead to some beautiful competitions!

 

[PopCulturePooka]

Australia is jsut as Olympic crazy.

But the favouritism we show certain athletes *cough Thorpe, cough cough Freeman* sickens me.

Wheres the love for Micheal Diamond?

 

[60Yen]

I don't really care for the medals or what. I just like to see the swimming, because I like swimming myself. For a small country like the Netherlands, I think we are well presented as well... But it doesn't matter

 

[Jean-Francois]

Normally I don't watch the Olympics because (1) I hate sports and (2) everybody is talking about it. And last week I went to Little Greek 's "Taste of Danforth Festival," the atomosphere this year was especially strong for Greece has won the Europe Cup and they are hosting the Olympics.

Okay... since I get bored playing with the internet late, maybe it is not such a bad idea to watch Les Jeux Olympiques 2004 on the french channel.

 

[DragonChan]

I think that the games have become too commercial though! Cities are bidding on hosting the games based on the idea that they can make buuku $! It just seems to cheapen the whole thing.

Ugh, don't talk about the bids. I'm so bitter that Vancouver won. There is no way we can afford it --;; It's SO expensive, and everybody is so divided about where to put stuff and if we should even have them in the first place.

Not to mention that half the events are going to happen in Whistler, which is a 2 hour drive away from Vancouver

 

[Apollo]

Those uniforms look like pajamas.

I also think there was something written on the back....could not figure out what thoug.... Maybe something like "Go, go Japan"

 

[Saing]

I think the first comment is a little too strong. I looked up obsession in a dictionary because I wasn't sure of the exact strength of meaning.

Obsession: a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling.

I'm sorry if I don't understand but this is a negative feeling? Why is it that Americans can shout "U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!!" and it is called patriotism, but if we celebrate a sporting event, we are "obsessed". I love the olympics because it is many best athletes competing together in a great event, but I don't know anyone who is obsessed by it.

 

[Elizabeth]

I think the first comment is a little too strong. I looked up obsession in a dictionary because I wasn't sure of the exact strength of meaning.

Obsession: a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling.

Try just obsess, or better yet ask a native speaker before presuming to appreciate conversational English based on dictionary definitions and getting all riled up over it

Although from what I've seen of the online newspaper coverage in Asahi, there is definately more there than in US papers. Maybe disproportionally patriotic is a better description.