Official 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games thread!

[DWGal210]

Things looking MIGHTY tense in Russia lately. I'm praying for the safety of everyone.

Agreed. It seems like every time you turn on the news there's another terror threat for the games.

I can't even imagine the security it takes to run these events.

 

[JanaDee]

Things looking MIGHTY tense in Russia lately. I'm praying for the safety of everyone.

If I or family members had tickets to any of the events, I'd be seriously reconsidering attending. Even if I was an athlete or an athlete family member, I'd have to think long and hard about going.

I understand people have worked years to make it to the Olympics, but is the very real possibility of losing your life worth it?

 

[DWGal210]

If I or family members had tickets to any of the events, I'd be seriously reconsidering attending. Even if I was an athlete or an athlete family member, I'd have to think long and hard about going.

I understand people have worked years to make it to the Olympics, but is the very real possibility of losing your life worth it?

Maybe these threats didn't come to light until it was too late, so to speak - - but you wonder if any of this potential was thrown around when the IOC was selecting the host city. You could argue that ANY city is ripe for these types of threats, especially during the Olympics, but it seems like this area of the world has its fair share of turmoil.

I pray it's all smooth sailing (or smooth skiing, haha).

 

[declansdad]

Looking forward to the Games as well.

For the record, curling is very difficulty and is nothing like shuffleboard.

 

[Tiramisu]

I'm so excited that Plushenko is in. Maybe he can win a titanium medal this time.

 

[wiigirl]

Things looking MIGHTY tense in Russia lately. I'm praying for the safety of everyone.

 

[Jennasis]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand as many suspected would happen, a few delegations have reported receiving letters warning them not to participate in the games. The Hungarian team reported receiving a letter along with others.

 

[JanaDee]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand as many suspected would happen, a few delegations have reported receiving letters warning them not to participate in the games. The Hungarian team reported receiving a letter along with others.

An athlete from WI participating in the Games has told his family to stay home due to the security threats.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Does anyone know if you can watch the games and Opening Ceremonies online? I don't have traditional cable. The only network I can get to come in is ABC.

 

[JanaDee]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/21/olympics-tucker-fredricks-family-terror_n_4640627.html

 

[DWGal210]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand as many suspected would happen, a few delegations have reported receiving letters warning them not to participate in the games. The Hungarian team reported receiving a letter along with others.

Jeebees. Scary.

 

[JanaDee]

I heard on the news last night hundreds of thousands of tickets to events remain unsold.

 

[glaserjm]

The tension just seems to be getting higher in the region. I read that earlier this week a known "black widow" was sighted in downtown Sochi which is supposed to be basically locked down at this point. It makes you wonder how much they will really be able to control.

A friend of mine was supposed to attend as a sports marketing manager for one of the sponsoring companies, however they pulled the plug on the trip after the repeated threats and security warnings.

At this point I don't think it is a questions of whether or not something is going to happen, but instead of how serious it will be and how quickly it will be contained.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Hi fellow Olympic nerds.

My daughter and I are fanatical about the Olympics and stay up late every night. By the time they are over, we're a mess.

So excited but also extremely concerned about the security, or lack thereof. I hate to be doom and gloom but isn't it really just a matter of time before something on an international scale happens at the Olympics? The world is going to pot and there's so much hatred. Very, very sad.

Now I admit I'm a Monday morning quarterback with most of this, but can someone explain to my why the girl who placed second at the last ice skating championships isn't going, but some other girl who's more experienced? That infuriates me. I'm sorry but it should be like the Super Bowl. Doesn't matter what you've done in the past, it's all about "what have you done for me lately". What if that poor 15 year old never gets another chance? I HATE the politics of sports.

And I'm super stoked to see the Jamaican bobsled team. Hope they are able to secure the funding they need to get there!

USA! USA! USA!

 

[JanaDee]

The tension just seems to be getting higher in the region. I read that earlier this week a known "black widow" was sighted in downtown Sochi which is supposed to be basically locked down at this point. It makes you wonder how much they will really be able to control.

A friend of mine was supposed to attend as a sports marketing manager for one of the sponsoring companies, however they pulled the plug on the trip after the repeated threats and security warnings.

At this point I don't think it is a questions of whether or not something is going to happen, but instead of how serious it will be and how quickly it will be contained.

They are looking for 3 Black Widows and two men that have gotten past security and believed to be a threat.

 

[BlueX27]

Now I admit I'm a Monday morning quarterback with most of this, but can someone explain to my why the girl who placed second at the last ice skating championships isn't going, but some other girl who's more experienced? That infuriates me. I'm sorry but it should be like the Super Bowl. Doesn't matter what you've done in the past, it's all about "what have you done for me lately". What if that poor 15 year old never gets another chance? I HATE the politics of sports.
USA! USA! USA!

The 3rd place finisher, Mirai Nagasu, was replaced by Ashley Wagner for the Olympic team. Mirai skated in the Vancouver games and finished 4th. There's more to it than I have time to say right now so I will finish my comments later...

 

[ashley0139]

Hi fellow Olympic nerds.

My daughter and I are fanatical about the Olympics and stay up late every night. By the time they are over, we're a mess.

So excited but also extremely concerned about the security, or lack thereof. I hate to be doom and gloom but isn't it really just a matter of time before something on an international scale happens at the Olympics? The world is going to pot and there's so much hatred. Very, very sad.

Now I admit I'm a Monday morning quarterback with most of this, but can someone explain to my why the girl who placed second at the last ice skating championships isn't going, but some other girl who's more experienced? That infuriates me. I'm sorry but it should be like the Super Bowl. Doesn't matter what you've done in the past, it's all about "what have you done for me lately". What if that poor 15 year old never gets another chance? I HATE the politics of sports.

And I'm super stoked to see the Jamaican bobsled team. Hope they are able to secure the funding they need to get there!

USA! USA! USA!

The 15 year old IS going, and it SHOULD be about what you've done in the past. Just because someone has one good competition (not that that's the case here- I have no idea) doesn't mean you get to go to the Olympics. And believe me, the US is ONLY country that has the idea that it should be "fair." The others are all handpicking the people they want to go, not basing it on one competition. The only way for the US to contend is for us to do that too. I have no problem with the US Skating committee picking who they think should go to the games.

 

[BlueX27]

This is the first time in US history that the top three finishers haven't been put on the Olympic team - unless due to injury such as in 2006 when Michelle Kwan didn't compete in nationals but was placed on the team to Turin after petitioning for a spot.

I have mixed feelings about Ashley making the team. Yes, Mirai skated two clean programs and placed third. I follow skating and I am a fan of hers, but her programs are not nearly at the top levels to be remotely competitive at the Olympics. Also, it pains me to say, she is so inconsistent, I have seen her bomb at competitions more than be successful.

Looks like skating is going the way of gymnastics politics.

This link does a pretty good job of explaining...much better than I can.

http://deadspin.com/the-real-reason-ashley-wagner-made-the-u-s-olympic-fig-1502787187

 

[Borishack]

At this point I don't think it is a questions of whether or not something is going to happen, but instead of how serious it will be and how quickly it will be contained.

The security scenario in Sochi is shaping as having a very errie similarity to the storyline of the 1971 Frederick Forsyth novel The Day of the Jackal.

For those not familiar with that book, it's about a plot to assasinate the President of France. The story revolves around a mysterious sniper who has been retained to commit the crime, with his plan being to target the President during a major outdoor public ceremony in Paris. As the saga unfolds, there are increasingly furious attempts by the French security forces to identify and capture the sniper before the date of the ceremony arrives. But when it does and the sniper remains at large, an impenetrable wall of police and military are placed around the ceremony...

...but the sniper still finds a way to breach it.

 

[lisaviolet]

Does anyone know if you can watch the games and Opening Ceremonies online? I don't have traditional cable. The only network I can get to come in is ABC.

We have outstanding Olympic coverage here. It's all live no matter what time zone it's in.

But unsure of the online coverage, but probably just as good. So just in case -

http://olympics.cbc.ca/

(With secondary coverage on TSN and Sportsnet )

And I find that we are really good at doing a fair spread of athletes from many countries.

__________________________________________-

Sometimes, we're blocked to US feeds here. Drives me insane. I doubt it works that way for you, and I'm completely ignorant on such matters , but if you find anything blocked even overseas coverage - I use TunnelBear to fool the IP address.

I don't know if I'm allowed to link their website but it's a simple program where you just turn the dial to where your feed is from.

I use it to vote on The Voice, really important issues like that.