2012 Olympics

[JSngry]

i thought the closing ceremony was basically a big bore and an obscenely ENORMOUS waste of money!

Ditto, and the same for the opening ceremony (imo).

Excellent competitions, though, once that color scheme got adjusted to....

[EKE BBB]

Here's a different way of ranking - relative population per medal.

I also made a different ranking, a metal-weighted ranking: Gold, 3 points; Silver, 2 points; Bronze, 1 point.

So, the official ranking:

OFICIAL

ORO PLATA BRONCE TOTAL

1EEUU 46 29 29 104

2China 38 27 23 88

3Gran Bretaña 29 17 19 65

4Rusia 24 26 32 82

5Corea del Sur 13 8 7 28

6Alemania 11 19 14 44

7Francia 11 11 12 34

8Italia 8 9 11 28

9Hungría 8 4 5 17

10Australia 7 16 12 35

11Japón 7 14 17 38

12Kazajstán 7 1 5 13

13Holanda 6 6 8 20

14Ucrania 6 5 9 20

15Nueva Zelanda 6 2 5 13

16Cuba 5 3 6 14

17Irán 4 5 3 12

18Jamaica 4 4 4 12

19República Checa 4 3 3 10

20Corea del Norte 4 0 2 6

21España 3 10 4 17

22Brasil 3 5 9 17

23Sudáfrica 3 2 1 6

24Etiopía 3 1 3 7

25Croacia 3 1 2 6

26Bielorrusia 2 5 5 12

27Rumania 2 5 2 9

28Kenia 2 4 5 11

29Dinamarca 2 4 3 9

30Azerbaiyán 2 2 6 10

30Polonia 2 2 6 10

32Turquía 2 2 1 5

33Suiza 2 2 0 4

34Lituania 2 1 2 5

35Noruega 2 1 1 4

36Canadá 1 5 12 18

37Suecia 1 4 3 8

38Colombia 1 3 4 8

39Georgia 1 3 3 7

39México 1 3 3 7

41Irlanda 1 1 3 5

42Argentina 1 1 2 4

42Eslovenia 1 1 2 4

42Serbia 1 1 2 4

45Túnez 1 1 1 3

46República Dominicana 1 1 0 2

47Trinidad y Tobago 1 0 3 4

47Uzbekistán 1 0 3 4

49Letonia 1 0 1 2

50Argelia 1 0 0 1

50Bahamas 1 0 0 1

50Granada 1 0 0 1

50Uganda 1 0 0 1

50Venezuela 1 0 0 1

55India 0 2 4 6

56Mongolia 0 2 3 5

57Tailandia 0 2 1 3

58Egipto 0 2 0 2

59Eslovaquia 0 1 3 4

60Armenia 0 1 2 3

60Bélgica 0 1 2 3

60Finlandia 0 1 2 3

63Bulgaria 0 1 1 2

63Estonia 0 1 1 2

63Indonesia 0 1 1 2

63Malasia 0 1 1 2

63Puerto Rico 0 1 1 2

63Taipei Chino 0 1 1 2

69Botsuana 0 1 0 1

69Chipre 0 1 0 1

69Gabón 0 1 0 1

69Guatemala 0 1 0 1

69Monténégro 0 1 0 1

69Portugal 0 1 0 1

75Grecia 0 0 2 2

75Moldavia 0 0 2 2

75Qatar 0 0 2 2

75Singapur 0 0 2 2

79Afganistán 0 0 1 1

79Arabia Saudí 0 0 1 1

79Bahréin 0 0 1 1

79Hong Kong 0 0 1 1

79Kuwait 0 0 1 1

79Marruecos 0 0 1 1

79Tayikistán 0 0 1 1

turns into this one:

PONDERADO

ORO PLATA BRONCE TOTAL

1 1EEUU 138 58 29 225

2 2China 114 54 23 191

3 4Rusia 72 52 32 156

4 3Gran Bretaña 87 34 19 140

5 6Alemania 33 38 14 85

6 7Francia 33 22 12 67

7 11Japón 21 28 17 66

8 10Australia 21 32 12 65

9 5Corea del Sur 39 16 7 62

10 8Italia 24 18 11 53

11 13Holanda 18 12 8 38

12 9Hungría 24 8 5 37

13 14Ucrania 18 10 9 37

14 21España 9 20 4 33

15 12Kazajstán 21 2 5 28

16 22Brasil 9 10 9 28

17 15Nueva Zelanda 18 4 5 27

18 16Cuba 15 6 6 27

19 17Irán 12 10 3 25

20 36Canadá 3 10 12 25

21 18Jamaica 12 8 4 24

22 19República Checa 12 6 3 21

23 26Bielorrusia 6 10 5 21

24 28Kenia 6 8 5 19

25 27Rumania 6 10 2 18

26 29Dinamarca 6 8 3 17

27 30Azerbaiyán 6 4 6 16

28 30Polonia 6 4 6 16

29 20Corea del Norte 12 0 2 14

30 23Sudáfrica 9 4 1 14

31 24Etiopía 9 2 3 14

32 37Suecia 3 8 3 14

33 25Croacia 9 2 2 13

34 38Colombia 3 6 4 13

35 39Georgia 3 6 3 12

36 39México 3 6 3 12

37 32Turquía 6 4 1 11

38 33Suiza 6 4 0 10

39 34Lituania 6 2 2 10

40 35Noruega 6 2 1 9

41 41Irlanda 3 2 3 8

42 55India 0 4 4 8

43 42Argentina 3 2 2 7

44 42Eslovenia 3 2 2 7

45 42Serbia 3 2 2 7

46 56Mongolia 0 4 3 7

47 45Túnez 3 2 1 6

48 47Trinidad y Tobago 3 0 3 6

49 47Uzbekistán 3 0 3 6

50 46República Dominicana 3 2 0 5

51 57Tailandia 0 4 1 5

52 59Eslovaquia 0 2 3 5

53 49Letonia 3 0 1 4

54 58Egipto 0 4 0 4

55 60Armenia 0 2 2 4

56 60Bélgica 0 2 2 4

57 60Finlandia 0 2 2 4

58 50Argelia 3 0 0 3

59 50Bahamas 3 0 0 3

60 50Granada 3 0 0 3

61 50Uganda 3 0 0 3

62 50Venezuela 3 0 0 3

63 63Bulgaria 0 2 1 3

64 63Estonia 0 2 1 3

65 63Indonesia 0 2 1 3

66 63Malasia 0 2 1 3

67 63Puerto Rico 0 2 1 3

68 63Taipei Chino 0 2 1 3

69 69Botsuana 0 2 0 2

70 69Chipre 0 2 0 2

71 69Gabón 0 2 0 2

72 69Guatemala 0 2 0 2

73 69Monténégro 0 2 0 2

74 69Portugal 0 2 0 2

75 75Grecia 0 0 2 2

76 75Moldavia 0 0 2 2

77 75Qatar 0 0 2 2

78 75Singapur 0 0 2 2

79 79Afganistán 0 0 1 1

80 79Arabia Saudí 0 0 1 1

81 79Bahréin 0 0 1 1

82 79Hong Kong 0 0 1 1

83 79Kuwait 0 0 1 1

84 79Marruecos 0 0 1 1

85 79Tayikistán 0 0 1 1

Spains climbs from the 21st position up to the 14th position. Great Britain falls to the 4th position, after Russia. USA still first, and China second.

Edited August 14, 2012 by EKE BBB

[JohnJ]

It also seemed to me the kids that went on to a life more informed by the Humanities, weren't overly blessed with a sporty peer group.

Yes, in the 1950s when I was in the sixth form (aged 16-18) the split was between jazzers and rugger buggers.

Anyway, thank goodness this orgy of nationalism is now over!

I thought London did a marvelous job in organizing the Olympics, the crowds were amazing and the performance of Team GB was something to be proud of and to celebrate. Your comment comes across as rather churlish.

[robertoart]

It also seemed to me the kids that went on to a life more informed by the Humanities, weren't overly blessed with a sporty peer group.

Yes, in the 1950s when I was in the sixth form (aged 16-18) the split was between jazzers and rugger buggers.

Anyway, thank goodness this orgy of nationalism is now over!

I thought London did a marvelous job in organizing the Olympics, the crowds were amazing and the performance of Team GB was something to be proud of and to celebrate. Your comment comes across as rather churlish.

Churlish perhaps. Yes London did a great a job. It was exhilarating to follow the games. And anything that potentially creates future opportunity and elevates the UK communities, is a great thing. But Nationalism sucks. As ever, sport seems to be the most co-opted discipline to support it.

Edited August 14, 2012 by freelancer

[A Lark Ascending]

But Nationalism sucks. As ever, sport seems to be the most co-opted discipline to support it.

I don't think it's that simple - a sense of national identity is a pretty vital thing for any country; when that is turned into a sense of superiority and accompanied by jingoism - and we've been guilty of that in Britain over the centuries - then it becomes a hugely destructive force.

Outside of the Daily Mail/Express world I never got much of a sense of 'we're better than everyone else' over the last few weeks. More a sense of relief that we can pull off something like this and do well on the sport side too.

Anyway, don't tune into the Last Night of the Proms next month. Expect that's going to be even more over the top than usual.

[robertoart]

But Nationalism sucks. As ever, sport seems to be the most co-opted discipline to support it.

I don't think it's that simple - a sense of national identity is a pretty vital thing for any country; when that is turned into a sense of superiority and accompanied by jingoism - and we've been guilty of that in Britain over the centuries - then it becomes a hugely destructive force.

Outside of the Daily Mail/Express world I never got much of a sense of 'we're better than everyone else' over the last few weeks. More a sense of relief that we can pull off something like this and do well on the sport side too.

Anyway, don't tune into the Last Night of the Proms next month. Expect that's going to be even more over the top than usual.

Yes. I certainly didn't feel anything resembling superiority and jingoism from this distance at least. Unfortunately my opinions may be more coloured because the potential negative consequences you describe, have actually come to pass in Australia in a really vile way. Corresponding roughly with the Howard Government era, which also corresponded in a huge focus on Nation Building through International competitiveness in sport.

Hopefully the maturing of a multi-cultural UK will counteract any dangers of that happening over there. Lamentably, the multi-cultural 'recent' history of Australia, hasn't really stopped the superiority/jingoism juggernaut here. The disappointing Australian performance at the Games has sent the Nation Builders into shell shock.

[A Lark Ascending]

Yes. I certainly didn't feel anything resembling superiority and jingoism from this distance at least. Unfortunately my opinions may be more coloured because the potential negative consequences you describe, have actually come to pass in Australia in a really vile way. Corresponding roughly with the Howard Government era, which also corresponded in a huge focus on Nation Building through International competitiveness in sport.

Hopefully the maturing of a multi-cultural UK will counteract any dangers of that happening over there. Lamentably, the multi-cultural 'recent' history of Australia, hasn't really stopped the superiority/jingoism juggernaut here. The disappointing Australian performance at the Games has sent the Nation Builders into shell shock.

There remains a very strong, jingoistic spirit in parts of Britain - most notably those newspapers mentioned above. Tends to manifest itself in terms of anti-Europeanism and constant fear of immigration.

One of the things that was so good about these games was the way that the multi-cultural reality of Britain was on display in so many different ways. I hope an important corner was turned there.

Still expect the anti-European silliness to carry on though.

[BillF]

Outside of the Daily Mail/Express world I never got much of a sense of 'we're better than everyone else' over the last few weeks.

Don't forget that that world is bought into by over 2 million people every day.

There remains a very strong, jingoistic spirit in parts of Britain - most notably those newspapers mentioned above. Tends to manifest itself in terms of anti-Europeanism and constant fear of immigration.

Agreed.

[JSngry]

A wonderful icon of the constructive effects of having your country constantly replenished from cultures from elsewhere.

There are those in America who feel that way about plantation mansions!

Which is just to say, I know you didn't mean it that way, but..there are still those who would/do...and to hell with them. Literally, I hope.

[A Lark Ascending]

A wonderful icon of the constructive effects of having your country constantly replenished from cultures from elsewhere.

There are those in America who feel that way about plantation mansions!

Which is just to say, I know you didn't mean it that way, but..there are still those who would/do...and to hell with them. Literally, I hope.

I don't think America can ever hide from it's 'melting pot' origins and ongoing development - although I know that throughout history there have been plenty who've tried to from the KKKs anti-Irish origins onwards. Even the most virulent racist can't ignore that the USA has never been a mono-culture (I didn't realise just how diverse until I visited New York).

But in Britain there remains a strong myth that the English/Scottish/Welsh/Irish/British (chose your own label) culture is something very precious and distinct that will be shattered if we don't stop 'these people' coming into 'our country'. It's amazing how that idea is entrenched in 11 year olds! The weird thing is that those most averse to multi-cultural Britain are most likely to don the uniform of inner city American street culture - backward baseball caps etc.

I'd like to think the games helped just a little with the 'maturing' (to use freelancer's word) of our awareness of Britain's multi-cultural reality. That doesn't have to mean a mixing it all up - I love the 'olde England', real or otherwise - but I hope we can accommodate both a respect for the distinct and an openness to all the interesting things that can happen when things fuse.

Edited August 14, 2012 by A Lark Ascending

[JohnJ]

But Nationalism sucks. As ever, sport seems to be the most co-opted discipline to support it.

I don't think it's that simple - a sense of national identity is a pretty vital thing for any country; when that is turned into a sense of superiority and accompanied by jingoism - and we've been guilty of that in Britain over the centuries - then it becomes a hugely destructive force.

Outside of the Daily Mail/Express world I never got much of a sense of 'we're better than everyone else' over the last few weeks. More a sense of relief that we can pull off something like this and do well on the sport side too.

Anyway, don't tune into the Last Night of the Proms next month. Expect that's going to be even more over the top than usual.

Agree with the above Bev.

I believe that the positives to be taken from the London games far outweigh the negatives. My sense is that most people feel the same way.

[ValerieB]

i totally agree with the above about the positive effects and ramifications of The Games. and i'm sure we're all so grateful that there were no "incidents" security-wise or otherwise. a great relief. it seemed that everyone behaved beautifully (mind-boggling so). and the cheering from the crowds for whomever was representing GB (regardless of country of origin) was quite moving. i just loved everything (except the Opening and Closing Ceremonies). could have easily done without most of what went on then.

[sidewinder]

Re: the Security - the Army did a fantastic job. I went through their checks - efficient, courteous and competent. Very professional as per usual !

Much of the thrill in the Stadium was the massive noise from the crowd (never witnessed anything like it in terms of intensity) and the excitement and flag-waving from many nations. It was a show in itself.

Edited August 15, 2012 by sidewinder

[Soulstation1]

I'm willing to coach the 2016 Men's Basketball Squad