[qzgCVHex]

A question for our friends on old Blighty: exactly who pissed in your journalists cornflakes? Seems like they're on a single-minded mission to trash the 2010 Olympics. Is this the British tradition - find every possible bad thing about something wonderful, and harp on it endlessly? Are your poor 2012 organizers going to have to endure this hack job as well?

[DavidShreder]

Yes, yes and yes. Negativity combined with black humour and sarcasm is our gift to the world!

Actually I think there was an international story in how negative some of the UK media have been, there has been the usual Brit negativity but it's not all like that. There's been plenty of positive stuff here, praise for the show Canada put on and the Ski Cross was an overnight success. Whistler looked beautiful.

As for 2012, the British (especially the media) will spend a huge amount of effort in ridiculing it before it starts because we "know" we'll screw it up somehow. The when it's finished we'll give ourselves a collective pat on the back for putting Britain (well...London) back on the map, showing Johnny foreigner how it's done, the spirit of Empire will be resurrected, the ceremony will close with Land of Hope and Glory and we'll get steamingly drunk celebrating victory in the four man skeet shooting.

[wrenjmerg]

Sort of off topic: Who designed (broke) the 2012 Olympics logo? It's the ugliest one I've seen so far!

[iodigmaFemZem]

A question for our friends on old Blighty: exactly who pissed in your journalists cornflakes? Seems like they're on a single-minded mission to trash the 2010 Olympics. Is this the British tradition - find every possible bad thing about something wonderful, and harp on it endlessly? Are your poor 2012 organizers going to have to endure this hack job as well?

The answer, I think, is everyone. Journalists are a hated breed in Blighty, so they return the favour with vigour, as a general rule.

If it's any consolation, I enjoyed watching the Olympics, even if the only glimpse of Brits on Japanese TV I saw was the curling bird who the Japanese media thought was tasty. They've obviously never met anyone scottish.

[Poreponko]

I think you guys had some bobsledders who were in it, plus of course the skeleton gold from Amy Williams.

[PhillipHer]

I think you guys had some bobsledders who were in it, plus of course the skeleton gold from Amy Williams.

Oh I found that stuff on the BBC website, but watching it on my coach with a beer in hand and baby on knee is another story. It was all about figure skating here......

[unatkot]

I hear that. This was the first year where it wasn't all speed-skating, all the time. A hell of a lot of figure skating, though.

[Smittoh]

Dont view the British papers as our collective opinion on the Olympics. Journalists over here are turds to put it bluntly.

Oh, the London logo has been likened to Lisa Simpson doing something unmentionable.

[Flalafuse]

In reference to the original post: don't think you're special!! The British media are mainly a bunch of cold hearted, blood sucking b*stards, who wont or can't recognize real talent and hard work, they are also . . .

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(the next 47 lines of text have been deleted to save peoples blushes)

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. . . who I wouldn't p*ss on if they were on fire!!



BTW: Watched the Mens Hockey final and cheered for Canada. Also predicted (via Facebook) that Crosby would get the winner in OT!!

[xesvideo]

I'm not sure what negative British reporting you're referring to but it wouldn't surprise me. Out of all the news there was the luge fatality, the lack of snow [not that anyone can do anything about that], the under-age drinking and celebrations of the women's hockey team [like that never happens] and our solitary gold medal when Team GB was charged with 3 medals of any colour.

But you know what that's the miserable British press. Aside from the luge fatality I thought you put on a brilliant show. And despite some concern you wouldn't 'own the podium' as promised halfway through you did take home the most medals and I was really pleased you won the ice hockey. Our performance didn't quite match the expectations, we had many strong teams with European and World Champions in only for the performance/conditions on the day not to match those previous achievements. But as a nation that doesn't have quite the access to Winter training facilities it should I think we did just fine.

I also came across a few people who thought the graphics were brilliant and uniformally consistent throughout. I loved the logo and the mascots. The 2012 logo is a disaster, it's certainly a bold choice and I can see what they wanted to do and it'll always stand out. Clearly there was design by commitee going on. But will it always be seen in such a light? Take a look at the Munich Olympic Logo
http://www.olympic.org/Global/Images...unich_logo.jpg
Bold striking design that doesn't follow any previous conventions and yet that was hailed as one of the design classics with the rest of the accompanying graphics and pictograms [which everyone is still trying to copy to this day].

For 2012 though I do like this implimentation of our pictograms, if in isolation, they can be a bit weak

http://www.neublack.com/wp-content/u...s_london_3.jpg

[zoppiklonikaa]

Oh, the London logo has been likened to Lisa Simpson doing something unmentionable.

I just looked up the logo, and totally understand what you mean now....

[cingularring]

Glad to hear people enjoyed them. I was only sorry I couldn't be there in person, but it's been a blast even watching them on TV.

Anyone watch the closing ceremonies? Hopefully you all got the joke. Seems a lot of people thought we were being serious with giant inflatable moose and chorus-line Mountie girls.

[Immonnaornach]

I quite liked the mountie girls. It was all the lumberjacks that had me rolling. all i could hear was the old "Lumberjack song". And I had no Idea MJ Fox was Canadian. He looked pretty good. I did miss the joke i guess with all the floating moose. Could you shed some light.
Now if I could get my hands on one of the Giant inflatable beavers, That would be something.

[TXmjLW9b]

The joke was just making fun of all the Canadian stereotypes - mounties, beavers, moose, canoes, hockey, etc. That some people took it seriously is perhaps a sign of how deep those stereotypes run.

There's a lot of Hollywood people that are Canadian and can be under the radar about it, but Fox isn't one of them. He used to routinely show up at talk shows wearing a hockey sweater. Went to school in Burnaby with a friend of mine -there's your 6 degrees of separation for you. Here's another one: Mike Babcock (Canadian hockey coach) graduated high school with my sister 3 years after I did. Even better: a good friend of mine went to high school with the Tweed sisters.

I gather the opening and closing ceremonies had a lot of "I didn't know he/she was Canadian" reaction from people.

[nuveem7070]

The British media are mainly a bunch of cold hearted, blood sucking b*stards, who wont or can't recognize real talent and hard work

I'm going to find where you live and write a very offensive yet legally untouchable article about you. The British media is full of good people working for the public's benefit (and, as with any career, some tossers who break rules put down for everyone's good). Many work long hours to be paid less for skills that are worth more out of a belief that the public needs to be informed.

That being said...

“STRAIGHT SEX CANNOT GIVE YOU AIDS – OFFICIAL."

I reckon everyone's laying into the Olympics because there's literally no way we can match China's show, which was amazing. Even the British part of the closing ceremony was cringeworthy (dance troupes and Beckham on a bus?)

[Lvnufcdc]

I'm not sure what negative British reporting you're referring to but it wouldn't surprise me.

Heck, the Guardian even had whinging articles about being criticized for for criticizing. The BBC at least had the balls to say that the they and the UK press got it wrong (and then promptly blamed it on journalist based in London writing the articles).

I was amazed by the atmosphere here in Vancouver. Downtown was packed every day with happy people.Can you imagine that in the UK?. People in mid-winter actually being happy?.

Yeah, some of the organization could have been better, but overall, I think judging from how much people enjoyed being here, it was a highly successful Olympic Games.

(And I really look forward to seeing London dealing with an extra 1 million+ visitors, all with a happy smile on their faces)

[JonnTEN]

I heard, on the BBC coverage, that Canadian competitors were allowed to practise on the courses for 300 hours whereas everyone else was only allowed 30 hours and the consensus was that this was an attempt to favour Canadian athletes into medal positions. I couldn't believe my ears and then decided this couldn't be correct because the international outcry would be deafening and besides, the Canadians are the fairest people around-its the only place in the world I'd want to live in outside the UK! I concur that British journalists are vile creatures, even those hired by the Beeb.

I really enjoyed the Olympics. The Ski Cross was the most exciting thing I've seen in sport for years. It could only be improved by having it competitors race without clothing and arming them with machetes so they could hack each other to bits on the way down

[freevideoandoicsI]

No, it's true - Canadian competitors enjoyed more practice time than their opponents. Not sure it was 10:1, but it's more. This is the same advantage that every single other host country has had the right to and taken advantage of. It got blown up because apparently it's just not very Canadian of us. The UK media especially felt it wasn't cricket or whatever.

Got further blown out of proportion when the Georgian luger died. Criticisms were leveled that it was VANOC's fault for insufficient practice time. In fact he had many practice runs before the one that killed him.

Actually we were better than some other countries - most of our venues were done well in time and had hosted World Cup events prior to the Olympics.

[durootrium]

I'm going to find where you live and write a very offensive yet legally untouchable article about you.

My point exactly.

The only things that seem to make headlines are crap stories blown out of all proportion with an "angle". The decent stories are usually hidden away. How many times have the British press supported someone (or a group of people) up to then set out to destroy them (once they are found out to be human after all) later.

It's usually about making money not telling stories.

[amberamuletuk]

My point exactly.

The only things that seem to make headlines are crap stories blown out of all proportion with an "angle". The decent stories are usually hidden away. How many times have the British press supported someone (or a group of people) up to then set out to destroy them (once they are found out to be human after all) later.

It's usually about making money not telling stories.

I also said "media" not journalists.

There's a BIG difference.