Your Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics anticipation thread!

How about those disastrous US unfiforms, huh

They're really horrible! May be to discourage people from wearing them outside the Olympic village on security grounds.

I kind of like the ludicrous patterns the Russians are using:

http://i.imgur.com/dazZDQ3.jpg?1

Though I suspect they have been designed so they're difficult to counterfeit.

http://espn.go.com/olympics/winter/2014/snowboarding/story/_/id/10406292/2014-winter-games-shaun-white-withdraws-olympic-slopestyle

Dead dogs.

http://i62.tinypic.com/2exr0co.png

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/04/journalists-at-sochi-are-live-tweeting-their-hilarious-and-gross-hotel-experiences/

Judged on whether bathroom tap water is drinkable, hotels are free of ongoing construction work and you can flush toilet paper, plenty of Moscow wouldn't be "ready for the games" let alone Sochi. Good case for journalists stopping being such big fucking babies (or sending ones who had been to disadvantaged countries before).

they're less being fucking babies than wondering what $50 billion and seven years of preparation translates to

It doesn't translate to replacing an entire Soviet plumbing system.

Well then perhaps they shouldn't have gone out to host the games, and the IOC shouldn't have given them the honor.

Yes, all major events should clearly be given to countries with the most superior plumbing.

Reports from the athlete village and more importantly arenas and slopes suggest everything that really matters (from a technical standpoint) is in top shape. I mean have at IOC's cowardice and obviously the horrible politics of the government but when I saw moaning about 'put toilet paper in the bin' signs I'd had my fill of 'lol russia' comedy from the brave journalists.

For real, though, these aren't just North American journalists/athletes/etc making complaints. Everybody coming from everywhere expected a certain baseline for quality of living to be established and it appears that it's not even close to being met.

complaining abt trash cans for TP = dud

complaining that only one of the eleven rooms you booked back in May is available = pretty understandable

the whole "no manhole covers" thing doesn't seem so good

There's also the whole Shaun White thing.

The whole "exterminating the stray dog population" thing doesn't either.

Provides a nice bit of context for Putin's choice of Sochi as the location for the Games:

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/feb/05/why-sochi-russia-olympics/?insrc=hpbl

Sochi has also been the no.1 domestic summer holiday resort for middle-class Russians for decades. It has good transport links, plenty of hotels and a hospitable climate in the winter. I don't think many people would enjoy a winter Olympics in minus thirty weather elsewhere in Russia. Krasnodar Krai has been very lightly affected by unrest elsewhere.

There's always been something symbolic in Russians putting a stamp on former Circassian lands but this isn't anything new and some of the thinkpieces are being massively overthought.

slopestyle qualifying is fun. glad for this to start.

aren't a lot of these issues due to hotels/new facilities being located outside Sochi in an undeveloped area?

Yes, I think some of the biggest costs, after corruption, were associated with developing the mountain sites outside of Sochi proper.

Incidentally, if anyone is interested in understanding a bit more about the region and the history of the Circassian people, Oliver Bullough's Let Our Fame Be Great is a good starting point.

There's always been something symbolic in Russians putting a stamp on former Circassian lands but this isn't anything new and some of the thinkpieces are being massively overthought.

At least in the NYRB piece, the Circassian history was mentioned it seemed more as a historical footnote rather than as the center of the piece. The main thrust was about Russia's more recent troubles in the Caucasus generally - especially in Chechnya. It's interesting in terms of Putin's personal biography since the launching of the 2nd Chechen War was instrumental to his coming to power. It's an interesting and very complicated region, of which I know little. I guess it's mostly known in the West now as a hotbed of terrorism.

Grozny is a 500 mile drive from Sochi. It's also a world away in terms of political context. It's a peaceful, thriving tourist destination and has been unambiguously under the Russian thumb for over a hundred years. They aren't really many legitimate parallels to make with the situation in Chechnya and there are plenty of far more plausible reasons for choosing it as the Olympic site.

Good case for journalists stopping being such big fucking babies (or sending ones who had been to disadvantaged countries before).

Don't remember there being such an issue during the last World Cup, and that was in South Africa.

They aren't really many legitimate parallels to make with the situation in Chechnya and there are plenty of far more plausible reasons for choosing it as the Olympic site.

Fair enough. It makes sense if the area was already known for summer tourism that they'd want to develop it for winter tourism as well.

Here's an interesting article from 2005. Apparently even then the area was known for having Russia's best skiing although the lack of infrastructure kept it fairly exclusive, although it was apparently popular with some oligarchs and Putin himself:

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2005/oct/09/wintersportsholidays.wintersports.russia

Dmitry Kozak, the deputy prime minister responsible for the Olympic preparations, reflected the view held among many Russian officials that some Western visitors are deliberately trying to sabotage Sochi's big debut out of bias against Russia. "We have surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the nozzle at the wall and then leave the room for the whole day," he said. An aide then pulled a reporter away before Mr. Kozak could be questioned further on surveillance in hotel rooms. "We're doing a tour of the media center," the aide said.

Haha, cameras in the showers

The mayor just announced there are no gay in Sochi, thank goodness.

so they're actually filming people in the shower? or terrible at making things up? or both?

in my country, shower takes you

I did lol at this: https://twitter.com/bishopk/status/430735620089339904/photo/1

Almost echoes the start of the thread.

kozak defense of facilities is some real life onion story

i really like the new team figure skating format

i like it too. yuzuru hanyu really kicked some ass tonight.

otm dude looked like something from the future

Really looking forward to the opening ceremony, even though i won't be able to watch in real time. Safe to assume that Anna Netrebko (who's from up the road in Krasnodar) will feature heavily. Have given up hope of a reunited Tatu putting in an appearance, under the circumstances, though.

https://twitter.com/tatuofficial/status/428653333373784066

i have to say (and in this i echo my two russian friends, who left in the mid-2000s and have no interest in returning) that this country appears to be almost total shit. i hope the athletes wear their freak flags proud.

xp That's amazing!

*Struggles hard not to take amateurist's bait*

i really like the new team figure skating format

― Mordy , Friday, February 7, 2014 3:06 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I got a little bit excited when I read this, assuming they would all be on the ice at the same time. A series of dances doesn't really add up to a team IMO.

On the other hand well done for opening with the gayest sport of all time.

the snowboard slopestyle? (which was on in the morning)

Oh I thought team skating was first.

*Struggles hard not to take amateurist's bait*

― 龜, Friday, February 7, 2014 3:38 AM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh i know, there are millions of wonderful people in russia and culture and history etc., i'm not an ignorant douchetard. it's just that the news coming out of there lately is just bad bad bad bad bad.

can't wait for TEAM LUGE RELAY guys

if Putin hasn't banned Luge Doubles of course

xp There are plenty of reasons to be depressed about the state of contemporary Russia but so much of the news coverage is laced with ignorance, hypocrisy, hyperbole and chauvinism it's often difficult to pick through it all rationally. The country is rebuilding itself after a complete financial and social collapse.

People are living longer and have better access to healthcare. Poverty is declining. Many of the vile conservative policies (like the 'gay propaganda law') are a reactionary backlash to the idea that young Russians are getting more socially liberal and more accepting of gay people / culture. It's not all bad.

Heaven forbid.

the cross-country "marathon" was pretty exciting. russia sweeps! i feel bad for norwegian dude.

the american guy, who was not remotely expected to metal, did surprisingly well, esp. in the 1st half. interviewed afterward, he had a real good attitude about it too.

what did people think of the french ice dancing couple's dirty dancing moves in the figure skating gala?

Am I wrong or did Adelina get tangled up in her props during the gala?

medal, not metal

French pair (Pechalat / Bourzat) were my favourites!

Also really liked Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. It's a cliche but they do skate with more soul than Davis / White.

yeah the french duo's gala performance was delightfully tacky, esp. when they switched to the remix.

Is that a dancing Dostoevsky in the closing ceremony now?

K-pop now because the next winter Olympics are in South Korea

The crying bear again...

I love listening to Bezic & Hamilton-- you can almost hear her patting Scott's head when he gets excited.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Friday, February 21, 2014 7:37 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

those two are very good imo, they have just the right tone and timing for announcing figure skating -- it sort of reminds me of hearing margaret juntwait announce opera over the radio. but i do prefer weir and tara -- i think the mcenroe comparison is pretty spot-on

preferred finale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV4JNUu02ro

i thought of the leningrad cowboys when NBC briefly featured the Russian Policeman's Choir

remind me what the dia de los muertos imagery is all about

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/sports/russia-doping-sochi-olympics-2014.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=a-lede-package-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

http://uploads.neatorama.com/images/posts/271/69/69271/1391788153-0.jpg

wow thats big

just putin being putinesque