NBC wins at jinxing

is it just me, or is NBC doing an phenominal job this year to jinx every "lock" they've called today? I don't think a single "lock for gold" athlete has won today. Every end of the event has been something like "did you think _____ would be the name on top?" or "well it was ______ until the event started" or whatever.

looks like Scott's talents have rubbed off on the other sports :disapp:

The biggest jinx is Canada's "Own the Podium" drive. Not only does it give the appearance of poor sportsmanship, but it is bad karma and it has put far too much pressure on the Canadian athletes.

chuckm said:

The biggest jinx is Canada's "Own the Podium" drive. Not only does it give the appearance of poor sportsmanship, but it is bad karma and it has put far too much pressure on the Canadian athletes.

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Trust me, the dialogue right now about that idea is quite fascinating and very interesting in terms of national character.

ImaginaryPogue said:

Trust me, the dialogue right now about that idea is quite fascinating and very interesting in terms of national character.

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I liked Apollo's take on it. He said "Canadians might own the podium but we intend to borrow it for two weeks."

it reminds me of Skate Canada's Dore in the 80s with his "Medals, Medals, Medals" mantra that Kurt Browning "laughingly" wrote about in his autobiography

chuckm said:

The biggest jinx is Canada's "Own the Podium" drive. Not only does it give the appearance of poor sportsmanship, but it is bad karma and it has put far too much pressure on the Canadian athletes.

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We may only have 11 medals but over half of them are gold...

i love to skate said:

We may only have 11 medals but over half of them are gold...

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Canada is 5th in the medal standings, passed by the US, Germany, Norway and Russia, who have won 79 medals cumulatively, 23 of them gold. Overall, there have been 177 medals awarded, 59 of them gold. Therefore, other countries have won 90% of the overall medals, and 90% of the gold medals as well.

It was a mistake to have such a slogan as "own the podium", for the reasons mentioned in my earlier post. It is really impossible for any one country to dominate the Olympic podium today anyway.

chuckm said:

Canada is 5th in the medal standings, passed by the US, Germany, Norway and Russia, who have won 79 medals cumulatively, 23 of them gold. Overall, there have been 177 medals awarded, 59 of them gold. Therefore, other countries have won 90% of the overall medals, and 90% of the gold medals as well.

It was a mistake to have such a slogan as "own the podium", for the reasons mentioned in my earlier post. It is really impossible for any one country to dominate the Olympic podium today anyway.

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Canada pulled out four medals today - including another gold - which ties us with the US and Germany for gold medals won. So in a sense, yes we are owning the podium - at least part of the top of it

The US has twice the medals as Canada, and Germany has almost as many. As I said, NO ONE COUNTRY can claim to dominate the podium, Canada included.

Looking only at GOLD medals gives short shrift to the Canadians who won silver and bronze. One of the TV commentators remarked that Canadians are so focused on winning gold that if the win medals of a lesser color, they feel they've failed somehow. He said the Canadians are under tremendous pressure to win, more so than any other athletes.

chuckm said:

The US has twice the medals as Canada, and Germany has almost as many. As I said, NO ONE COUNTRY can claim to dominate the podium, Canada included.

Looking only at GOLD medals gives short shrift to the Canadians who won silver and bronze. One of the TV commentators remarked that Canadians are so focused on winning gold that if the win medals of a lesser color, they feel they've failed somehow. He said the Canadians are under tremendous pressure to win, more so than any other athletes.

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Oh, stop being so serious. I was simply trying to have a bit of fun! Whatever the result, these Games have been fantastic, they have poured money into the city of Vancouver, and all Canadians are very proud of all our athletes. As for the gold initiative, what should the Canadians have done, stated "yes we are going for 3rd place".

We needed to focus on the gold because we had never won one on home soil - and guess what we now have 7 (which ties our record for most gold at the Winter Olympics). We still have a chance for 5 or more as well! Canada is no longer satisfied with losing and I love this new attitude compared to our old one. A perfect example of this is Chris Del Bosco:

"Move over Jon Montgomery, you now are in a tie for the coolest Canadian at the Games. It took Chris Del Bosco, a former member of the U.S. alpine team, to show us how sports should be played. Del Bosco, who has dual citizenship, gave up a bronze medal Sunday in ski cross by going all out for gold. In so doing, he crashed and finished fourth. What Del Bosco did is not the Canadian way. He showed us that owning the podium means more than standing on it".

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Bosco+still+golden/2601155/story.html

No, one does not announce that one is going for third place. But most Olympians are hoping for a medal, any medal, and if it's gold, great. But ANY Olympic medal is a mark of greatness.

The US will have won a total of 37 medals, not only the highest total the US has won at any winter Olympics but the highest total ANY country has won at a Winter Olympics.

Anyway, I would have thought the Canadians would have been a closer competitor in medals won, considering that the "own the podium" drive included barring athletes from other nations from the various venues prior to the start of the games. No other nation logged the practice time that Canadian athletes did. Given that, the Canadian medal total should have been higher than it was.

chuckm said:

No, one does not announce that one is going for third place. But most Olympians are hoping for a medal, any medal, and if it's gold, great. But ANY Olympic medal is a mark of greatness.

The US will have won a total of 37 medals, not only the highest total the US has won at any winter Olympics but the highest total ANY country has won at a Winter Olympics.

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Yes, that is a great achievement. Canada has tied the number of gold medals won at ANY Winter Olympics and has a chance to pass that record today. Wouldn't you say that is a pretty amazing achievement as well?

chuckm said:

Anyway, I would have thought the Canadians would have been a closer competitor in medals won, considering that the "own the podium" drive included barring athletes from other nations from the various venues prior to the start of the games. No other nation logged the practice time that Canadian athletes did. Given that, the Canadian medal total should have been higher than it was.

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We set a record for the number of medals we have won at any Olympics. Canada met the IOC requirements for amounts of training runs and practice time for athletes from other countries. Complaining that Canada "barred other athletes" from having more practice time than is required just sounds like whining.

No other nation logged the practice time that Canadian athletes did. Given that, the Canadian medal total should have been higher than it was.

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See my post on the luge thread....Salt Lake did the same thing. What was the US gold medal count in Salt Lake? Also, your facts are erroneous since most sports held a World Cup event at the venues in advance, including the luge.

The only thing wrong with "own the podium" was the slogan because it encited people from other countries to hope Canadians would fail. But 13 gold (and possibly 14) from a country who never even won a gold medal on home soil before is no failure.

What own the podium did was cause Canadians to bond over the rest of the world hoping we'd fail. I've never felt so patriotic in my life. And I'm so glad I come from a country where we cheer for athletes, not against. Just another thing to add to what it means to be Canadian, I guess, along with manners

PS: Many Olympic games have defined the leading country by which country had the most golds. VANOC opted to count all medals equally. Had it been made most golds, like many other Olympics including Beijing, Canada would be first and the US would be third.

So 37 medals is less than 26 medals? Canadian math.

chuckm said:

So 37 medals is less than 26 medals? Canadian math.

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13 gold is more than 9 gold

It is also common knowledge that many Olympics determine medal tallys by gold medals.

chuckm said:

So 37 medals is less than 26 medals? Canadian math.

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My goodness, chuckm. You're arguing the perfect combination of straw man and ad hominem that I should almost ignore this post. My thoughts....

1, My understanding of "Own the Podium" was top three Gold medals and most medals. As such, it failed. Was it realistic? YES.

2. It was never about a literal interpretation (the one you've promoted earlier in the thread) about dominating in the sense that means majority (ie 50%+1). In a non-boycotted modern Olympic Games, that'll be impossible. Everyone knows it, including the Canadian Olympic Committee.

3. In Canada and the USA, medal rankings are done by total medals, and as such, Canada is third. Others, such as the BBC (British) and ABC Australia organize standings by total golds as the first determining factor. As such, Canada outpaces the USA and Germany. I can't imagine what your comment was for other than getting another dig in at Canada.

4. Truthfully, I prefer the Canadian/American way of doing things. I like that total medals are counted because I prefer to celebrate a broad swath of Achievement. If it's about gold solely, than you might as well get rid of silver and bronze. And as such, I'm proud of our third place in total medals and am thrilled with our first place in total golds (which, by the way, is a historic high, tied with Norway in 2002 and the Soviet Union in 1976).

5. So, was "Own the Podium" a failure? It's shortcomings? Well, not actually achieving the main goal is gonna be a main one, unfortunately. Chosing an easily parodied name will go down as an embarassing joke. It also set amazing high standards, got Canadians exciting about the Olympic Games (and make no mistake, in a recession with memories of Montreal in people's minds, that's noteworthy), funded it's athletes to a level unseen in this country, and showcased a variety of athletic disciplines. So at worst, it's a failure with honorable intentions and notable side benefits.

6. And if you need a dig, wait until after the hockey match - I'm rooting for the Canadians but I have a feeling that the USA will take it in a reversal of 2002. If you're gonna use faulty logic and straw man debates, you might as well kick us when we're down.

i love to skate said:

13 gold is more than 9 gold

It is also common knowledge that many Olympics determine medal tallys by gold medals.

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Not that I know of. It's always been the number of MEDALS, not the number of gold medals. "Common knowledge" in Canada, maybe.

You're hilarious.

chuckm said:

Not that I know of. It's always been the number of MEDALS, not the number of gold medals. "Common knowledge" in Canada, maybe.

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I make a correction to my last post - 14 is more than 9

ETA:
The States had a great performance here and it really is too bad you can't seem to say the same about the Canadians.

chuckm said:

Not that I know of. It's always been the number of MEDALS, not the number of gold medals. "Common knowledge" in Canada, maybe.

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You have the attitude of a SORE LOSER. WE WON THE GOLD PODIUM!!!!!! Disagree with that. YIPEE

I bet there are a lot of Americans that were stranded in Canada during the Twin Towers Disaster on 911 that were rooting for Canada. You must have missed the special on NBC Saturday evening on all the stranded passengers when the air space in the US was shut down. I hope that you enjoy the closing ceremonies.