More than proud I’m relieved it went smoothly!
Oh! Now I’m curious to see those TV programs about Brazil!
Rio is the most beautiful Olympic city I have ever seen. The landscape, the nature, everything is breathtaking!
I already knew Brazilians are emotional, full of joy for life, music, for everything that gives you vibes... and maybe sometimes this turns out to be a little too much. But I felt it, even through my TV.
And I hope one day to have the chance to get there
Brazilians are Brazil's best and worst thing… :scard7:
If you come to Brazil one day you’ll feel at home! We have a big Italian community here.
The ceremonies were great and it was a pleasure to see our french team dancing and smiling. But, but, but… Sorry, I have a very mixed feeling with these games.
I begin with the negative: (As I’m French, I would probably not be the most objective)
I can’t forget the “scandal” with Lavillenie and everything that followed. Lavillenie is impulsive and already made bad gestures against a competitor (not without reasons). But here, I find that there has been a media frenzy. Yes, his sentence was stupid but if we read well, he never said that the public is Nazi. He cited 1936 in order to say that the whistles are very rare (and historically it’s not true, 1936 isn’t the correct date). His sentence was awkward and he apologized.
Some people think he’s a sore loser. I think he’s a winner, like Florent Manaudou could be. It’s the first rank or “nothing” and when it’s “nothing”, he can react badly. And I’m not shocked that he doesn’t want to be friend with some of these opponents. I don’t see disrespect; it is more a kind of fear.
When he says that it was a ****** public, I think that he was right for a part, not all. Even if to say “s***y” is hard and impolite. I had for the Brazilian the image of people who like having fun. But before this story, it was already painful to listen to the whistles. So, when he said it on tv, I think that a lot of French viewers were agree with him to complain about a part of the public.
Commentators tried to talk about Brazilian culture, Rai (ex-footballer) explained that the Brazilian know only a few sports and that it was their way of being (boos). Sociologists said that EU shouldn’t try to impose their culture in Brazil. I don’t think like them.
- For me, first, it wasn’t to try to impose a culture because it’s a global way to be in athletics. Ask to Bolt, who said he was shocked by whistles on Gatlin and added he had never seen it.
- Second, before sportsmen, they are humans and the doped athletes (I talk about the whistles against Russian) are the first victims of a system.
- Third, the public forget that even if they are top athletes, an error is always possible and can even be dangerous, for example during the pole vault. That’s why they need to concentrate
- Fourth, the sportsmen worked 4 years for that and they deserve to have more respect for the work they did even if they aren't born in the host country.
There had the problem with the Brazilian public, but now, in France, the controversy continues because Teddy Riner, flag carrier, said understanding the Brazilians. So, Teddy Riner has to justify why he’s not supporting Lavillenie. He explained he had nothing against him and that his comments were misunderstood
So, even if there was this not finished story, I have some great moments with the sportsmen:
I must thank Thiago Braz for his fair-play on the podium. Brazil is his country; he had the right to do nothing and asked to applaud :agree:
It was a pleasure to see Christophe Lemaitre won the bronze medal and acted like he won the gold. He looked like a child
I liked the French boxers who fought for Alexis Vastine, died in 2015 in a helicopter crash. They showed a friendship forgotten by the swimmers.
Sam and Flora De Mariposa are so beautiful ♥
I don’t know if we can say there were brave or stupid but congratulations to Diniz and Besson ! The first was unwell and wanted to finish the race, the other has done all regattas with a herniated disc
The most unpleasant moment (after my first part) : Benoit Paire. The Olympics aren’t holidays. His image (his and the image of his girlfriend) is not going to improve. Money, money, money…
If I could change a rule, I will change the starts in athletics. An immediate elimination is so hard, I want the return of the old system with a chance and then a red if there’s 2 false starts :reye:
At the end, it was some emotional games and the important when we’re watching sport is the emotions, no ? Good or not. Even if I found a big negative point, I want to see the races again, smile and cry with these athletes. I found the desire to see some of the sports that I had not seen for years.
Hi Mia29!
I wasn’t there, but as a Brazilian I need to say that I’m really sorry about our behavior. Some people tried to justify their actions by saying Lavellenie and his coach said this and that, but if the audience hadn’t booed first they wouldn’t say those things.
I agree with Rai; it’s a culture thing. We boo anything, our politicians (elected in a democratic way…), our athlete’s rivals, our own athletes… But this doesn’t mean we don’t have to change. And we are already changing. It was a lot worse at 2007 Pan American Games…:shame:
I hope the audience will be a lot better at the Paralympic’s games. I’ll be really upset if they are disrespectful to any of those amazing athletes.
