Be Excellent To Each Other

These start today. Yes they do. Admittedly it's only football which is barely a sport, let alone an Olympic one.

Annoyingly looking at the timetable, with Rio being on BST-4 you would expect events to start at midday but it looks like most don't start until 4pm (potentially to pander to the US audience who watched all of 2012 on delay). After being spoiled for many years with the games being in Europe, or China and Australia (such that medals finals tended to be in the morning) it looks like some late nights.

Highlights and plans? I'm fairly sure I'll be burning the midnight oil to watch Wiggins (and much of the velodrome events - which I've been fascinated with for years) and maybe a bit of the boxing. Swimming and Athletics are always slow burners for me.

Also I need to record the Skeet shooting.

Scmolympics.

I was saying yesterday that this is the first Olympics that I have memory of in my lifetime that I'm not super-excited. I love the Olympics, and try to watch as much as possible, but not so this year. I don't know why. Perhaps it's because there has been so much happening politically both here and in the US that it's eclipsed it, maybe it's the baby, maybe something else entirely. I'm just not really looking forward to it beyond a 'meh'.

I'll still watch the athletics and gymnastics, perhaps some diving, but I don't think I'll seek much more out.

I find that recently I get really excited about the Winter Olympics, though, and it's perhaps becoming more enjoyable for me than the summer games.

Won't even be on my radar, like all the others.

After the last ones (2012? The one that Danny Boyle made), my mate came over for his annual visit, he's well into sports and that.

He made some comment about Jessica Ennis (in relation to a woman who was hurrying around Shoprite as I recall) and I was like, 'Who's Jessica Ennis?'. He flat out refused to believe that I didn't know who she was and thought I was taking the piss, finally telling me in sheer exasperation that she was a famous fast woman who did the Olympics and it was like not knowing the prime minister was.

We then had a bet of 50p that Mrs Hearthly wouldn't know who she was either, a bet he eagerly accepted despite me assuring him she wouldn't have the first clue. (He was of the opinion it was impossible for us to both not know who she was.)

As soon as we got back to the house he collared Mrs Hearthly and said, 'Vicki, I have a very important question to ask you. Who is Jessica Ennis?'

Splendidly, she ummed and ahhed for a bit as my mate squawked in something approaching genuine offence, until Mrs Hearthly tentatively asked if she was a singer of some sort.

That was a sweet 50p.

It's all corrupt anyway innit, the IOC are up there with FIFA from what I can tell - and it's costing Brazil billions to host the bastard things as the country itself collapses into abject poverty.

As always, I will watch as much limpics as I can. I will watch any old sport on telly at the best of times, so wall to wall sport is like crack to me. Bring on the $sport !

I'll watch a bit if it's on.

I only really enjoy the more obscure sports that you don't normally get to see.

Yeah, not really too fussed. There doesn't seem to be the same excitement generally as usual though. Or maybe I'm just comparing it to the last ones that were here.

I'll watch the Skeet Shooting (Riles - if it's on a Friday night we should have a party), but other than that I couldn't give a toss, really.

This. Especially the rowing.

Don't you live in Oxford? Any time I've been there it's full of riwing crews.

Oh HAI



Bobby should totally be in the Mens Prone

It's not quite the same.

I'm still proud that the only sports team I was ever picked for was St Peter's College Second Crew Novices. I was the number 2. Sadly, due to flooding the race was cancelled but that's not the point.

Flooded?

Haha

Russell was once in a Scrabble club but somebody stole all the letters so they disbanded.

My eldest was born just a few weeks before the start of the last olympics so 2012 will always hold a special place in my heart. Indeed, our first family outing was to go and see the olympic torch come by our town.

I think that this olympics will never match up to the feeling I had back then, and since I don't give a toss about sport (despite it being part of my job) I won't be going out of my way to watch any of it.

Ace. I like the biathlon in the Winter Olympics. Skiing and shooting. Great fun.

Other summer Olympic games I like: squash and everything in the velodrome or in the swimming pools.

I saw someone (actually, two people, a chap and his brother) who looked just like you on TV yesterday. I can't remember what it was I was watching though.

Edit: TheVision, I mean.

I got picked for one game for our school's hockey B team. I think I was very much making up the numbers.

I played in ALL the volleyball teams (girls, women's, boys and men's) at once. I was the setter, so didn't need to be tall or powerful, but I was quite good.

Was it the drummer from Coldplay? I've been told that he looks like me.

No. I remember now. It was about the possible murder of a boy on the Isle of White 20 years ago. The missing boy's best friend andctgevbestvrrurnd's brother now bow look like you

I am looking forward to it, and will watch what I can

I'm looking forward to seeing who gets caught with PEDs (or just regular performance non-enhancing drugs... You know someone's going to get busted for coke... ).

Here's a question: do they drugs test the horses? I mean, you could totally give them all sorts of drugs to improve stamina and speed. (In fact, the phrase "souped up" originally came from giving racehorses "soup" (ie drugs) to make them run faster). I'm also guessing having an Olympic champion eventing horse would be worth a staggering amount of money to the owner.

I have no interest, but I will watch everything I can with Mimi such as the gymnastics, or diving or other things that make her happy because although I don't enjoy the sports, I know she does.

I can't be arsed. 2012 was so good they should have stopped there.

It was really just a remake of 2008, though. The lazy fuckers didn't even change the events, and even some of the roles were played by the same actors.

<suspicious>
Was he selling pies?

Yes, they do drugs tests on competing horses.

Not pommel horses, though.

As it just plays a supporting role.

That's not even slightly funny.

*mmm crumpets*.

Russell, there were six crumpets in the freezer it turns out. Now three.

Three is the magic number.

Biathlon is on Eurosport. It is strangely hypnotic.

No more, no less... That's the magic number.

Coincidentally it is two years today since cheesey French toast crumpets with spring onions and chillis. Facebook told me.

I know what I want for tea now.

Me and you, Cras!

I'm not sure Kern is going to enjoy the Women's skeet as much as we are

No Tom Daley.

Woohoo! I love me some armed ladies.

You'll not be looking at their arms

I. Will be watching as much as possible, staying up late, and enjoying it all. I don't like the subjective events, but can appreciate the skill. I may watch the Brits doing gymnastics, especially as my daughter is well into it. Love the athletics, rowing, canoeing, cycling, sailing, will watch the rugby sevens, boxing, judo, taekwondo, volleyball, table tennis, squash, badminton, tennis and anything that might have a Brit doing well in it. The horses (not the dressage, but the one where they jump over funny looking fences) can be quite good fun.

Were you successful or disappointed?

He failed. I had them for breakfast the following day and now there are no more crumpets.

To be fair, failure is the default option for me, so it wasn't unexpected.

Valverde tomorrow.

I am enjoying this so far. A few bad crashes in cycling over the past few days.

Good to see Team GB getting a gold in swimming.

Sicko.

I forgot to watch the shooting.

Yesterdays crash looked horrific. I hadn't seen any of the crashes on Saturday, just the aftermaths of people sat in the gutter. In fact I wasn't even aware until after yesterdays race that Nibbles broke both his collarbones when he crashed.

Despite having a job that's to do with Sport, so far I have managed to watch zero minutes of the Olympics. I wonder if I can keep it up?

I watch about 10 minutes of the opening ceremony and 5 minutes of "diving in pairs" last night. No crashes.

Watch the French gymnastics instead.