Rating the Olympics

[noone]

From the viewpoint of a casual fan, here is how I rate all the Summer Olympics: (Note: The rating depends on organization, spectator-friendliness, accessibility, honesty and sporting interest).

A:
Stockholm 1912 (may have saved the Olympic movement)
Helsinki 1952 (friendly, knowledgeable fans, great competitions)
Sydney 2000 (super games after several disappointing ones0
B:
Athens 1896 (under the circumstances, a great start)
Paris 1924
Amsterdam 1928
Melbourne 1956
Rome 1960
Athens 2004
Beijing 2008
C:
London 1908
Antwerp 1920
LA 1932
Tokyo 1964
Mexico 1968
Barcelona 1992
D:
Berlin 1936
London 1948 (Post-war economy and bad weather not their fault)
Montreal 1976 (and I lived there at the time)
LA 1984 (joyless, too commercial, Eastern boycott)
Seoul 1988 (worst officiating)
F:
Paris 1900
St.Louis 1904
Munich 1972
Moscow 1980
Atlanta 1996 ("America's Olympics" -- spoiled OG for many forever)

North American and German Olympics come off as the worst, Scandinavian and Australian games as the best.

[bambam]

Re: Rating the Olympics

From the viewpoint of a casual fan, here is how I rate all the Summer Olympics: (Note: The rating depends on organization, spectator-friendliness, accessibility, honesty and sporting interest).

A:
Stockholm 1912 (may have saved the Olympic movement)
Helsinki 1952 (friendly, knowledgeable fans, great competitions)
Sydney 2000 (super games after several disappointing ones0
B:
Athens 1896 (under the circumstances, a great start)
Paris 1924
Amsterdam 1928
Melbourne 1956
Rome 1960
Athens 2004
Beijing 2008
C:
London 1908
Antwerp 1920
LA 1932
Tokyo 1964
Mexico 1968
Barcelona 1992
D:
Berlin 1936
London 1948 (Post-war economy and bad weather not their fault)
Montreal 1976 (and I lived there at the time)
LA 1984 (joyless, too commercial, Eastern boycott)
Seoul 1988 (worst officiating)
F:
Paris 1900
St.Louis 1904
Munich 1972
Moscow 1980
Atlanta 1996 ("America's Olympics" -- spoiled OG for many forever)

North American and German Olympics come off as the worst, Scandinavian and Australian games as the best.

Pretty good ranking actually. I would give Sydney a higher ranking than just an A = A+++ - greatest games of the ones I've been to. And I would rank 1984 Los Angeles much higher - Ueberroth and LA took over Olympic Games when they were at their ebb after the boycotts of 1972, 1976, 1980, showed people how they could be run at a profit, and despite the boycott, to some extent, helped resurrect the Olympic Movement after the terrible 1970s. I'd give them a B.

[bambam]

And as to your comment that Stockholm 1912 saved the Olympics, most Olympic historians consider this to apply to Athens 1906, despite what the IOC may say about those Olympics.

[tc]

I can only comment on a few of the ones I've attended. I think Moskva 1980 is a very strong contender for the "worst officiating" title. And I think Seoul 88 was a much better experience for athletes, spectators and residents than Montreal 76.

[Pego]

Why not an A for Rome? At least equal with Sydney and Beijing. The greatest in my memory.

[lonewolf]

After reading all this bitching, I am kinda glad Atlanta 96 is the only Olympics I have attended in person. Having no personal basis of comparison, I thought it was a grand experience.
Admittedly, as an official, I was somewhat logistically cosseted but I have great respect and admiration for the 80,000 fans who good-naturedly ran the gauntlet to get in and out of Atlanta and fill the stadium twice a day. Heck, I got the impression they were having a good time :?

But, what do I know? I usually enjoy most the movies the critics bad mouth too.

[tandfman]

I think the people who bad-mouth the Atlanta Olympics must be referring to the overall Olympic experience. Taken just as a track meet, it was terrific. The stadium was packed every day, the atmosphere was very exciting, and the competition was sensational. Who could ask for anything more?

[noone]

The problems (in my personal view of course) with North American Olympics are:

1)The spectators are generally not very knowledgeable about Olympic sports. They don't know when to cheer. For example, at the Calgary Winter Olympics the fans at the ski-jumping cheered loudest for a British ski jumper who finished last but was a bit of a clown. Now that baseball/softball is gone, the only Olympic sports most North Americans understand are basketball and hockey. And maybe tennis and, in Canada, curling.

2)The spectators are overly nationalistic, and cheer mainly for their own country, as if they were at a football game and cheered for the home team. What I especially like about Scandinavian and Australian Olympics is how fair the fans are. In Atlanta, the problem was exacerbated by the official attitude, which proclaimed these as "America's Olympics". They are not America's Olympics, they are everybody's Olympics.

3)Atlanta also suffered because of the bombing, not really the city's fault, but just like Munich, what happened, happened.

[Pego]

For example, at the Calgary Winter Olympics the fans at the ski-jumping cheered loudest for a British ski jumper who finished last but was a bit of a clown.

Eddie the Eagle was great. A pride of the Empire :-).

[noone]

For example, at the Calgary Winter Olympics the fans at the ski-jumping cheered loudest for a British ski jumper who finished last but was a bit of a clown.

Eddie the Eagle was great. A pride of the Empire :-).

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, Pego. I thought the Eddie the Eagle business was disgusting. I follow ski-jumping and I was super-excited to see Nykkanen et al. But all the spectators were interested in, is when does Eddie the Eagle go?

Imagine you're at the Olympic 100 m and nobody cares about Usain Bolt, all they want to do is cheer for somebody from Upper Bumpopo who runs the 100m in 13 flat. That's how I felt in Calgary.

[Daisy]

I think the people who bad-mouth the Atlanta Olympics must be referring to the overall Olympic experience. Taken just as a track meet, it was terrific. The stadium was packed every day, the atmosphere was very exciting, and the competition was sensational. Who could ask for anything more?

I concur. I had no problem with Atlanta.

[Pego]

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, Pego.

I doubt that any serious sports fan would not consider Eddie a joke. It is beyond me, how he could clear the UK's selection process.

[noone]

I think the people who bad-mouth the Atlanta Olympics must be referring to the overall Olympic experience. Taken just as a track meet, it was terrific. The stadium was packed every day, the atmosphere was very exciting, and the competition was sensational. Who could ask for anything more?

I concur. I had no problem with Atlanta.

Well, every sport or game has its traditions, and knowledgeable people observe these traditions. Examples:

-In some sports it is acceptable to try and distract an opponent who is trying to concentrate, e.g. a basketball player taking a free throw. But one doesn't distract a golfer who is standing over a putt by yelling "Miss, miss". And you clap politely when Yang beats Woods in the PGA. And a golfer calls attention to his own transgressions (say, an extra club in his bag) even when he could get away with it -- but a bicycle racer doesn't, it's just the way the sport works.

-At a tennis tournament, when watching a player from your country play a foreigner, you would never cheer when the opponent makes a bad mistake, like a double fault. Exception: At a Davis Cup match, it is perfectly OK and even expected. I don't know why, but that's the way it is.

-When you play poker, it is considered clever if you pretend to think even when you don't have a problem, just to confuse your opponent. But at bridge, this is very bad etiquette. No reason, just the tradition of the game.

-And at the Olympics, you cheer for all good performances, you don't just root for the home team as if you were at a soccer game in Madrid or at an NFL game in Dallas. It's just the way it is.

The fans in Atlanta and in Montreal (my home town -- I am not picking on Americans -- it will be the same in Rio if they get the Games) don't know that. They reminded me of first-time spectators at a golf tournament who cheer loudly for their compatriots.

[Daisy]

I concur. I had no problem with Atlanta.

-And at the Olympics, you cheer for all good performances, you don't just root for the home team as if you were at a soccer game in Madrid or at an NFL game in Dallas. It's just the way it is.

The fans in Atlanta and in Montreal (my home town -- I am not picking on Americans -- it will be the same in Rio if they get the Games) don't know that. They reminded me of first-time spectators at a golf tournament who cheer loudly for their compatriots.

OK you got me there. The silence for Perec was eye opening. Obviously there were many other examples. Another thing that I found frustrating was that everyone left the stadium at the start of the mens and womans 10,000m. But overall the "event" was fun.

[Conor Dary]

If Chicago gets the Olympics, which I believe is going to happen, everyone will be amazed how knowledgeable folks are here.



But seriously it certainly will be better then the know-nothings in Atlanta. Anyways I will be there and that will help. Ha, ha.