Open Olympics thread

Posted By Daniel W. Drezner Friday, August 8, 2008 - 1:56 PM Share

You'd think, with my interest in sports and international relations, that I'd have a lot more to say about the Beijing Olympics. In a perfect world, I would. In the world we live in, however, I have people screaming at me to finish my papers some other obligations. So I'll just leave this as an open thread. Some questions to stir the pot:

Will the Games be a success for China?
Will the smog clear?
Will I be able to avoid NBC for two weeks? Seriously, isn't the Olympics precisely the kind of sporting event meant for YouTube? Why watch eight hours of gymnastics when a three-minute YouTube clip sums things up?
Will someone do something that triggers a Chinese boycott or a Western media company?
Will Americans care about anything besides the basketball tournament?
Speaking of which, will Coach K and Kobe bring back the gold?

Fire away! UPDATE: Hmmm... after reading this, I wonder if Russia and Georgia are meeting in water polo this year.... ANOTHER UPDATE: Eszter Hargittai has a fine rant about the jingoistic way the Olympics are broadcast in the United States. I do wonder, however, if her lament is simply a big country/small country distinction.

EXPLORE:INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, SPORTS, OLYMPICS

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SARAH

3:35 PM ET

August 8, 2008

I have been bloggin on the

I have been bloggin on the Olympics a bit from the IR point of view on my site - www.internationalrevelations.blogspot.com - so if you don't have time to write but want to comment and join the debate there come along!! - Sarah

AGD

5:39 PM ET

August 8, 2008

Maintaining the international

Maintaining the international relations - Sports focus, I came across a couple articles on the web that might relate to topic #5. They are about the effect of the Olympics on the immigration debate, taking into consideration that many American athletes are being recluted by other nations due to their parents nationality (which helps to create a bad image for foreign nations) and that many members of the US Olympic team were also born outside the US (which helps create a good image for immigrants).

I thought they could be of interest here.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20080719/ai_n27942022

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-olymex29-2008jun29,0,4510361.story?page=1

USELESS SAM GRANT

1:54 PM ET

August 9, 2008

The Olympics are going on

The Olympics are going on again? Didn't they just have them a few years ago?

Friday night TV choice--Olympic openening ceremony with lots of weird music, streamer dancing, and masses of beatific childrens' faces or meaningless pre-season football between Philly and Pittsburgh. Guess which won out at the Grant household.

What is it with communist countries and streamer dancing anyway?

DQUART

11:36 AM ET

August 11, 2008

I must say, I didn't watch

I must say, I didn't watch the 200 Olympics ad I didn't watch the 2004 Olympics (in part because I thought it was ridiculous how unprepared the Greeks looked) but I watched the opening ceremony for Beijing and have checked in on NBC periodically ever since.

I am not sure how much there is to say from an IR perspective other than that the Chinese are putting on an extraordinary display and aside from that one stabbing things are running incredibly smoothly.

HORSERACING

3:40 PM ET

August 11, 2008

regarding that youtube thing,

regarding that youtube thing, why watch a 3minute video when it is not enough for a once every 4year-event?

DAN

8:00 PM ET

August 13, 2008

I must be watching a

I must be watching a different station, b/c the commentators on my NBC will not stop gushing over the Chinese - the "triumph of the will" opening ceremonies, the divers, the mens gymnastics, the womens gymnastics, etc. etc.

Anyone notice the new Visa commercials that go on and on about how its not about individual countries, and then at the end, say "Go World"

I'm an American. I want the US to win. I want to see when the Americans win. That doesn't mean I want to go to war with the other countries - I just want to see them do better, but I guess that still makes me too jingoistic.

SUNRUNNER

9:10 PM ET

August 13, 2008

The (*ahem-American based)

The (*ahem-American based) coverage is American-focused, and that's not bad. Most of the events in the Olympics are events that, frankly, have no coverage, even on ESPN8 (The Ocho!) during the course of the year. Hell, until the American women swept the Fencing finals, I'm not even sure I'd call it a sport. I'm still not sure it is. Is badmitten a sport? Really?

But the bottom line is: most people tune in to see the popular 'Olympic' events (gymnastics, swimming, track - things you'd never really watch but are always on during the Olympics so you feel like you should), normal sporting events (Basketball), or "feel-good stories" (Americans win something, hopefully with some touching backstory). If it's a non-'Olympic' non-'sport' no-story, who really cares, except the country that won?

ANDREW

3:51 PM ET

August 18, 2008

I think it's really a success

I think it's really a success for China. I visited Yahoo Answers, and for all the questions like how you think of the opening ceremony of Beijing 2008 Olympic games, most of people use great or wonderful to describe it. I think China is one of the few countries that can orgnize thousands of people prepared for years and just for 2 hours show, that's something for a country.