Congrats to Canada

[kham]

Someone asked MIke Babcock this morning, or last night (blurs) how's the view from the top of the mountain?

Pretty damn good to me

[nachtjaeger]

The 6 phases of a project:

1. Enthusiasm
2. Disillusionment
3. Panic
4. Search for the guilty
5. Punishment of the innocent
6. Praise & honors for the non-participants

So the 2014 Winter Games are between stages 3 and 4 right now.

And I'm sure the coaches and managers have simply chosen to retire and move to lovely resort towns like Oymyakon, Verkhoyansk, and Yakutsk.

]They have so many problems to prepare that place for Olympics that they already started looking for "who is guilty". However, they have a lot of resources, so I hope they will manage to do it somehow. And yes - they will seek for revenge on ice. Right now they dismiss all the managers and coaches who have some relation to hockey

[Billie Bonce]

And I'm sure the coaches and managers have simply chosen to retire and move to lovely resort towns like Oymyakon, Verkhoyansk, and Yakutsk.

LOL

No, I think they will still have their dachas near Moscow. But when respected persons make mistakes, they usually don't remain respected persons.

Well, seriously it was the Russians bad luck to meet Canadians before semi-final. Actually, the target of the team was "at least the fourth place". Semi-final was mandatory. And - such an epic fail.

To be honest, ice hockey is not that popular in Russia now as it was in 70-s when those epic battles took place.

[kham]

Oh, for the stat fans, the game was the most watched show in canadian tv history -- over 16 million viewers watched the game, and 26 million watched at least some of the game (thats 80%+ of the population....)

[General Woundwort]

...To be honest, ice hockey is not that popular in Russia now as it was in 70-s when those epic battles took place.

I'm quite sorry to hear this. I did wonder, thank you for the insight, though it's not a happy one. Hockey is the only major sport that I follow to any degree and a powerful Russian team was always a pleasure to watch.

[Billie Bonce]

I'm quite sorry to hear this. I did wonder, thank you for the insight, though it's not a happy one. Hockey is the only major sport that I follow to any degree and a powerful Russian team was always a pleasure to watch.

There is a positive feedback. The more powerful the team is - the more fans it has - the more boys join sport clubs - the more talented players can be selected by coaches. In the Soviet Union the best players remained in the country. Now they go for abroad to get more money.

Also, the life in the Soviet Union was in general easier than it is now, but then there were much less of entertainment. Any sports event attracted a great attention of many people. And now... I'm not sure many people noticed that there were Olympics somewhere... I can't speak for Russia, but here in Ukraine I can say for sure that nobody whom I know, except for my wife, said a single word about Olympics. Sad but true.

[Duncan Edwards]

And now... I'm not sure many people noticed that there were Olympics somewhere... I can't speak for Russia, but here in Ukraine I can say for sure that nobody whom I know, except for my wife, said a single word about Olympics. Sad but true.

I find this very interesting. Given the international nature of the games I figured that everyone on earth got as geeked up for the Olympics as we do. My wife and daughter anticipate each Olympic games far in advance and not just the figure skating. I joined when possible but they both rushed to the television each night to watch the entire coverage. This is from a family where we know virtually nothing of winter sports and rarely even see snow. All I can figure is that the commercial side of the Olympics in the USA, the endorsements, media coverage, etc. serves to drive up interest. The sports machine in this country at both an amature and professional level is huge.

Is interest in the Summer Olympics greater in Ukraine?

[Billie Bonce]

I find this very interesting. Given the international nature of the games I figured that everyone on earth got as geeked up for the Olympics as we do.

Perhaps the president elections drew too much of attention and people lost interest to anything. It's a bit an exaggeration, of course...

My wife and daughter anticipate each Olympic games far in advance and not just the figure skating. I joined when possible but they both rushed to the television each night to watch the entire coverage.

Exactly the same here, but my wife's preferences are rare and unusual. I'm not sure there are many such women here, if any. Seriously, instead of watching soap operas she watches EuroSport channel on a regular basis. You said, figure skating? In winter sports my wife prefers alpine skiing, biathlon, and (the top fav of her) ski jumping. I'm seriously suspect she is crushing on Gregor Schlierenzauer.

Is interest in the Summer Olympics greater in Ukraine?

Perhaps. But I can say for sure in what the interest greater. Football. I can't call it soccer, sorry. It's football, both FIFA and UEFA have the word "football" in their names. I believe, 2010 FIFA World Cup may draw more attention than 2012 Olympics. Not to say about this event.

[Boggy Man]

But I can say for sure in what the interest greater. Football. I can't call it soccer, sorry. It's football, both FIFA and UEFA have the word "football" in their names. I believe, 2010 FIFA World Cup may draw more attention than 2012 Olympics. Not to say about this event.

According to the news on Wednesday, March 3'rd, Vancouver, BC may be planning to make a bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Soccer (Football) event.