I miss the Soviet Union

[WhiskeyPapa]

Many of you who are under 20 may not remember, but there was a time when we hated Russia and Eastern Europe.

The Olympics were great because we could scream at the TV whenever a communist won a medal. We could rest in our conviction that the only reason they won is because they paid off the judges or did some illegal genetic engineering or something.

Now it's just one big happy world. Heck, we can't even hate the Chinese that much, since we do so much trade with them...

[oblongmelon]

Um..ok. I'm definately NOT under 20, but I can sure see that you are pretty bigoted. Let me guess-you have a white sheet with eye holes still hanging next to your David Duke poster right? Grow up. What happened in the past is IN THE PAST.

[CornMonkey]

hmm... methinks a :argue: is a-brewin'

[WhiskeyPapa]

Oh, c'mon. I thought the sarcasm/parody/joke nature of my post was obvious.

Unless maybe your post was a joke...

[dbax791]

Originally posted by oblongmelon
Um..ok. I'm definately NOT under 20, but I can sure see that you are pretty bigoted. Let me guess-you have a white sheet with eye holes still hanging next to your David Duke poster right? Grow up. What happened in the past is IN THE PAST.

Pretty harsh - I must not have read the post the same way you did :(

[WhiskeyPapa]

How about if I rephrase my original post this way:

"Compare and contrast the socio-econo-political turmoil of the 1970s and its effect on the Olympics with the global community and athletic emphasis of Olympic competition today."

[oblongmelon]

Wow....a real comedian. Your post made me LAUGH so HARD I almost PEE'D MYSELF (now that is SARCASM if you haven't figured it out)..

[Cantacuzene]

Originally posted by oblongmelon
Wow....a real comedian. Your post made me LAUGH so HARD I almost PEE'D MYSELF (now that is SARCASM if you haven't figured it out)..

I don't know what your problem is. I agree, the olympics was more meaningful back then. It was like a battle of good vs. evil and people actually were paying close attention and getting really into it. Now its kinda boring. Until the Iranian and North Korean teams get better we wont have that again. ;)

[johnnymk]

I really don't know what the purpose of the thread was, but I still don't trust the Russians or the Chinese, and anyone who does is extremely naive.

[Merlin]

I just want to get one of those cool red army CCCP hockey jerseys.

[jase71]

I don't know... I think kb0wwp is kind of on to something.

Part of the thrill of the games back then was not only rooting for your own team, but rooting against the "bad guys". It was a contest.
We wanted our athletes to do well... and we wanted them to beat the Soviets.

Perfect example... Ice Hockey in the 1980 Olympics. Everyone remembers beating the Soviets in the "Miracle on Ice" game... but do you remember that that game was really only a semi-final game, and NOT the finals? We didn't win gold by winning that game. We won gold by beating Finland in a later game. Everyone has forgotten the gold medal game against Finland, but we all remember the "Miracle" game against the Soviets... why is that?

For better or for worse, I think the old competition with the Soviets framed the contests in a larger context. Each event was part of the bigger picture, the medal race with the Soviets. It added a layer of meaning to the Olympics that we don't have anymore.

Not saying I want to go back to the fear of war with a nuclear superpower just to spice up some athletic events... just that the more settled world political situation has taken some of the edge off the Olympics...

[mojo]

Originally posted by johnnymk
I really don't know what the purpose of the thread was, but I still don't trust the Russians or the Chinese, and anyone who does is extremely naive. i'm not surprised that you said this, for some reason.

hatred is bad on any level.

[johnnymk]

mojo, grow up and live in the real world... not in a fantasy world that you think exists outside of America.

[WhiskeyPapa]

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced the "missing element" is the dichotomy (http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=dichotomy) of rooting againt the "evil" Soviet/Eastern Block, and at the same time, marveling at their amazing athletes.

Remember that huge Soviet weightlifter from the 70's? That dude was amazing. I swore that bar was going to break above his head. And Olga Korbut even made my dad watch gymnastics.

[CornMonkey]

Originally posted by johnnymk
mojo, grow up and live in the real world... not in a fantasy world that you think exists outside of America.

no offense, but who's to say that mojo's the one living in a fantasy world?

[Pinkgirl36]

Originally posted by johnnymk
mojo, grow up and live in the real world... not in a fantasy world that you think exists outside of America.
Uh....what was wrong with what he said? I agree with him that hatred is bad on any level....no matter what.

[johnnymk]

Well, if you want to get a taste of living in any of the countries where Muslims live or in dictatorships and/or in Communist countries like Russia and China, go ahead... Come back in a year or so and talk about hate crimes.... or, as a matter of fact, just try opposing any of those governments and see if you even make it back to America alive.

[jase71]

Originally posted by johnnymk
Well, if you want to get a taste of living in any of the countries where Muslims live or in dictatorships and/or in Communist countries like Russia and China, go ahead... Come back in a year or so and talk about hate crimes.... or, as a matter of fact, just try opposing any of those governments and see if you even make it back to America alive.

I'm not quite following here...

What does your above comment have to do with "hatred being bad"?

[mojo]

thanks everyone for your support on that.

and to johnnymk:

"you may say i'm a dreamer
but i'm not the only one
i hope someday you will join us
and the world will be as one"

-john lennon

(see, i'm not the only one ;) )

[Grimm]

Originally posted by oblongmelon
Um..ok. I'm definately NOT under 20, but I can sure see that you are pretty bigoted. Let me guess-you have a white sheet with eye holes still hanging next to your David Duke poster right? Grow up. What happened in the past is IN THE PAST.
Please take your psych meds immediately. It was a joke it was obvilusly a joke. No literate, sane person could not read this and see that it was a joke.
It was even a good joke. His positive behavior should be encoraged, no stomped on.

If you have already taken you psych meds you need to call your doctor and ret them re-balanced immediately. I am not joking.

[Got Apex Moderator]

Woah, we're going to lock this before any bloodshed. Be nice people. ALL of you. Retract the claws, men and women alike, and move on.