Paralympics

[ben.carbonaro]

Did anyone watch the Opening Ceremony this morning?

I thought it was great, proved that disability means ability.

 

[mikey127]

I watched a little bit of it whilst getting ready for work. Great idea to have Adam Hills commentating. Karl Stevonovic didn't get much right during the olympics but when he won a gold logie he was corrected and very gratious when he said Adam Hills would have won several of them if he wasn't on the ABC

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Missed it, but hope the ABC1 and ABC2 replays tonight at 6ish show different bits.

The ABC sent Adam Hills to Beijing. He was excellent then and I expect him to be similar in London.

 

[ben.carbonaro]

Adam Hills was great, the trio of him with Stephanie Brantz and Heath Francis was great.

Heath gave a great insight into what was going through the athlete's minds etc.

Live coverage on ABC 2 tonight from 7-11pm and then on ABC 1 4-8am but check local guides.

 

[Ted38]

Even at this early stage of the broadcast its obvious that the ABC coverage will be vastly superior to the tripe dished up by CH Eddie. Commercial channels should be prevented from covering events like the Olympics and the Paralympics not that they'd be queuing up to cover the latter.

 

[nicky]

I'm watching a documentary on wheelchair rugby now and have to say i find the paralympics more enjoyable and inspiring than the regular olympics. I don't watch the Olympics at all but will definitely be checking out the paralympics.

Fantastic stuff!!

 

[gatorman]

Even at this early stage of the broadcast its obvious that the ABC coverage will be vastly superior to the tripe dished up by CH Eddie. Commercial channels should be prevented from covering events like the Olympics and the Paralympics not that they'd be queuing up to cover the latter.

Agreed the ABC should cover these vents, but lets cut to the chase here....... does ANYONE outside of family and close friends care about the Para's???

Seriously stop all the feel good crap. The are good at what they do, but its 5th level sport.

Thats my 2c.

And you know I am right

 

[nicky]

I disagree with that. Wheelchair rugby is riveting.

 

[gatorman]

I disagree with that. Wheelchair rugby is riveting.

Riveting??? Riveting??? Its riveting for about a minute. Novel is a better word.

 

[Ted38]

Agreed the ABC should cover these vents, but lets cut to the chase here....... does ANYONE outside of family and close friends care about the Para's???

Seriously stop all the feel good crap. The are good at what they do, but its 5th level sport.

Thats my 2c.

And you know I am right

As it happens I know you're wrong.

 

[gatorman]

As it happens I know you're wrong.

Sorry Ted, its just my opinion and that of many others. Its just not politically correct to say such things. If it was the media would be belting the hell out of any para athlete that only won silver like they did to the able bodied athlete.

The Para's are a big feel good event. But thats OK I guess. Just dont tell me that it matters.

 

[nicky]

Sorry Ted, its just my opinion and that of many others. Its just not politically correct to say such things. If it was the media would be belting the hell out of any para athlete that only won silver like they did to the able bodied athlete.

The Para's are a big feel good wank. But thats OK I guess. Just dont tell me that it matters.

You remind me of the awesome-ness of others whom dare to say politically incorrect things behind the anonymity of their keyboards. It's gutsy and inspiring - keep fighting the good fight.

Seriously though, did someone in a wheelchair run over your cat? We get it, whilst you care enough about the paralympics to make 3 posts about it in the space of 5 minutes, you believe that it shouldn't be seen as anything special.

However, you don't speak on behalf of everybody.

 

[indy nile]

Agreed the ABC should cover these vents, but lets cut to the chase here....... does ANYONE outside of family and close friends care about the Para's???

Seriously stop all the feel good crap. The are good at what they do, but its 5th level sport.

Thats my 2c.

And you know I am right

I know you're a sanctimonious self important douchebag

 

[gatorman]

I know you're a sanctimonious self important douchebag

Why do we have to bulls#*t ourselves? I am not knocking the athletes but just stating how most of us feel. Go para,s win 200 gold medals, nobody will remember anyones name within a week.

Just sayin

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Even at this early stage of the broadcast its obvious that the ABC coverage will be vastly superior to the tripe dished up by CH Eddie. Commercial channels should be prevented from covering ev25442437, member: 22090"]Even at this early stage of the broadcast its obvious that the ABC coverage will be vastly ents like the Olympics and the Paralympics not that they'd be queuing up to cover the latter.

Get real, where is the ABC going to get the $$$ to pay for Olympic broadcasting fees, and if there are no fees where are the local OCOG's (organising committees for Olympic Games) going to get the $$ to cover construction and operating costs?

That's why you needed dedicated pay TV channels to cut out the free TV advertising crap.

 

[indy nile]

Why do we have to bulls#*t ourselves? I am not knocking the athletes but just stating how most of us feel. Go para,s win 200 gold medals, nobody will remember anyones name within a week.

Just sayin

I challenge you to name any of the Australian Olympians names.

 

[gatorman]

I challenge you to name any of the Australian Olympians names.

I could name 100 Olympians and about 2 paras. The general public cant even tell the level of disability. It's a feel good PR exercise. It's not a bad thing just a bullshit thing. There selling it, but we ain't buying it

Anyway it's afl finals time

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Riveting??? Riveting??? Its riveting for about a minute. Novel is a better word.

I'd call watching a bloke live in the flesh with one normal leg run 100m in just over 11 seconds as riverting. I was at Stadium Australia in October 2000 when Marlon Shirley said he would try and break 11 seconds but just missed out. Shirley was in the T44 section which is one below the knee amputation. He broke 11 seconds a couple of years later. Australian Neil Fuller finished 3rd but won the 200m and 400m. That was bloody great to watch, the 200m was in the middle of 30,000 screaming kids.

Tim Sullivan who has cerebal palsy and break 48 seconds to win the 400m was riverting. Watching guys and girls who were quadraplegics in wheelchairs with limited movement in their hands do the marathon was as well. I lived in Concord about 5kms from Sydney Olympic Park when the Sydney Games were on, and a few streets down from where I lived was the marathon course. Watching men and women who were quadraplegics push their wheelchairs up and down the hills on Queens Rd / Gipps St, the road I would go running along and have to push myself was riverting and inspiring. It was almost cruel to make them go up the hill on Gibbs Street. The original marathon course of a few years earlier was flatter but was disgarded because it caused more traffic congestion. The Gibbs St hill was ok for the Olympic marathon runners but was so bloody tough on the paras.

Some of the events I went to were boring and uncompetitive. The swimming where all the classifications are mixed don't do it for me. But watching Matthew Cowdrey swim a 53 second 100m with one good arm does.

It's not about being PC. It's about watching a contest. That's what sports is about and drags people in. I go watch amaetur footy and am drawn in by a tight contest especially finals when promotion and flags are on the line.

Watching wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball might for some fall into the same category as watching women's rugby and women's basketball vs men's rugby and men's basketball. But a great competitive game of any sport is worth watching. Wheelchair rugby is as crazy as watching motorbike racing. Both sports the contestants are bloody crazy IMO. The wheelies are good value. I saw the Aussies lose the final to the yanks by 1 pt.

 

[indy nile]

Russ don't get me wrong. They are all inspiring in their own way I am sure


The point I am making is that we as the Aussie sporting public still don't give a flying f#*k about the paras. Tomorrow at work nobody is going to be talking about the 100 m women's d7 race???? We don't care. We patronize it, that's all we do

You might, but i know many people who enjoy watching the paralympics for their entertainment value, not just because disabled people are competing

 

[gatorman]

You might, but i know many people who enjoy watching the paralympics for their entertainment value, not just because disabled people are competing

Then why don't the media ever criticize them if they perform bad? I will tell you why. Because we patronize them

 

[indy nile]

Then why don't the media ever criticize them if they perform bad? I will tell you why. Because we patronize them

I'd say because most people in the media dont know enough about what qualifies as a bad or good performance to judge.

 

[Black Panther]

Even at this early stage of the broadcast its obvious that the ABC coverage will be vastly superior to the tripe dished up by CH Eddie.

Been flicking to it at various times, don't think I have seen one second of actual sport, just a bunch of so-called comedians and a bimbo chatting away

 

[ben.carbonaro]

Agreed the ABC should cover these vents, but lets cut to the chase here....... does ANYONE outside of family and close friends give a flying f*#k about the Para's???

Seriously stop all the feel good crap. The are good at what they do, but its 5th level sport.

Thats my 2c.

And you know I am right

I'll be biased and say that I have an old uni friend competing in the athletics, but even when I was younger always have taken an interest in the Paralympics.

 

[gatorman]

I'll be biased and say that I have an old uni friend competing in the athletics, but even when I was younger always have taken an interest in the Paralympics.

By next Monday the results will be on the seventh back page of the telegraph

People want to watch the fastest highest and strongest. We want the best, not the worst

 

[ben.carbonaro]

By next Monday the results will be on the seventh back page of the telegraph

People want to watch the fastest highest and strongest. We want the best, not the worst

That's why I'll be getting all my Paralympics news etc online.