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One more sleep until the Olympics!


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I am like a kid in a candy store with my Peacock subscription and my daily list of events.  When I was growing up, we weren't allowed to watch much TV, but all life stopped for the Olympics.  I have such fond memories of watching with my family (and getting yelled at for doing cartwheels in front of the TV.) 

Gymnastics, swimming, diving, rowing, beach volleyball, track and field ...

And some newer additions ... surfing, and my favorite, rock climbing.  Two people that my daughter competed against are Olympians, one in Speed Climbing and the other in Lead/Bouldering.

 

What are you looking forward to?  

 

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19 minutes ago, lauraw4321 said:

I think I’m going to have to sign up for Peacock. I have the same memories and experiences. I did Olympics crafts with the kids when they were little. 
 

I’m excited!

We had a flag sticker book and the kids would try to find the flags of the least represented countries, especially during the opening ceremonies.

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I love it all! There is literally nothing I won't watch. But I especially love the swimming (mostly for Rowdy Gaines' commentary), the gymnastics, the synchronized swimming, volleyball...I told you I love it all!

I also really enjoy learning about the culture of the country where they're taking place. We turned our kitchen into a French bakery today, and tomorrow we're making Salade Niçoise and Beef Bourguignon. And we're going to be learning about French fashion, too. I'm so excited...I don't know how I'll be able to sleep tonight!

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29 minutes ago, MrsMommy said:

I love it all! There is literally nothing I won't watch. But I especially love the swimming (mostly for Rowdy Gaines' commentary), the gymnastics, the synchronized swimming, volleyball...I told you I love it all!

I also really enjoy learning about the culture of the country where they're taking place. We turned our kitchen into a French bakery today, and tomorrow we're making Salade Niçoise and Beef Bourguignon. And we're going to be learning about French fashion, too. I'm so excited...I don't know how I'll be able to sleep tonight!

I always want to just live at your house!  Your kids are so lucky, you make everything such an experience.  And your must be an amazing chef.

 

I will watch anything too.  I don't know it is just awe inspiring to learn about the paths of different athletes.  It reminds me of being a kid and watching the Olympics and dreaming of going in  all the different sports.   I think the whole thing of happening only every 4 years just makes it so special.  

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Watch it now!  I've loved the opening rounds of Women's Team Handball, Sprint Canoe, Rugby, Soccer these past 2 days.
I loved googling to learn what sport I was watching!

Yes, consider signing up for streaming Peacock TV without ads, for $14 for the month.
https://www.peacocktv.com/

Opening Ceremonies are live 12:30p today, at the Seine River.

Edited by Beth S
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9 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

I always want to just live at your house!  Your kids are so lucky, you make everything such an experience.  And your must be an amazing chef.

 

I will watch anything too.  I don't know it is just awe inspiring to learn about the paths of different athletes.  It reminds me of being a kid and watching the Olympics and dreaming of going in  all the different sports.   I think the whole thing of happening only every 4 years just makes it so special.  

Awww...thank you! I've really pushed myself to learn how to cook new things. The macarons yesterday, however, tried to do me in...it was much better when I just let my middle daughter take over, because she did an awesome job!

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Just now, mommyoffive said:

Do you know anyone going?

Not personally, no.  A kid we know *would* have qualified for Men's Epee, but the US team got black carded at one of the qualifying events so it (helped) blow/blew their chances. This kid wasn't on the black-carded team, but because that situation helped prevent the US from securing a team qualification, he had to try and qualify as an individual, and he missed it by a point or two. 

It will be fun to watch, though! Lee Kiefer is incredible to watch, in particular, but this is the first one since we really started so I'm excited to watch now that I know what's going on. 

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3 minutes ago, TheReader said:

Not personally, no.  A kid we know *would* have qualified for Men's Epee, but the US team got black carded at one of the qualifying events so it (helped) blow/blew their chances. This kid wasn't on the black-carded team, but because that situation helped prevent the US from securing a team qualification, he had to try and qualify as an individual, and he missed it by a point or two. 

It will be fun to watch, though! Lee Kiefer is incredible to watch, in particular, but this is the first one since we really started so I'm excited to watch now that I know what's going on. 

Oh wow, that is so heartbreaking.   

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3 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Oh wow, that is so heartbreaking.   

Yes and no; I mean, it is (the actions of one dude got the whole team black carded, although those who follow it more closely than I do say the chances were not "they'll definitely qualify" had that not happened, so...?), BUT the kid is competing on all kinds of other world stages and has shared with us that really, the competition is tougher/more fun/more prestigious on other platforms than this. 

Mainly - fencing being not a huge money-making sport for the Olympics, not a lot of competitors are slotted to go/allowed to go. So, yes,  making it is hard, but then once there, you are only fencing a Table of 32 (bracket of 32; it starts with an incomplete Table of 64, but most of the top athletes have a bye for that first round). That's about the same amount of fencing as any regional tournament, and when you are at that level, it's not a lot. 

Whereas, the other world stages will have Tables of 128 or even 256 (ex: at Summer Nationals, that DH & I went to/fenced at, our events were mostly Table of 256). So, much more fencing, and many more competitors to get through to win. This kid is winning on those levels/events/stages, so while the Olympics would be a prestige thing....he's not too bummed, I think. 

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We just signed up with no-ads but ads are still running during opening ceremonies? Or at least they were during the pre- opening show so I'm not sure if there is a difference or not

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54 minutes ago, Forget-Me-Not said:

So if I subscribe for a month of Peacock I should be able to watch all of the Olympics? I’m mainly interested in watching women’s gymnastics. Is it worth it to upgrade to the no ads? 

Yes! The regular Peacock channel was running local ads here, including political ads. Really spoils the vibe to have attack ads interspersed with inspiring stories of athletes around the world. 

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I'm most excited about fencing. DS was on the US team for a bunch of World Cups in 2022 and 2023, so he has personally fenced against (and occasionally beat) several current Olympians.  But the Olympics aren't really the top competition for fencing, because they only allow 8 teams (top 4 teams in the world rankings + one other team each from Europe, Asia, Africa, and "The Americas"), and then the individual competitions are just the 3 team members from each of the 8 qualifying teams plus a few extra individuals whose countries didn't qualify. So, for example, the US did not qualify a team in men's epée, so the American who is ranked 10th in the world in that event is not in Paris, but fencers ranked 70th and 91st are there. In men's foil, the 15th ranked fencer is not there, but the 128th ranked guy is.

Some of the fencing events I think have been tainted by claims that certain referees have been taking bribes and/or trading favors, and two American fencers have been accused of being involved in that. But probably the weirdest current controversy in fencing (or maybe any Olympic sport!) is that a French fencer who tested positive for a banned substance claimed that she didn't take it, her partner took it and she accidentally "absorbed" it via his semen — and the IOC accepted that excuse! So I definitely foresee a lot of claims along those lines in the future, lol.

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My understanding is the ads run during the Live Events regardless.
But the replayed events are Ad-Free if you have the Premium package.
At least this was the situation at the prior Olympics on Peacock.

Because Paris is the host, it is easier for them to broadcast events Live (like the Opening Ceremonies).

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My whole family is Olympics crazy, always have been, always will be. We plan to sleep in shifts for the next two weeks to watch. Dd got us a peacock subscription today, the opening ceremonies were a hoot. Heavy metal meets French Revolution and the floating galloping horse were cool. Watching the athletes on the boats is so sweet, though a few groups made me tear-y. 

Women's synchronized diving early tomorrow morning!

Edited by Eos
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13 hours ago, Beth S said:

Watch it now!  I've loved the opening rounds of Women's Team Handball, Sprint Canoe, Rugby, Soccer these past 2 days.
I loved googling to learn what sport I was watching!

Yes, consider signing up for streaming Peacock TV without ads, for $14 for the month.
https://www.peacocktv.com/

Opening Ceremonies are live 12:30p today, at the Seine River.

Thanks for the link - it's no problem to just cancel after the first month?  (there's no minimum or something?)  I really don't need another streaming service, but for the Olympics it seems worth it.

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Does anyone know if there is a way to turn off the person given the visual description of what is happening?  I'm finding it so annoying especially when it plays over the announcers and I can't hear what they are saying.

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22 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

Thanks for the link - it's no problem to just cancel after the first month?  (there's no minimum or something?)  I really don't need another streaming service, but for the Olympics it seems worth it.

Yes.  You pay for one month, & can cancel anytime BEFORE the 30 days.
It's $8 per month, then an extra $6 for Ad-free.
Yes, you need to remind yourself to cancel your subscription before the 30 days is up.

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17 minutes ago, cjzimmer1 said:

Does anyone know if there is a way to turn off the person given the visual description of what is happening?  I'm finding it so annoying especially when it plays over the announcers and I can't hear what they are saying.

There's a "speech bubble" icon in the lower left corner of the screen, while you're streaming.
If you click that, then you can "unclick" English Audio. 

Edited by Beth S
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On 7/25/2024 at 11:09 PM, Arcadia said:

The Mongolian team in their attire for the opening ceremony 

 

We need more emojis!  I love this.

Our 3rd son is adopted from Inner Mongolia, which is part of China but an autonomous region.   I am always intrigued by that area of the world.   

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On 7/26/2024 at 8:17 PM, Matryoshka said:

Thanks for the link - it's no problem to just cancel after the first month?  (there's no minimum or something?)  I really don't need another streaming service, but for the Olympics it seems worth it.

No, there isn't.  I have the $2/mo plan (with ads) that I got when it was offered for college students.  Right now it is offered for $2.99/mo for school employees but I will keep what I have while I can.

I see from a simple/quick search that they are offering:

$1.99/student

$2.99/teachers, military, first responders

Do you fit any of those categories?   

I enjoy Peacock for other things too, so we plan to keep it.

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On 7/26/2024 at 11:27 PM, lmrich said:

The opening ceremonies are so unique

Yes! The Drag Queen homage to Dionysus was so unique!

😂
 

silly me! I hit enter too fast! The headless Marie Antoinette was unique, too!

Edited by pinball
Forgot about the Headless Queen! D’oh!
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I didn't have time to watch the whole Opening ceremonies yet, but I've seen video of Celine Dion's amazing performance (accompanied on piano by fellow Canadian, David Foster). Wow! She looked and sounded incredible, and what a fitting setting to return to performing. 

I was wondering how the accompaniment was actually carried out. I hear an orchestra on the video, but they are obviously not on the Eiffel Tower, so I'm guessing they were underneath. Perhaps because of that distance and lack of being within sight, she had the piano right there beside her, and the orchestra was following the piano/vocals. 

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1 hour ago, KSera said:

For anyone with ad free Peacock, is it proving to be ad free during Olympics coverage or do you still get occasional ads with the countdown clock in the corner?

We upgraded yesterday and there are definitely way fewer ads.  We watched a tv replay of men’s gymnastics and they skipped all the ads.  There were a couple of ads in something else we watched, but not many.  You can also download videos to watch offline (which is nice for us because we have some long drives coming up).  There were a couple of other benefits that I can’t remember right now.  I’m glad I spent the extra six dollars.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I’m bumping this thread for some positive vibes.

So, what is anyone enjoying? My FB feed has a surprising number of people who are down on these Olympics, but I am finding some hope in what I see.

- Not a total fan of NBCs lock on the coverage, but it’s so much more sane than it used to be. There is a lot less drama and stoking drama but still enough background to feel like you can appreciate cool stuff.

- I love all the “old” for their sport Olympians accomplishing awesome stuff. It’s fantastic to see gymnasts who aren’t vulnerable teens choosing to prioritize their health and the longevity of their careers rather than risk a career-ending injury because a coach is pressuring them.

- I loved seeing the men’s team win bronze and celebrate. Circa not that long ago, they would’ve been expected to all but be in mourning.

- So fun to see Marchand kill it in his home country!

- Love the Superman memes and such around the single apparatus men’s gymnast.

- First time medals for all kinds of countries! So cool! Algeria has a gymnastics gold! Woohoo!

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