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Empty Seats
For those of you who are reading, keep the comments coming. We love to hear from you 1/2 a world away and know that there are people following our adventure. If you have a question, we will try to answer. By the way, Stephanie, the boy babies do not were anything. Some of them have open pants in the back with a "window" to their bottom.
We had a morning of Team Handball and we returned tonight to see the China women against Romania. It was an electric environment with the Chinese playing. We saw France vs. Kazackstan (sp) and Brazil vs. Hungary. Hungary tied the game with a last second shot. There was no overtime and the game ended 30 apiece. We also saw Russia vs. Sweden and Russia prevailed. We were able to speak to some Americans who were unfamilair with the game and let them in on some of the rules. I still do not understand the foul calls.
I titled this edition "Empty Seats". I will have to admit, I have to eat my words. I predicted before the games that the venues would be crowded. I thought that the Chinese would pack the arenas. When we got here, the bank that was selling tickets to the Chinese was sold out. We have been on the CoSports website and there are not many tickets available. There are still some on E-bay. What I do not understand, and this is my fifth time attending the games, is why are there so many empty seats? Especially when some of these empty seats (look at the picture I posted) are in blocks of seats. Are these Corporate seats that do not get used? I have been to big events in the past where there are many empty seats. We attended the Women's Gymnastics Team finals in Athens and there were many empty seats. This is a fascinating phenomenon at the games. Why are they empty when there are so many people who would love to occupy them. Maybe some day I'll find an answer to that. It is as much a mystery as to why they do not throw the ball to the first baseman in pro baseball when they throw around the horn. Someone come up with the answer to that one for me please!! Weightlifting and boxing tomorrow. Never been to Weightlifting. Should be fun.
Rick
posted by DLNOlympics at
8:36 AM
6 Comments:
I still do not understand the foul calls.
Maybe this will help:
http://teamhandball.wikispaces.com/Handball+FAQ
The empty seats are amazing to see. I don't remember that from the Atlanta games. In fact I remember the greco-roman wrestling and team handball having huge numbers of foreign (non-American) fans, cheering and stomping and having a great time. Wonder where all those 1.3 billion Chinese people are?
Rick - I was going to ask you about the empty seats also. The gymnastics had tons of empty seats (as it looked on TV). Glad you all are having fun! I have loved watching the swimming, opening, rowing, gymnastics...all my favorites. Miss you guys!
Hello there Worldly Travelers and Renowned Olympic Fanatics!
Great Blog! It is absolutley amazing to hear from you throughout your journey and adventures. After being a part of one Olympic experience and hearing about the others...this is a real treat to experience it with you. (without the plane trip and tasty treats!)
I can still remember the electricity in the stands during the events in Atlanta. Truly one of the more magical portions of the Olympic games is the sense of history and history making moments! Speaking of which...did you get any gymnastics tickets? We watched the girls team prelims last night, and are anxious to see the finals this year. Our girls looked good, but they really need to bring their A game to beat China this year! What do you think?
I too am surprised at the number of empty seats...just a shame.
I watched Michael Phelps set another world record this morning, during a qualifying heat...and he wasn't even swimming at his full strength! Will you get to see him swim? Just amazing to see someone seem so effortless in the water!
Keep up the exciting news...and let me knwo what the most exotic food you've tried!
Lotsa Love from the Beaches of RI!
Handball looks pretty fun. Michael said that he played it in gym and it was a blast. We have been watching and think that it is great to see the events live. I know that should not make a difference, but it just makes it more fun. The swimming events have been great. The press coverage has been good over here.
Empty seats at team handball could be due to the relative anonymity of the sport outside of Europe. I don't believe the general Chinese population would flock to such an event, and most Americans are equally unfamiliar with it. With the typical American TV coverage of the games occurring again this year, America will still not be exposed to any of the more obscure events of the Games. We will be able to view swimming, gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, and track and field as long as there are Americans competing. For the first time in recent memory, we were able to watch fencing, but only because of the American sweep of the sabre competition. Oops, this is not an appropriate forum so it's time to simmer down my rant about commercial TV on your blogspot.
I'm happy you're getting to see the sights of China as well as taking in the flavor of the Games. I'm sure you'll have plenty of pictures to share when you return. Take some photos of the "special" restaurant we talked about if you find it!!
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