# I love the Olympics and the World Cup



## Nestor_Kelebay (Jul 11, 2010)

I don't think there's any other venue that contributes to peace throughout the world more than these.  It's when the Olympics or the World Cup are on television that people set aside their daily routine of problems and focus on their passion; sport.  And when that happens, people communicate, and that contributes to peace throughout the world.

In the past, governments were able to motivate their populations to go to war by spreading propoganda about the other side.  Prior to WWII in Nazi Germany, jews were depicted as large rodents... rats, basically.  British posters showed German soldiers raping British women and killing British babies.  But, when people of different ethnic backgrounds actually talk face to face with each other, they realize they're all the same.  And, nothing gets people of different ethnic backgrounds talking to each other better than the Olympics or the World Cup.  The new immigrant from Poland will talk to the Portugese waiter in broken English about the match between Argentina and Germany, and both will realize they're equally passionate about soccer and they've each found a new friend.

It's those tiny relationships blossoming everywhere right now that helps people all over the world realize that everyone else is just the same as them, and that contributes to world peace.


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## mudmixer (Jul 11, 2010)

The world Cup is a dramatic showing of a common link between all countries. Over 1 billion people watch the matches daily and soccer is by far the most popular single sport in the world. Soccer is a universal sport that has fans everywhere in the world that understand the game, it skills and strategy. The Olympics stirs the patriotism in everyone every 4 years, but is not a single sport since different people have different favorite sports.

Cricket and Formula 1 and road racing are probably a step or two below. When I traveled internationally, you could always find them on the local TV outlets, but have to wait a few days for provincial or local sports like basketball and American football results, let alone a real TV broadcast.

Dick


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## TxBuilder (Jul 20, 2010)

Is the world cup big in Canada?


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## oldognewtrick (Jul 21, 2010)

TxBuilder said:


> Is the world cup big in Canada?



I think it's the same size if it's in Canada as it would be in any other country. Metric or Imperial doesn't really apply here...

(just couldn't resist)


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jul 21, 2010)

I think every sports fan in every country likes to watch the best of the best compete, so the World Cup is something every sports fan is going to enjoy, regardless of whether he's into soccer or not.

I live in an area of Winnipeg called "Little Italy" because of all the Italian coffee shops on Corydon Avenue nearby.  That area is very trendy, and people go there on summer afternoons just to sit outside and drink coffee with their friends.  But, when the world cup rolls around, everyone gets into it.  You'll see Italian, French, Portugese, Argentinian, German, Dutch and other world flags mounted on people's cars identifying their aliegence.  I think everyone likes that.  There's nothing wrong with being proud of your nationality and heritige.

It's true that everyone mounting a flag on their car's window is Canadian, but Canada doesn't stand a chance to win the World Cup, so they root for the country their parents or they immigrated from.  I believe that if Canada somehow got into the finals and stood a chance of winning, they'd be all rooting for Canada.  But once Canada's out of the picture, the European and South American flags start showing up.


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## TxBuilder (Jul 22, 2010)

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> I think every sports fan in every country likes to watch the best of the best compete, so the World Cup is something every sports fan is going to enjoy, regardless of whether he's into soccer or not.
> 
> I live in an area of Winnipeg called "Little Italy" because of all the Italian coffee shops on Corydon Avenue nearby.  That area is very trendy, and people go there on summer afternoons just to sit outside and drink coffee with their friends.  But, when the world cup rolls around, everyone gets into it.  You'll see Italian, French, Portugese, Argentinian, German, Dutch and other world flags mounted on people's cars identifying their aliegence.  I think everyone likes that.  There's nothing wrong with being proud of your nationality and heritige.
> 
> It's true that everyone mounting a flag on their car's window is Canadian, but Canada doesn't stand a chance to win the World Cup, so they root for the country their parents or they immigrated from.  I believe that if Canada somehow got into the finals and stood a chance of winning, they'd be all rooting for Canada.  But once Canada's out of the picture, the European and South American flags start showing up.



Sounds like everywhere. It's good to know their are more similarities than differences.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jul 22, 2010)

Well, exactly.

When the World Cup is on, it's big in Canada even though we'd never win.  When the Olympics are on, that's big too.  When the Super Bowl is on, Canadians stay home and watch it.  (And the TV commercials during the Superbowl are the cherry on the cake.)

But, nothing draws more interest in Canada than the Stanley Cup; the hockey championships.  It's the national passion.


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## oldognewtrick (Jul 22, 2010)

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> But, nothing draws more interest in Canada than the Stanley Cup; the hockey championships.  It's the national passion.



Yeah...about the Stanley Cup...I think it's in Chicago.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jul 22, 2010)

Did you know that of the 25 players on the Chicago Blackhawks roster for the 2010 playoffs, 17 of them are Canadian?  That's 68% or more than 2/3.

Best of the West 

The only way they could have won the Stanley Cup was to hire all those Canadians to play hockey for their team.


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## TxBuilder (Jul 26, 2010)

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> Did you know that of the 25 players on the Chicago Blackhawks roster for the 2010 playoffs, 17 of them are Canadian?  That's 68% or more than 2/3.
> 
> Best of the West
> 
> The only way they could have won the Stanley Cup was to hire all those Canadians to play hockey for their team.



I'm surprised that number isn't higher.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jul 27, 2010)

TxBuilder said:


> I'm surprised that number isn't higher.



Yeah, but some of the remaining 1/3 of the roster are Russians, Czechs and Finns.

There might be some Americans on that team.  Maybe even 3 or 4.


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## TxBuilder (Jul 27, 2010)

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> Yeah, but some of the remaining 1/3 of the roster are Russians, Czechs and Finns.
> 
> There might be some Americans on that team.  Maybe even 3 or 4.



That's 3 or 4 more than I expect. My brother in law loves hockey. We are in Texas, I at least would like to watch a sport I can play.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jul 28, 2010)

You know, when I was a kid I used to go tobogganing all the time with my two sisters and my friends.  We'd all pile onto an old wooden toboggan we had and 7 or 8 kids would all slide down the hill with 5 or 6 making it all the way down to the bottom.  It was great fun.  We didn't come home until we were both cold and wet, and by the time we made it home, we were worried about getting frostbite.

But, to this day I still can't skate.  I either never had proper fitting skates or I just never had much opportunity to practise skating.  Ice hockey is a big thing up here, but you're talking to a Canadian that can't even skate, let alone play hockey.


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## TxBuilder (Jul 28, 2010)

Funny, I can skate.  I haven't since I was 13, but I can ice skate. It's a valuable skill set down here, and I often list it on job applications.


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