haroldsnepsts 4,826 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 You guys do remember that in Lake Placid 1980 Olympics, the Olympic village was in a prison, right? The dorms in Olympic village were converted into a prison after the games. They were also stripped of a lot of their amenities. What seems really crazy today is Lake Placid was the only city bidding to be a host. Vancouver was a candidate but withdrew before the final vote. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyemeryhunter 2,747 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 That is crazy they were the only candidate in the final vote,and in the pictures I'm seeing of Olympic village it has two good size beds, and looked very well put together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
55fan 5,133 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 Remember back when the Olympics was started in the hopes that it would foster friendship amongst countries and that we'd all put aside politics and just watch the best athletes in the world do their thing? Me neither. I'm not that old. Sure would be nice, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frankgrimes 1,836 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 Remember back when the Olympics was started in the hopes that it would foster friendship amongst countries and that we'd all put aside politics and just watch the best athletes in the world do their thing? Me neither. I'm not that old. Sure would be nice, though. I don't think fearing health and safety of the athletes has anything to do with politics. Overall i fully agree but the circumstances are what they are. All we can do is hope, that nothing happens and the best hockeyteam wins without any controversy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sibiriak 84 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 Vancouver Oly village athletes room http://blu.stb.s-msn.com/i/7E/3F5818FA3829B9A39A7216B1A769.jpg London Oly village athletes room http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/120702-olympicvillage-bed.photoblog600.jpg Beijing Oly village athletes room http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/08/05/us-olympics-village-idUSPEK27865720080805 I couldn't find contemporary photos of the Lake Placid Oly village rooms, but here's a contemporary description: " The Village has 937 "sleeping rooms"—later to be known as cells—which will be occupied by either two or four Olympians. The rooms have bunk beds, wardrobe and equipment lockers and a writing table and chair for each occupant. There is also a towel bar, a sink and a mirror. The majority of the rooms have one window, a tall, narrow aperture that isn't barred, but has a steel rod running down the middle of the glass to discourage escape—or, in the case of Olympic terrorists, entry. The windows are 8'10" high and 15" wide, and there is some question as to whether or not they can be opened. There also are a number of rooms that have no windows at all. The doors are made of heavy steel with small peep-windows that will be used by prison guards in the Village's next life. The rooms are arranged in two tiers around a large, brightly decorated and carpeted "leisure area." There are sofas and banquettes, and by next winter each of these 20 or so areas will be equipped with vending machines, television sets, games and other entertainment devices. Although the rooms are tiny to the point of incipient claustrophobia—about 10' by 10'—there is an aura of pleasing spaciousness in the lounges. Toilets and community showers are down the hall." Source: http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1094796/index.htm If the rooms were to be "stripped of a lot of their amenities", I can't imagine what they were. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyemeryhunter 2,747 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 Every one of those places looks much better than Sochi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 Fifty-one billion dollars spent... thus far? On what? They should be very proud. From ThinkProgress: Reminds me of the legendary SCTV sketch "What fits into Russia", part of the their CCCP1 parody. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sibiriak 84 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 Every one of those places looks much better than Sochi. I don't see any difference. Small room, two beds, two nightstands, nothing else. If you didn't know which was which, you wouldn't guess which was Sochi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sibiriak 84 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) "Fifty-one billion dollars spent... thus far? On what?" No argument here. Way too much was spent on the Games, when there are (IMO) much higher priorities. But the rooms, the amenities, and the sports venues are sufficiently good (at least from what we know) People carping on those are nitpicking. And I don't see how that TV sketch applies at all. What's the punch line? Edited February 5, 2014 by sibiriak Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyemeryhunter 2,747 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 I don't see any difference. Small room, two beds, two nightstands, nothing else. If you didn't know which was which, you wouldnt guess which was Sochi.Theres three tiny beds in that sochi picture Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VM1138 1,921 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 The bed complaints are ridiculous. Are they supposed to build five star hotels for temporary guests? It makes sense for the athletes to live in dorms. No biggie. Western world problems. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sibiriak 84 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) Theres three tiny beds in that sochi picture There are 25 players on a hockey team. Two to a room. Uneven number. Therefore one room must contain an odd number of beds. Be thankful it's not 5. Also, if I were the Russian coach, US team rooms would be freshly painted 2-3 days before Russia USA game , to take a page from Scotty Bowman's book. Edited February 5, 2014 by sibiriak Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frankgrimes 1,836 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 The bed complaints are ridiculous. Are they supposed to build five star hotels for temporary guests? It makes sense for the athletes to live in dorms. No biggie. Western world problems. Are they supposed to ? No, but seriously the pictures, water quality and below average standard and we are talking about the best players in the world here they aren't used to that kind of stuff. If a city can't even offer good quality on top of spending 50 million $ they shouldn't get the games period. The only thing players should have to worry is the competition and nothing else but in Sochi they have a lot of stuff to worry about: attacks, supbar quality of life, safety and water which isn't even drinkable...thats bad standards no matter how you look at it, pathetic. 2 jimmyemeryhunter and roboturner reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BottleOfSmoke 5,965 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 @cotsonika: By @DanWetzel -- No light bulbs. No shower curtain. No hot water. Welcome to Sochi! http://t.co/9aBB9AhyVp via @YahooSports 2 roboturner and frankgrimes reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyemeryhunter 2,747 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 These are world class athletes. I'm not saying they need five star accommodations but clean water isn't a creature comfort. Agree to disagree but sub standard living conditions isn't something Olympic athletes should have to concern themselves with, they should worry about playing to the best of their ability... When's the last time you got a good night's sleep in the cold with no heat? I'd say its a strategy for russia to get an upper hand, but I haven't heard anything about the Russians bunking. And I'm completely fine with them having dorm type rooms, but dorms in this kind of disarray get shut down. 3 frankgrimes, roboturner and evilmrt reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sibiriak 84 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 Are they supposed to ? No, but seriously the pictures, water quality and below average standard and we are talking about the best players in the world here they aren't used to that kind of stuff. If a city can't even offer good quality on top of spending 50 million $ they shouldn't get the games period. The only thing players should have to worry is the competition and nothing else but in Sochi they have a lot of stuff to worry about: attacks, supbar quality of life, safety and water which isn't even drinkable...thats bad standards no matter how you look at it, pathetic. The water was yellow in one instance that we saw. If you ever moved in a brand new building, there is always dirt in he pipes. It flashes out in a few hours. Worrying about terrorist attacks? By your logic the Boston Bruins should refuse to ever play at home . Unlike the US, Russia had never had a terrorist attack at a sporting event. Newsflash: terrorism is a global threat. If we go by the historical number of victims, the USA would be in the top 4 right after Iraq, Afganistan, and Syria. Yet the NHL thinks nothing of holding games here. Quality of life? For the athletes it will be the same as in any Olympics before. The income level/standard of living of the Russian citizens of Sochi will not matter to the athletes at all. The environment around the Olympic events will be fine, the same as anywhere else. Safety? That's a new one. Even in this nitpicking thread I haven't seen any complaints about safety or crime in Sochi. 1 55fan reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 But before any Russian conspiracies could take off, Whyno pointed to Pavel Lysenkov's video tour of a Russian Olympic team room. One less bed, but hardly more comfortable: Canada's athletes are actually receiving some of the best accommodations in Sochi, according to an article Whyno later wrote for the Canadian Press. Thanks to their 14 gold medals in 2010, Canada's chef de mission Steve Podborski told CP, the country had extra leverage in room negotiations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sibiriak 84 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) These are world class athletes. I'm not saying they need five star accommodations but clean water isn't a creature comfort. Agree to disagree but sub standard living conditions isn't something Olympic athletes should have to concern themselves with, they should worry about playing to the best of their ability... When's the last time you got a good night's sleep in the cold with no heat? I'd say its a strategy for russia to get an upper hand, but I haven't heard anything about the Russians bunking. And I'm completely fine with them having dorm type rooms, but dorms in this kind of disarray get shut down. (The temps in Sochi are in the 80s. Noone will be sleeping in the cold).OOps that was last week. It's down to the 40s now. Still, the heat will be fixed, the shower curtains hanged and the nitpicking foreign press mollified. No worries. Edited February 5, 2014 by sibiriak Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 Temps in Sochi are in the 80's? They should have submitted a bid on the Summer Olympics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sibiriak 84 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 Temps in Sochi are in the 80's? They should have submitted a bid on the Summer Olympics. That's what I said when I first heard about their bid. The stated purpose of the Russian Government at the time was that after the Games were over, Sochi would be left with first class tourism infrastructure, that would enable it to reclaim its former Soviet prominence as a major resort for the Russian people. You can take this with as much salt as you wish. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stillwater 186 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 Dude is beginning to sound a lot like Baghdad Bob. I don't see any difference. Small room, two beds, two nightstands, nothing else. If you didn't know which was which, you wouldn't guess which was Sochi. It's three to a room in Sochi. People have legitimate concerns based on reports from people in Sochi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sibiriak 84 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) Dude is beginning to sound a lot like Baghdad Bob. It's three to a room in Sochi. People have legitimate concerns based on reports from people in Sochi. Please look at the pix at the links in my post, and tell me if there's any difference between rooms in London, Vancouver, Beijing, and Sochi? The 3 bed room is not a typical room. See the video by Lysenkov that someone posted in this thread. That's what the rooms look like. Spartan, but not much different from earlier Olympics. Edited February 5, 2014 by sibiriak Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stillwater 186 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) I looked at all the pictures you posted before I wrote anything. At this point, you're coming of at the very least as an apologist. The Press is swirling with reports that things aren't very good in Sochi (they're killing dogs .... you going to put a nice spin on that?). How about some more pictures: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/olympics/media-reports-sochiproblems-olympic-village-article-1.1602530 Edited February 5, 2014 by stillwater Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 You are looking at A) Athlete's urine samples B) Drinking water. A favourite: Shaun Walker @shaunwalker7 Follow Went to buy water, realised at last minute was big plastic bottle of gin. Then got accosted by 3-legged dog. #Sochi 3:35 AM - 4 Feb 2014 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sibiriak 84 Report post Posted February 5, 2014 http://www.torontosun.com/2014/02/04/nhl-players-trade-luxury-for-community-in-sochi Here's Toronto Sun take. Are they Baghdad Bobs too? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites