August 15, 2004
Olympic Fever, Baby!
So apparently there are some people in Athens playing games and stuff. Sounds like fun. I feel like I ought to care more, but somehow I just can't bring myself to — I mean, I didn't even watch the opening ceremony this time round, and normally I manage to stay interested at least that long.
No, instead I've been more interested in the bizarre policies concocted by the powers that be. For instance, the bizarre list of restricted items and activities, which includes cigarette lighters, large amounts of coins (so best not get change when you buy anything...) and food without "proven medical reasons" — presumably it has yet to be tested whether the risk of starving to death counts as a proven medical reason. Also on the list is smoking (cool, but a little surprising) and, well, pretty much everything anyone might ever do. No wonder we're seeing empty seats.
Oh, and "items [...] with distinctive trademarks of companies that are competitive to those of the sponsors" — presumably it's expected that spectators will have a full list of all sponsors, and a good understanding of the industries within each of them operate, or something.
Better still, though, is the policy on hyperlinking to the Athens2004.com site, which I'll be interested to see ever tested in a court. For those who can't be bothered looking, it explicitly forbids linking to the site (like I've just done, oops) without requesting permission from the Athens 2004 "Internet Department". And heaven forbid you should want to use one of the fine logos they provide...
For those who care more about the results than I, there's a Medal Table on the BBC Sport website that you don't need permission just to link to :-)
Posted by James at 21:38
Tags for this entry:
You can now subscribe to RSS of comments on this entry or RSS of all comments on this site.