7
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Who Won The Olympics - The United States or China?

posted August 24, 2008 - 3:16pm
Who Won The Olympics - The United States or China?

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is over. Only the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Closing Ceremony is left. So that leads to the question of which country won the Olympic Games this year. Would that be the United States with the most medals won? The United States won 110 medals. China won 100 medals. Or would that be China as China won the most gold medals? China won 51 gold medals whereas the United States won only 36 gold medals. I would say that the United States won. Wouldn't you want to count the most number of medals won instead of just who won the most gold medals?


Website: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/24/sports/OLYR...


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For the commentors from

Publius - Tue, 2008-26-8 1:28 am
For the commentors from other countries who are trying to incite the U.S. commentors... Hey guy from Great Britain - let me know when your country gets to 50 total medals. To the people from India - let me know when you get to five total medals. (And no, you can't combine the last three Olympics to get that total.) Hey guy from Hong Kong - did you send a team this year? I'm going to make this real simple. The total medal count does not rank people by gold medals. If it does, it isn't a "total" count - it is a "most gold" count. Only when a country is tied with another does the number of gold, silver, and bronze come into play. Let's look at a few examples: Spain and Canada were tied at 18 medals each. Spain had five golds and Canada had three. That would put Spain ahead of Canada. Poland, Hungary, and Norway had 10 medals each. They also had three gold each. So, the tie-breaker goes to the team with the most silver, which was Poland with six. Hungary and Norway each had five silver, so that tie-breaker goes to the most bronze, which also happened to be a tie. Hungary and Norway are even across the board. The Czech Republic had six total medals and three gold. Cuba had 24 total medals, but only two gold. Does that mean the Czech Republic should be ranked ahead of Cuba who had four times the amount of total medals? The "medal count" has always been based on the total number of medals. China finished with ten less medals than the United States. If we are going to place China ahead of the U.S. then we need to put Japan (with 25 medals) ahead of France (with 40); we need to put Mexico (3) ahead of Turkey (8); we need to place Tunisia (1) ahead of Armenia (6); and we need to put 16 countries ahead of Cuba because only 2 of Cuba's 24 medals were gold. Not only is this stupid, but it defeats the purpose of awarding any other medal besides gold. If you're only counting gold, then you simply don't understand the Olympics. *If you're interested in reading my articles, Click Here.

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Of course, Publius, it had nothing to do with the bronze in 1988

jdubhub - Tue, 2008-26-8 12:54 am
So, the lowly bronze medal won by the 1988 US basketball team had NOTHING to do with the decision to allow professional basketball players to be part of Team USA, hmm? Why not allow professional basketball players to play in 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, or 1988? Why wait until Team USA was humiliated on the national stage? 1988 Team USA loses. 1989 FIBA, through some political backroom dealings, allows Team USA to use NBA players. Nah, that's just a coincidence. I couldn't care less what you think, Publius, but even the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, agrees: US Olympic Basketball: Mark Cuban's Correct Call on NBA Players It is also not coincidental that the allowing of NBA players onto Team USA in 1989 led to the rise of international NBA marketing and importing of more players into the NBA. For you to say that FIBA made the decision in a vacuum is to ignore the facts. Take what you want from that statement, but I will let the reader read the article and decide for himself or herself. But, that's your m.o. TELL the reader what to think and FEIGN surprise when the reader doesn't agree with you, using AD HOMINEMS to define the reader's disagreement, then PIOUSLY deny using said insults. DO YOU HAVE THE WRITE STUFF?

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I just wanted to correct the

Publius - Tue, 2008-26-8 12:04 am
I just wanted to correct the record about the U.S. men's basketball team from a misinformed comment above. The U.S. did not begin using professional players because they were getting beat in the Olympics. They had only lost two games in the entire history of the Olympics before the 1992 "Dream Team" - one of those losses was the absolute farce in Munich in 1972 and the other was in 1988. The reason that the U.S. began using professional basketball players in international competition is because FIBA finally allowed us to use them in 1989. Before that time, Europe and South America were allowed to use professional athletes in basketball, but not anyone else. Our record before the 1992 team was 93-2 in Olympic basketball (and that includes the Munich loss). It had nothing to do with U.S. dominance...we were already quite dominant. But if other nations were allowed to use their professional athletes in international competition, why should the U.S. be expected to deny our professionals the opportunity to play for their country? I would suggest that the commentor do his research before making inaccurate comments, but I understand that's a tall order for him to fill. It's more important for some people to blame the U.S. for all the world's problems (even trivial ones like the spirit of Olympic basketball). *If you're interested in reading my articles, Click Here.

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Competition is about doing one's best or the team's best

jdubhub - Tue, 2008-26-8 12:00 am
If an individual or a team went out and did his/her/its utmost best and gave everything he/she/it had, but didn't win a medal, would you say that that individual or team is a loser? I have more respect for individuals and teams that left everything on the floor or pool or arena but maybe didn't even place than I do for those who just coasted through the competition and claimed a medal. Think about the best stories coming out of these Games. Are they the ones where a competitor overcame huge obstacles to get to the Olympics and maybe win a medal or are they the ones where one team dominated another one in a mismatch and won gold? Yes, Michael Phelps is an exception to that rule but because he did something no one else had ever done in a single Games. DO YOU HAVE THE WRITE STUFF?

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China Wins

rawnak - Mon, 2008-25-8 11:56 pm
China has surpassed the USA on all counts here without doubt. No. 1 position is definitely counted in Gold. I am amazed to see that all the countries that are so used to "winning" are such bad losers! The same thing happened to Australia when they lost to Indians at the T20 Cricket world cup. They were the Unbeatable Team till then. Their bad temper and antics are well known on the field, specially when things are not going their way, they then scream, "Racism" at India!!!???!! I found that very funny. Imagine calling "India" Racist! Have you seen the way they treat Indians in Australia?

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Thanks jdubhub

champagnedreams - Mon, 2008-25-8 11:25 pm
for your vote. I agree with you about Men's Basketball. But isn't the Olympics a competition? And doesn't competition imply winning?

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Wow

mamamia07 - Mon, 2008-25-8 11:16 pm
Thanks! You are awesome too! My writings here My profile here

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Why the emphasis on "winning" the overall Olympics?

jdubhub - Mon, 2008-25-8 11:16 pm
There are medals for winning individual events, obviously, but this fixation on who is the overall "winner" goes against the spirit of cooperation and harmony of the Olympic Games. I would rather have good competition between players and teams than have an attitude of "gold or bust". Look at Men's Basketball. When it was amateur-focused with collegiate, non-professional players, it was more interesting to watch. Because the U.S. team didn't always win, steps were taken by the U.S.O.C. to bring in professional basketball players, the so-called Dream Team. Ever since then, Men's Basketball in the Olympics has epitomized everything that is wrong with the NBA: chest thumping, hosing down the court with testosterone, and winning is everything so screw competition. If this was an exception, I'd ignore it, but it tends to be the rule. The Olympics is supposed to be about the bringing together of athletes from different countries, even if their governments are currently at odds, and seeing how people can learn how to cooperate under a singular flag. It is not supposed to be about "Ooh, my country has more gold medals, so we are the best country ever and everyone else must bow down to our greatness." +1 for your article, champagnedreams, because I have many fond memories of Olympics past. DO YOU HAVE THE WRITE STUFF?

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I Know

champagnedreams - Mon, 2008-25-8 10:55 pm
I don't argue with you either :). I think you are awesome!

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winners champagne

mamamia07 - Mon, 2008-25-8 10:52 pm
when do i ever argue with you :-) My writings here My profile here

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