There are Olympics geeks, yes?

July 3, 2008 10:08 PM

I would like to read some blogs about the Olympics. Can you recommend any?

I am interested in things like:

The uniforms of different countries.

Olympic Village accommodations.

Backstagey stuff about the opening/closing ceremonies. (And THEN five thousand goats, carrying third grade jump-rope champions in glow-in-the-dark ballerina dresses, come out from behind the proscenium...)

Discussions of arcane track and field scoring.

What sports should SO TOTALLY be official now, or are and SHOULD NOT BE OMG.

Why the commentators are wrong, wrong wrong.

and other nerdery.


I'm not so much interested in the political aspects.

posted by exceptinsects to sports, hobbies, & recreation (9 answers total)

Totally obvious but the very well written NYTimes Olympics blog. Its pretty intresting and varied, I've subscribed to it.
posted by jourman2 at 10:58 PM on July 3, 2008

from the description

The New York Times Olympics blog covers the 2008 Beijing Games from every angle -- the politics, the arts, the culture, the competition. Reporters and editors from the sports, foreign and business desks, as well as bureaus in China and elsewhere, will be contributing items now through the games in August.
posted by jourman2 at 10:59 PM on July 3, 2008

Taraje William-Murray is going to the Olympics. His blog is mostly about training, making rent, and the extreme sacrifice it takes to make the Olympic team, but I imagine as it gets closer to Olympics time, he'll have very Olympic-specific stuff.
posted by ignignokt at 4:11 AM on July 4, 2008

Wow, that Taraje blog is frustrating. I read the first three or four posts and couldn't figure out what sport he's competing in because he never explicitly spells it out. (Is it judo? There's a judo link on the sidebar.)
posted by MegoSteve at 6:20 AM on July 4, 2008

BBC Olympics 08 blog.

Quite Brit-centic, but has interesting posts on key moments in Olympic history, profiles of athletes to look out for in Beijing and various behind-the-scenes stuff about Olympic politics and broadcasting.
posted by afx237vi at 7:17 AM on July 4, 2008

You didn't specifically mention Beijing, so I'll toss out an old favourite I originally found on the blue: the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics through the eyes of a volunteer at the speed skating oval. I wish I could tell you it inspired me so much that I scored a volunteer gig at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, but instead you'll have to settle for "so good it made me wish I was a volunteer at the 2010 Olympics."
posted by chrominance at 11:03 AM on July 4, 2008

The U.S. Olympic track & field trials at Eugene's Register-Guard.
posted by neuron at 11:52 AM on July 4, 2008

Here's one I found - Randy Starkman is a Canadian who has been covering the Olympics for 25 years. I wish there was more like the blog chrominance posted!
posted by arnicae at 8:59 AM on July 5, 2008

MegoSteve: Huh, I never realized that he wrote assuming judo knowledge. Yes, it's judo.
posted by ignignokt at 9:27 AM on July 5, 2008