How about Siberia for the 2014 Olympics?

[Hasbro]

Sounds like paradise. The Georgian hockey team would be an interesting one.

I'm sure they'd pull a Greek Baseball team and get the Thrashers to represent them.

 

[Pantokrator]

Siberia isn't a city or a administrative district... it couldn't possibly be running for the Olympics. Either someone on these boards or in the North American media is stupid. The city running is Sochi, a black sea resort, and probably the biggest summetime vacation spot in Russia.

Yeah, saying the Olympics are in Siberia is like saying the Summer olympics will be played in the Sahara, or in the Amazon rain forest.

 

[BruinsGirl]

Sounds like paradise. The Georgian hockey team would be an interesting one.

Ya... but have you seen georgian figure skater GEDEVANISHVILI Elene ?


http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/ATH/100811.html

 

[BruinsGirl]

Yeah, saying the Olympics are in Siberia is like saying the Summer olympics will be played in the Sahara, or in the Amazon rain forest.

Do you have any idea how big Siberia is???

There are different climate zones there.

 

[Pantokrator]

China would be a good host for the winter games. Skiiing in the Himalayas would be awesome! Plus, I want to snowboarders ride down Everest (just make the jump to Nepal).

Plus, it'd be good having the olympics in Kenya or Tanzania. They have some mountains and it would help the economy.

 

[Pantokrator]

Do you have any idea how big Siberia is???

There are different climate zones there.

I'm just saying that Siberia is a geographic area, not a city, just like the Sahara and Amazon are goegraphic areas, not cities. Plus, the Sahara and Amazon are both huge goegraphic areas too, not that that has any real bearing on anything.

 

[SwisshockeyAcademy]

Ya... but have you seen georgian figure skater GEDEVANISHVILI Elene ?


http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/ATH/100811.html

First I have seen of her. 16 years old. Any good at hockey?

 

[Epsilon]

China would be a good host for the winter games. Skiiing in the Himalayas would be awesome! Plus, I want to snowboarders ride down Everest (just make the jump to Nepal).

I really hope this was intended to be a joke.

 

[SlapnutsV1]

That'd shut Bryant Gumbel up!

White people love Wayne Brady because he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.

Sorry, but I had to make a Chapelle's Show reference.

 

[High flyin' Habs*]

I think Sochi would be too dangerous since its very near the Chechen zone or something...

 

[Drake1588]

By and large, the Olympics are no longer awarded consecutively to countries on the same continent. It's certainly the case where the Summer Games are concerned, and it's increasingly what happens in the Winter Games. North America has no chance. None.

When possible, they like to alternate between N.A., Europe and Asia, though there isn't always an Asian bidder. Personally, I think that South Korea has an excellent chance if they're serious. It will have been 16 years since Asia has had the Winter Games, 26 years since S.K. will have had a Games at all. Long time for a first-world country, considering they have the financial resources that the IOC likes to see to build the facilities, and that they send strong teams in key Winter Games events.

1998: Asia (Nagano)
2002: N.A. (SLC)
2006: Europe (Turin)
2010: N.A. (Vancouver)
2014: ---

 

[Hasbro]

By and large, the Olympics are no longer awarded consecutively to countries on the same continent. It's certainly the case where the Summer Games are concerned, and it's increasingly what happens in the Winter Games. North America has no chance. None.

the fact that there aren't any North American bids is a bigger detriment.

 

[Drake1588]

the fact that there aren't any North American bids is a bigger detriment.

heh, indeed it does. This is itself telling, however: It's so ingrained in the IOC process that no N.A. team even made it this far or took a 2014 bid seriously, just four years after the Vancouver Games, since there's no chance. It could go right back to Europe, I suppose, but by and large this only happens when Asia doesn't have a horse in the race.

 

[Hasbro]

heh, indeed it does. This is itself telling, however: It's so ingrained in the IOC process that no N.A. team even made it this far or took a 2014 bid seriously, just four years after the Vancouver Games, since there's no chance. It could go right back to Europe, I suppose, but by and large this only happens when Asia doesn't have a horse in the race.

Yep. I have a hunch the 2016 Summer games are going to Paris and failing that somewhere in Europe because the IOC doesn't want to mess with New York, which would make the Winter Games likely for America in 2018.

The biggest factor against South Korea is being antsy about the North. The Balkans situation hurt what was supposed to be a slam dunk bid for Athens in 96.

 

[Den]

What a bunch o morons this TSN

 

[Den]

Me too or Russia...Bettman won't go if games are played in the middle of the night. It's not really condusive unless they're played in North America, but I think he'd go with Europe too. I don't know where Sochi is, but it will be definetaly no way if they're in South Korea or Kazakhstan.


I don't think any of those non-traditional cities for winter olympics will be picked? Spain, Georgia, Bulgaria I'd bet a pretty penny that they all had maybe 40 athletes combined, and South Korea had 40 athletes, but the only ones we ever hear from are speed skaters.


I think they'll wait until 2018 to go back to Asia

Everybody says that S. Korea is the front runner. They already have all the facilities built since they were a candidate city for 2010 WOG. Their downside is that they already hosted OG quite recently in 1988. Austria really messed up its chances with the doping scandal. So it will be either S. Korea or Sochi. I've been to Sochi a couple of times: it's a nice resort between the sea and the mountains with a developed hotel infrustructure but relatively few winter sports facilities yet.

 

[Raimo Sillanpää]

It's unfortunate for hockey's sake that the Winter Olympics "must" be held in a mountain country.

Those damn alpine skiiers insist on mountains for a winter olympics and this rules out two potentially excellent hosts in Finland and Sweden for example.
They also don't like the idea of a shared games, which is why Turin got these games instead of the Helsinki-Lillehammer bid.

It's kinda sad to see a hockey final played in front of 7-8 thousand people instead of a far larger crowd.

 

[Den]

Helsinki-Lillehammer bid.

There's no chance the same city get the Games in the span of less then 2 decades

 

[Wisent]

The olympics should only be in North America or Europe. No offense to people in Japan or Austrailia but that was ridiculous when we had to deal with those crazy time differences. I remember when the world cup was in Korea and the games started at 2 am... that was messed up.

Plain absurd and ultimately arrogant. There are people in Asia as well, remember? And way more than in Northamerica.

 

[Rob]

If South Korea wins the 2014 Winter Games I highly doubt you will see owners allow NHL players to participate. Vancouver will probably be the last time.

 

[Wisent]

I`d be for South Korea. I remember Seoul and they were very good games.

 

[Raimo Sillanpää]

There's no chance the same city get the Games in the span of less then 2 decades

Lillehammer woudn't have got the games, it'd just have hosted the alpine skiing.

Russia has the same problem if say St Petersburg wanted the games, you need mountains for the alpine skiing..

 

[Den]

Lillehammer woudn't have got the games, it'd just have hosted the alpine skiing.

Russia has the same problem if say St Petersburg wanted the games, you need mountains for the alpine skiing..

But still, on paper Lillehammer is a host city. In Russia, outside of Siberia, there are mountains in the Urals (still too far) and in the South, and that's why they are going with Sochi in the South which is somewhat ridiculous since this is a subtropical city.

 

[Den]

I`d be for South Korea. I remember Seoul and they were very good games.

Well, Korea hosted games in 1988. I don't think the same country gets games easily so quickly, but it happened to Canada though.

 

[Jazz]

I hope that whatever country get's it (looking like either South Korea or Austria) that they will take this time and invest more money into thier hockey program in order to make them more competitive from their current Div I status.

Austria has Tomas Vanek to built around
South Korea....I dunno, they are making all these medal-winning short-track speed skaters, why not give them a hockey stick...