![Paris Olympics]()
What are we doing?
The 2024 Olympics Games got underway this afternoon in Paris, France, kicking things off with the always interesting Opening Ceremony. Of course, this is the part where each country gets to introduce fans around the world to their Olympic athletes, while also showing off their style, culture, and creativity.
Team USA once again kept it pretty clean with Ralph Lauren suits (they've been rocking RL since 2008), as they battled the rain sailing down the Seine River. Basketball legend LeBron James handled the flag carrying duties for Team USA, along with tennis star Coco Gauff:
https://twitter.com/BronMuse/status/1816921349996314748
The Opening Ceremony is also where the host country gets to put on a little performance, once again to show off its style, culture, history and creativity, and let's just say... what the hell was that? Like seriously...
If you're not familiar, here's a few examples of Athens in 2004 and London in 2012:
https://twitter.com/froggyups/status/1774838545158635735
https://twitter.com/MrMaxMarriner/status/1816921228344721891
And then we have Paris, France, just a few hours ago...
https://twitter.com/Harry__Faulkner/status/1816920155399602352
https://twitter.com/vlucas/status/1816906918792991028
https://twitter.com/OliLondonTV/status/1816936962176987306
https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1816931037055775055
And this one... although dark and a bit satanic, the nod to the French Revolution featuring a headless Marie Antionette with music from French metal band Gojira was pretty damn cool. Shooting blood everywhere, jamming out on the side of a castle, mixing in some music from Bizet's
Carmen with opera singer Marina Viotti... it was pretty damn cool. Highlight of the show for sure.
https://twitter.com/WUTangKids/status/1816906088383734144
But overall, a number of viewers found the mocking of the Last Supper to be quite disrespectful. And it is. C'mon... it's utterly tasteless and antagonistic. And here's the kicker... Paris is also home to over 2 million Muslims, the largest of any city in Europe. Would they ever think to mock Islam or the Quran like that? Of course not. That would be so wrong... they would never.
A number of folks took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to voice their disgust:
https://twitter.com/CilComLFC/status/1816935808785604982
https://twitter.com/aGOATEDaccount/status/1816946016891076838
https://twitter.com/realJennaEllis/status/1816936347275231671
https://twitter.com/thereallorilove/status/1816945917595123804
https://twitter.com/ChristSavesUK/status/1816937196764434631
https://twitter.com/olilunee/status/1816919197873766880
https://twitter.com/julianddorey/status/1816944350338678910
https://twitter.com/AnnaZ/status/1816930351765205361
https://twitter.com/andypowlas/status/1816934354276233686
Even a French member of the European Parliament made a point to offer an apology of sorts:
https://twitter.com/MarionMarechal/status/1816925819077296174
Stay tuned... I'm sure this won't be the last of it...
Michael Phelps Gets Fired Up After Australian Swimmer Bashes Team USA
Michael Phelps racked up
twenty-three gold medals during his unprecedented, unmatched swimming career in the Summer Olympics. Beyond the freakish athleticism, tireless competitive drive, and endurance it takes to be in peak physical form for that long, Phelps had the added incentive of rivalries created with other countries.
Team USA dwarfs all other countries when it comes to swimming medals, but let's be honest, it helps that the U.S. as a territory is so much bigger than most nations. Australia is second on the all-time medal table, so naturally, a rivalry has sparked between the countries in this particular Olympic discipline over the years.
At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, Australia emerged with more golds (13 to seven) than Team USA. However, the Americans had more medals with a 38-25 edge, prompting Australian swimmer Cate Campbell to take serious issue with how the U.S. was portraying their version of events.
Here's a brief bit of what Campbell had to say about Team USA being sore losers during that 2023 interview, as reported by
The Sydney Morning Herald:
"Australia coming out on top of the world is one thing, but it is just so much sweeter beating America. [...] Bring on Paris. That’s all I have to say to the US. Stop being sore losers.
When we’re right next to each other in the warm-up area, the US has this infernal cowbell that they ring, and as someone leaves to go to the competition pool, they ring out ‘U-S-A, U-S-A’ and I have never wanted to punch someone more and steal that cowbell."
Now that the final Olympic trials are underway ahead of the incoming Paris Summer Games, Campbell's video is making the rounds. A clip of it made its way to Phelps, who immediately got irked with a raw, impromptu reaction:
https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1803959987418304586
Phelps said he would "lose it" if someone said that to him, and I don't blame him. He also makes reference to the times Aussie adversaries like Ian Thorpe would talk trash before a race, only to watch the evergreen result of Phelps raising his hands in triumph at the end play out.
Unfortunately for Campbell, she missed out on the 2024 Olympics for failing to qualify, leading to her recent retirement at age 32. Australia's big hitter on the women's side is Kaylee McKeown, who's a world record-holding backstroke specialist and has a shot to win in the 50m, 100m and 200m. McKeown took gold in all those events at the 2023 World Championships.
Regarding the substance of Campbell's criticism, it just sounds like somebody who has years of jealous rage built up due to Phelps and USA swimmers of his ilk dominating Australia more often than not. In each of the last eight Summer Games, the United States has finished as the top nation in swimming. That's gotta sting! I get it.
My personal opinion on cowbell, though? You can never have enough of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVsQLlk-T0s
