Comments on: US Olympic Committee says sorry to knitters whom it claimed "denigrated" the games

By: jellyfishattack

jellyfishattack — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:40:00 +0000

I’d rather watch people knitting than the boring summer Olympics!

Any city which hosts that ridiculously expensive, so called “event” is cursed with debt, and bedbugs!

By: Laurie Wheeler

Laurie Wheeler — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 20:35:00 +0000

The events involve more than knitting.

By: cellocgw

cellocgw — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 14:42:00 +0000

Wait…. the USOC spokesperson’s name is “Sandusky”? I sense a conspiracy, or something…

By: pKp

pKp — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 12:02:00 +0000

I’d love to see USOC members kissing an alpaca’s butt. On live TV.

By: atimoshenko

atimoshenko — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 08:47:00 +0000

The Olympic committees and the Olympic sponsors are what denigrate the games.

By: Miss Demeanor

Miss Demeanor — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 06:46:00 +0000

3 up for Happy Mutant Ralvery, I for one welcome our new knitting overlords…

By: Daemonworks

Daemonworks — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 04:04:00 +0000

Hmm. I think you’d have to try a lot harder than that to “denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games”, given how horrible it is. Corruption and insanity, all in the name of corporate sponsorship and international one-upsmanship masquerading as sportsmanship.

By: Nick Mailer

Nick Mailer — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:51:00 +0000

And let’s assume that they had *wished* to disrespect and denigrate the Olympics? Then, in a sense, that would have been fair comment and/or satire, and the evil Olympic Committee wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on (1st Amendment rights, as diluted as they are, surely include the right to denigrate a corrupt corporate farce ?)

Unless, of course, they’re claiming that their brand allows them to censor fair opinion? Perish the thought!

By: dofnup

dofnup — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:50:00 +0000

Hey, I’m on Ravelry, too! … hmmm … happy mutant Ravelry group, anyone? ^_^

By: IronEdithKidd

IronEdithKidd — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:35:00 +0000

Channel 99 on Crapcast. Representing Washtenaw, myself. Howdy, neighbor!

By: Funk Daddy

Funk Daddy — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Precisely, not only would the Olympics then fail to harm cities around the world, but it’s effect on Greece would be mitigated by a political culture savvy to the ways and means of the IOC. Good thinking.

By: Melissa Owsley

Melissa Owsley — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:29:00 +0000

Since I live in Metro Detroit, I tend to watch CBC coverage anyway.

By: Tribune

Tribune — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:17:00 +0000

My apologies, i read that too quickly and imagined strange chimeric creatures with multiple bodies merged into one nightmarish knitting entity that was comprised of whole or partial grandmas, men, women, transgendered people. Then the rest of my brain caught up.

However if I was right, I suggest you send any such members after the USOC …

By: fnc

fnc — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:12:00 +0000

And USOC takes the gold in the Assholympics douchebaggery finals.

By: ebiii

ebiii — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 19:55:00 +0000

What sort of legally recognized wrong is addressed by “”We believe using the name” and “tends to denigrate” and “In a sense, it is disrespectful” and “fails to recognize”? These idiots can’t even write a proper NastyGram.

By: Manny

Manny — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 19:48:00 +0000

If the sport federations are so starved for funds that they need to have a mitten sale to raise money, where does the sponsor money go? Oldsma on Ravelry and I’m going to donate my knitting to support a local program to give winter wear to kids in need, not to the USOC. Pah.

By: IronEdithKidd

IronEdithKidd — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 19:42:00 +0000

It’s not like watching the olympics on US television is useful. At least the CBC shows the competitions instead of an endless litany of “athlete profiles” with a tiny bit of sport (most likely ladies beach volleyball) between the sob stories.

By: Moriarty

Moriarty — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 19:25:00 +0000

Yes, if there’s one thing modern Greece is known for, it’s lack of corruption.

By: Nagurski

Nagurski — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 19:03:00 +0000

Salubrious? That’s kind of a metallurgical way to describe a company, isn’t it?

By: Melissa Owsley

Melissa Owsley — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:58:00 +0000

The apology is a non-apology. It does not remit the insult that was contained in the original letter. Even the second apology claims that “knitters did not perceive themselves as being disrespectful.” Uh, no, knitters were NEVER disrespectful.

As far as I’m concerned, I’m with the knitter boycott of the Olympic Committee’s hijinks. This is what happens when you give an exclusive monopoly to someone through an act of Congress that goes beyond the standard IP laws. (They get special protections beyond even trademark rules.)

Power corrupts.

mloknitting on Ravelry

By: Faith

Faith — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:55:00 +0000

If they had an image of a bunch of sweet old grannies sitting around working on their tea cozies, they are painfully mistaken. We love and respect the grannies that are part of our community, and in addition to the grandmas, we’re now a wild mix of men, women and transgender people, old, young and middle aged, tattooed and body-mod free, students, scientists, attorneys, iron workers, and designers. IOC, we are not to be fucked with.

- also a member of Ravelry

By: malindrome

malindrome — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:44:00 +0000

Despite a rigorous new testing regime, many Olympic athletes continue to be dogged by rumors of kitten huffing.

By: Felton / Moderator

Felton / Moderator — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:42:00 +0000

Kind of like the Discolympics?

By: Ambiguity

Ambiguity — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:33:00 +0000

I think the USOC needs that Carreon guy to represent them. It’s a match made in heaven.

By: Funk Daddy

Funk Daddy — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:25:00 +0000

If it were held in the same place every time, that place would actually have a chance of seeing all the possible benefits that the IOC promises* every bidder every Olympics.

It would also potentially uncorrupt the IOC by several orders of magnitude since they would be limited to forcing only potential sponsors to “go the extra mile” to win support from IOC members.

*promise non-binding and what we really mean is fuck your people, local political idiot, sincerely, IOC

By: Jonathan Roberts

Jonathan Roberts — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:09:00 +0000

It reminds me of the whole saga with the recording companies. Unfit, uncreative businessmen screwing over the people who work for them, then bleating that those who enjoy what they do are actually destroying the foundations of the industry.

By: mccrum

mccrum — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:06:00 +0000

Why punish them, aren’t they going through enough troubles right now?

By: L_Mariachi

L_Mariachi — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:06:00 +0000

“Ravelympics” sounds like something different. Endurance Hula Hooping, Glowstick Gymnastics, etc.

By: Felton / Moderator

Felton / Moderator — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 17:53:00 +0000

If this had been about kittens, the internet would have swallowed the USOC whole already.

By: Tarliman

Tarliman — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 17:48:00 +0000

The “apology” contained at least one direct lie: It stated that the C&D letter was a standard form letter. Excuse me? Since when do standard form letters contain text specifically attacking the hobby of the recipients? The USOC’s lame attempt to walk back the damage has only resulted in renewed anger. Disclaimer: I’m not a knitter. My wife is a knitter. I make stitch markers for knitting. My wife and I own a farm where we raise alpacas and make hand-spun yarn. The USOC is going to have to drive down here to rural Virginia and kiss our butts on live TV before we’ll have anything to do with the Olympics.