SBXL < > TdF

Quoted message said:

as a resident of Michigan the bombardment of SBXL stuff is, well,
excessive, and some of the hype brags on how this is the biggest,
greatest, most spectators, sporting event of all time in the world,
yadda yadda.

But I think the TdF has more dollars behind it, more people watching
it, and definitely more hype. And it goes for three weeks as opposed to
five hours. And it's easier to get tickets. 😉

Stats? Help me out here! How many folks are on those cols, on the
Champs, etc.? 90 participants, right? (We won't count wrenches and
masseuses and rock star girlfriends.) Times more than 100 years...

Took me a bit to figure out what SBXL was... I'm so out of it, I only know
that the Seahawks are playing, and have no idea who the other team is.

OK, if you're just comparing "live" crowds, many (perhaps most, maybe even
all?) stages of the Tour de France will have a greater number of people
watching the event in-person, and most of them within a couple of feet of
their heroes. Or, to put it in perspective, you know all those stupid
flashes you see in the stadium shots, from people taking pictures of the
field from 50, 100, 150 yards away? Pictures that are going to come out
black, aside from the glare of the bald spot on the guy's head in front of
them? Well, at the Tour de France, the camera's flash will actually work!

The crowd numbers I've seen for the Champ Elysees run around 500,000, and
for as crazy-crowded as it is, my guess is that it may be an honest number
vs very highly inflated numbers for events 'round these parts. On the famous
cols, aside from Alpe D'Huez, I've heard estimates of about 100k each. My
guess, having been there in person the past six years, is that that might be
correct on some, a bit high on others, but it's a heck of a lot of people
anyway, and that's on each of several in a given stage. Alpe D'Huez is
another matter; that mountain has sunk a fair amount from the weight of all
of the people on it. Way, way, WAY more than you'd find in a Superbowl
stadium.

Number of riders starts just under 200 and finishes a bit over 100. And then
there's the Caravan, and the various support cars for each team, and the
press... it's a HUGE undertaking. And moving and setting up the start and
finish lines each day. It's like a moving Superbowl in terms of logistics.
Amazing how it all works out.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Veloise" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Help me out here...

as a resident of Michigan the bombardment of SBXL stuff is, well,
excessive, and some of the hype brags on how this is the biggest,
greatest, most spectators, sporting event of all time in the world,
yadda yadda.

But I think the TdF has more dollars behind it, more people watching
it, and definitely more hype. And it goes for three weeks as opposed to
five hours. And it's easier to get tickets. 😉

Stats? Help me out here! How many folks are on those cols, on the
Champs, etc.? 90 participants, right? (We won't count wrenches and
masseuses and rock star girlfriends.) Times more than 100 years...

Thanks!

--Karen D.
really enjoyed the Detroit News piece about them sprucing up buildings
by attaching styrofoam painted to look like marble

Veloise said:

Help me out here...

as a resident of Michigan the bombardment of SBXL stuff is, well,
excessive, and some of the hype brags on how this is the biggest,
greatest, most spectators, sporting event of all time in the world,
yadda yadda.

But I think the TdF has more dollars behind it, more people watching
it, and definitely more hype. And it goes for three weeks as opposed to
five hours. And it's easier to get tickets. 😉

Stats? Help me out here! How many folks are on those cols, on the
Champs, etc.? 90 participants, right? (We won't count wrenches and
masseuses and rock star girlfriends.) Times more than 100 years...

Does the Devil show up to the Super Bowl - I think not!

See <http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=2378>.

--
Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley

"Veloise" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Help me out here...

as a resident of Michigan the bombardment of SBXL stuff is, well,
excessive, and some of the hype brags on how this is the biggest,
greatest, most spectators, sporting event of all time in the world,
yadda yadda.

And the SBXL would be what exactly, to a person from outside the USA???

Cheers, helen s

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Help me out here...

as a resident of Michigan the bombardment of SBXL stuff is, well,
excessive, and some of the hype brags on how this is the biggest,
greatest, most spectators, sporting event of all time in the world,
yadda yadda.

And the SBXL would be what exactly, to a person from outside the USA???

Cheers, helen s

According to this link (which didn't provide supporting text for the claim),
180 countries watched the Superbowl last year.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/superbowl.html But I should also point out that it
claims that, with an audience of 144 million, it was the most-watched TV
program in history. A bit of research shows much-higher numbers for the
World Cup soccer final. A bit more research shows that the 144 million was
apparently a US-only number, with a worldwide audience of about 1 billion
(http://www.superbowl.com/news/story/7046382).

After sifting through all the information (distorted and real), one does
come to the realization that an awful lot of people, in quite a few
countries, *do* watch the SuperBowl. Why? That's another question.

But there will always be at least one great thing about the SuperBowl. It's
a great day to ride a bike, because nobody's out on the road. Too bad they
can't hold it earlier in the day!!!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Veloise" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Help me out here...

as a resident of Michigan the bombardment of SBXL stuff is, well,
excessive, and some of the hype brags on how this is the biggest,
greatest, most spectators, sporting event of all time in the world,
yadda yadda.

And the SBXL would be what exactly, to a person from outside the USA???

Cheers, helen s

Do you not have your own execrable newsgroup for cyclists there in your tiny
kingdom by the sea, otherwise known as the UK? Why don't you leave us
Americans alone? Instead of posting to newsgroups, you ought to be taking
care of your husband and your children. What do you think women are for if
not for that!

I urge Helen to reconsider her role in life. It is not for her to mix it up
with us men of the world. She should confine her activities to the kitchen,
the nursery and the church - and leave the real world be. Jeez! Uppity women
are just so aggravating!

Helen should model herself after Our Blessed Lady. I don't believe She ever
pushed herself in an aggressive manner on anyone. She of course was born
without original sin and ascended into Heaven without having to go through
the bother of dying. I commend the Virgin Mary to you.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

Quoted message said:

According to this link (which didn't provide supporting text for the
claim), 180 countries watched the Superbowl last year.

Ah... Superbowl. The final is shown on TV over here but it doesn't get
anything like the coverage of the TdF, or even the Vuelta, Giro, Worlds, as
far as I know.

Cheers, helen s

I had no idea what SBXL was until I read this thread.
- Pat (UK)

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

After sifting through all the information (distorted and real), one does
come to the realization that an awful lot of people, in quite a few
countries, *do* watch the SuperBowl. Why? That's another question.

I think American style football is pretty popular in some European
countries, Germany in particular. But it's still shown in the middle of
the night and the public at large doesn't know or care about it. I'm
sure at least 80 % of the people who watch it are in the USA.

According to this site, however, the Super Bowl was still the most
watched TV sporting event last year:

http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/headlines/y2k6/jan/janmam20.htm

As it says in the article, this is because there were no summer olympic
games, football world cup or European chamionships last year. The world
cup final is commonly watched by about a billion people, so nothing else
comes close. It is obviously the only sport with a truly worldwide
audience.

-as

"POHB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

I had no idea what SBXL was until I read this thread.

Don't feel bad. Our team, the Seattle Seahawks, is playing in the Super Bowl
this year, and the hype in the local press is immense. Nonetheless, I had no
idea what "SBXL" stood for -- only after carefully reading the post did I
decode it to the 40th Super Bowl.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
Sponsor me for the Big Climb! See: www.active.com/donate/cpetersky06
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Took me a bit to figure out what SBXL was... I'm so out of it, I only know
that the Seahawks are playing, and have no idea who the other team is.

....

Pittsburgh, which is unfortunate for hoteliers an hour outside the
metro (Flint and Toledo) because they (Steelers fans) can make it
almost a commute. Just opened a RV park site near the other (former)
NFL stadium so those from P'burg can drive to it and tailgate.

FWIW (bicycle content), the local Critical Mass group applied to be
part of the Crazed Fans on the Field During Halftime. Dunno if they got
their required 20 participants.

When I worked at the city of Detroit I used to park & ride, so I'm
familiar with many of the buildings and locales getting last-minute
spruce-ups. And all the media hype is aggravating, hence my OP. (I knew
this would be the place to ask!)

--Karen D.

Claire Petersky said:

"POHB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had no idea what SBXL was until I read this thread.

Don't feel bad. Our team, the Seattle Seahawks, is playing in the Super Bowl
this year, and the hype in the local press is immense. Nonetheless, I had no
idea what "SBXL" stood for -- only after carefully reading the post did I
decode it to the 40th Super Bowl.

In 2005, Vancouver hosted the 93rd Grey Cup game for its seventeenth
time and survived. It only fizzed on me while coming back from store
when I noticed the unusually heavy traffic for a Sunday evening.
--
zk

Zoot Katz <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Claire Petersky said:

"POHB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had no idea what SBXL was until I read this thread.

Don't feel bad. Our team, the Seattle Seahawks, is playing in the
Super Bowl this year, and the hype in the local press is immense.
Nonetheless, I had no idea what "SBXL" stood for -- only after
carefully reading the post did I decode it to the 40th Super Bowl.

In 2005, Vancouver hosted the 93rd Grey Cup game for its seventeenth
time and survived. It only fizzed on me while coming back from store
when I noticed the unusually heavy traffic for a Sunday evening.

sorry to ask but for us dumb americans...
What is the Grey Cup?????
(my guess is hockey but I really have no clue)

"mike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

In 2005, Vancouver hosted the 93rd Grey Cup game for its seventeenth
time and survived. It only fizzed on me while coming back from store
when I noticed the unusually heavy traffic for a Sunday evening.

sorry to ask but for us dumb americans...
What is the Grey Cup?????
(my guess is hockey but I really have no clue)

Multiple choice:
a. Canadian football championship
b. Weather competition for greyest weather -- very competitive in Canada in
the winter
c. Biggest curling tournament on earth or any other known planet

In article <[email hidden]>,

mike said:

Quoted message said:

In 2005, Vancouver hosted the 93rd Grey Cup game for its seventeenth
time and survived. It only fizzed on me while coming back from store
when I noticed the unusually heavy traffic for a Sunday evening.

sorry to ask but for us dumb americans...
What is the Grey Cup?????

I've had one sitting in the kitchen sink for the past
several weeks. In fact it's still there. Or at least
it was, the last time I looked.

But to answer your question:
http://www.geocities.com/cflhistory/Grey_Cup/

cheers,
Tom

--
Football is a gentleman's game played by barbarians;
rugby is a barbaric game played by gentlemen.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

[email hidden] (Tom Keats) wrote in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

mike said:

Quoted message said:

In 2005, Vancouver hosted the 93rd Grey Cup game for its seventeenth
time and survived. It only fizzed on me while coming back from store
when I noticed the unusually heavy traffic for a Sunday evening.

sorry to ask but for us dumb americans...
What is the Grey Cup?????

I've had one sitting in the kitchen sink for the past
several weeks. In fact it's still there. Or at least
it was, the last time I looked.

But to answer your question:
http://www.geocities.com/cflhistory/Grey_Cup/

That's right!! you guys do have football up there. Doug Flutie even played
for a while.
Thanks for the info

In article <[email hidden]>,

mike said:

That's right!! you guys do have football up there. Doug Flutie even played
for a while.

And his kid brother: Darren.

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the info

No sweat.

cheers again,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Claire Petersky said:

Nonetheless, I had no idea what "SBXL" stood for -- only after
carefully reading the post did I decode it to the 40th Super Bowl.

You're cleverer than me then. I had no idea until someone mentioned
"super bowl". I was still trying to figure out the 'XL'. Extra Large?

I suppose it gets shown here (.au), but probably late at night.

--
John

John Pitts <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Claire Petersky said:

Nonetheless, I had no idea what "SBXL" stood for -- only after
carefully reading the post did I decode it to the 40th Super
Bowl.

You're cleverer than me then. I had no idea until someone
mentioned "super bowl". I was still trying to figure out the
'XL'. Extra Large?

I suppose it gets shown here (.au), but probably late at night.

Well that is good because there is nothing more likely to put to sleep.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mike Latondresse mikelat@no_spam_shaw.ca said:

Quoted message said:

I suppose it gets shown here (.au), but probably late at night.

Well that is good because there is nothing more likely to put to sleep.

I just hope there won't be any wardrobe malfunctions.

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca