so why are there no crowds at Olympic events?

[OneBlueSky]

while the high profile events (swimming, gymnastics) seem to be doing okay, I've read several reports that most events aren't drawing flies . . . and I've seen it myself while surfing some televised events . . . today's soccer match had almost no fans in the stands . . . and a recent women's volleyball match (complete with bikinis) had something like 50 people in the stands . . . is this all due to the fear of terrorism? . . . and will it leave the Greek Olympic Committee in a huge hole? . . .

[ewagner]

1. Woman's Gymnastics finals

had a lot of empty seats in the arena last night. I was really surprised because it's usually the most popular event.

[meti57b]

2. I happened to catch women's softball, it was interesting and I watched ...

but the stands looked empty.

[liberalnurse]

3. I think it was poorly advertised.....in the US anyways.

I don't think it was so much about terror.

[soothsayer]

4. prolly so much else to do in pretty Greece, mebbe they're down at the

beach or in a bar called Pan's Cave.

[Kellanved]

5. the official reason is "too many stands"

According to the official numbers the events are about as well attended as in Seoul or Barcelona - just the stadiums are larger.

Also Greece is no powerhouse like Australia, lots of Aussies visited the Sydney Olympics to cheer their Athletes on - and got many tickets for free.

[Jo March]

6. A lot of Greeks can't afford the tickets

so they are staying home and watching the events on tv. I heard that on either "All Things Considered" or "Marketplace." I forget which one.

[KurtNYC]

7. It's a boycott?

just a thought.

[Poiuyt]

8. They should just leave the Olympics in one location

rather than having countries go backrupt trying to outdo each other. Athens seems like a logical choice considering the history of the games.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

9. You will not see it mentioned on NBC, but yes, it is a boycott

by animal rights groups and outrage over the killing of dogs at night by the Greek Govt.
This was done with poision meatballs and the dogs and cats were tossed in with the garbage, sometimes still alive but dying.
All this was to make the "city prettier"

Assholes killed lots of pets with the strays.