agree, they tossers

Are you kidding?

basketball in Australia is basically dead and no one outside of basketball would know Bogut.

Tonkins is a great selection, he has represented out country well for 20 years.

Stupid post.

I am 43 years old and i would kill to be at my fifth olympics. Bogut hasnt even got there yet,

Dont get me wrong Bogut is a great player but i am sorry james tonkins deserves the flag bearer title.

Its about serving your country in the field of sport. Bogut will get his chance.

Look at andrew gaze he got his chance. and it wasnt at his first olympics it was at his last just about.

There was a guy in the canadian team that was going to his ninth olympics and i dont rekon he has been flag bearer before.

dont tell me bogut should have been the flag bearer because that just shows ignorance to the olympic ideals.

because unlike bogut, tomkins is a six time olympian with 3 gold medals.

when bogut wins just one gold medal, maybe he may get a chance. or in 2024, when he is making his 6th appearance, im sure he will be the pick.

usually the flag bearer is the athlete with the most olympic experience, not a young athlete. great choice i think.

it was either him or grant hackett IMO.

i think the guy also mentioned grant hackett. you guys do realise you need somebody recognisable internationally too? don't yous?

I must say, I was a bit suprised to see Dirk and AK up the front. Yao was a certainty, and Manu has an Olympic gold, but the other two....

But Tomkins was definitely the man for the job. And there would be a few other people more deserving than Bogut, too. He has only been to one Games before and hasn't done a whole lot...

Even if Hackett was offered it, I dont think he would have taken it, due to the fact that hardly any of the swimmers, if any were at the opening ceremony. They all start their swimming events in the next day or so, and they were resting up for that instead of being at the Opening Ceremony. He said during the week they wouldn't be there, their main purpose of going to the games was to compete to the best of their ability, and the Opening Ceremony was a long and tiring night right before they are competing.

James Tomkins fully deserved the flag in his own right.

Well done China on a truly spectacular start to the games.

N, "basketball in Australia is basically dead and no one outside of basketball would know Bogut." When you talk about Bogut, you don't just talk about the few Australian Basketball followers that know him, he is a world wide name in basketball. Many around the world would know him, particularly Americans. He is young and has opportunities in future Olympics to carry the flag.

Was it just me or did Patty Mills get a huge cheer when his head poped up on the screen?

Dirk i thought got a better cheer than Kobe.

Forgot to add i thought it was funny when Special Bruce made teh comment about how the athletes are starting to mingle with other nations....that would be because the picture they showed was Deron, Boozer and AK posing for pictures

yeh and that guy had no idea that they 3 actually plays for the same club and that's why their together!

and with EC's point i think that's why the original poster posted this up cos bogut is a face that can be recognised internationally. that'd help aus basketball lot's more as well.

furthermore, wouldn't it be a joke while it's been 24 years and we haven't been able to produce another rower that can overtake tomkins? i mean no offence to him but really no other bigger country's athlete (eg. spain, usa, etc) will have one athlete competing as the top for 24 years! lack of talent in this country? i don't think so but yeah...

There were at least 5 or 6 atheletes more deserving than bogut. Tomkins was a great choice, and is a great athelete.

Just be happy if he carries the team .

If any basketballer deserved it, surely it would be Lauren Jackson.

Non of the USA basketballers carried the flag either. Nor any of there other world stage athletes.

The flag should be more about the Olympic spirit than commercialisation.

yeh lj deserves it more than bogut for sure, don't think she was there though cos of game this morning

i think the choice was a correct one. Tomkins is known all over the country, he is respected by all the athletes and it will no doubt be is last games. On a side note, the uniforms....must have been a discount on at Allsports.

What has Bogut done at the olympics? Nothing!

What has Tompkins done? Oh you no nothing much ... just a 6 time olympian, three time gold medal winner.

Nah, Bogut's definately more worthy.

(Congrats to the Australian olympic committee for doing the right thing)

S30, you must be clueless mate!

Almost everyone of the elite countries has at least 1, if not 3 or 4 athletes competing in their 5th or 6th games.

Instead of criticizing something you no nothing about, how about you appreciate how good an athlete Tompkins must be to be competing in his 6th olympics. Seriously the olympics is about heart and patriotism, not 7 ft blokes who make 10 mill + a year.

joshua, don't know how much the uniforms were discounted but you can buy one in a display frame and signed by a few of the swimmers for a bargain basement price of $4,000.

Probably unfair to turn around a silly idea (Bogut carrying the flag) to say that Bogut stands for commercialization and lack of patriotism etc.

This is a guy who would rather Australia do well over any NBA success. This would be a time to be big-upping Tomkins, not stick the boots into Bogut over a hypothetical that the man himself did not propose.

I wasn't suggesting that Bogut himself lacks patriotism, after all he is playing in the olympics (Harry Kewell anyone?)

What I meant was to point out how farcical and disappointing it is to see people on this board criticize an Australian Olympic legend such as Tompkins, who has trained his heart out for the last 20 years for NO financial incentive, and merely because he is not as well internationally known as Bogut.

Remember the vast majority of olympians can barely be called professional athletes from the financial perspective - even most of our beloved swimmers are force to secure their financial future through other means.

Anyways, Go Green and Gold!

... Think Tomkins clearly gets the flag for his Goulburn Valley Gold ads ...

ignorant post for sure

have you not heard the outcry that has occurred in germany because dirk carried it?

there are alot of complaints because he has done nothing for germany on the olympic stage as far as success and medals etc

just because you earn the most money doesnt mean youre the countries best olympian

im proud of australias choice

I reckon he should get in line:

Hackett, Lenton, Jackson should be way before Bogut....

i reckon hackett will be given it for the closing ceremony

expecially if he does the expected and becomes our all time gold medal leader

Jordan, have you even read or heard about the reasons why Kewell isn't at the Olympics and its nothing to do with lack of patriotism. He said he wanted to be there and play, but because he has only recently signed with a new club he would have been unavailable to compete in the warm up matches and really unite with the team until only a week or so before the games and he didn't think it was fair on the team - so he put personal aspirations aside to do the best for his country which is something you shouldn't dismiss.

Bogut will deserve to carry the flag the yr he plays his 5th or 6th Olympics or if the team wins gold. Until then there are others more deserving. Tomkins was a fitting choice.

Who here has heard of Lopez Lomong - the flag bearer for the USA; or Mark Foster for GB; David Cal of Spain or Antonio Rossi of Italy? One of the biggest names on an international scale to carry the flag for their country was Federer and it was his 2nd time which seems a big wrong when there are other athletes competing for Switzerland. Who cares if the flag bearer is an international name, surely its more important to see what role they have played for their country, how dedicated to their sport they are and what they are willing to give - 6 Olympics is an achievement over how many know who they are.

top post michelle sums it up nicely

tomkins is a legend, not just in australi but in europe were rowing is huge,

3 golds a silver and a bronze vs nothing end of argument

Indeed Michelle, I am well aware of Kewell's situation.

I find it rather convenient that earlier in the year when he was out of contract he was available for the socceroos world cup qualifiers, uses them to get a new contract and club, and then is promptly unavailable for the olyroos.

Yes, he has just signed with a new club, but Kewell has a long history of shafting the socceroos, except when it benefits HIM to play for them.

Maybe I'm wrong, but many socceroos fans and soccer journalists have already commented similarly ...