Turin, Italy ? Replicating the big crowds and carnival atmosphere of previous Winter Olympics never was going to be easy – especially in a country where soccer rules and snow and ice sports struggle for attention.

It’s been a mixed picture so far at the Turin Olympics, with some athletes complaining about empty seats and docile crowds and others performing in front of packed stands.

The slogan “Passion Lives Here” rings true in some places; in others, it’s more a case of “Passion, What Passion?”

Athletes at the women’s 10km individual cross-country race Thursday expressed frustration with the low turnout at Pragelato, where rain began falling about an hour before the race.

“You don’t feel it’s the Olympic Games because there are not a lot of people,” said silver medalist and World Cup leader Marit Bjorgen of Norway. “You want to feel a lot of people on the last climb to help you. It’s a little disappointing there aren’t a lot of people here.”

Speedskating has been a far cry from the last three Olympics, where the sport garnered massive local interest and took place at spectacular venues – the upside-down Viking Ship in Lillehammer, Norway, the M-Wave in Nagano, Japan, and the speedy oval in Salt Lake City.

“It’s very disappointing to walk in and it’s half empty,” American speedskater Jennifer Rodriguez said earlier this week. “I can’t believe this is the Olympics. It almost felt like a World Cup meet. The Olympics should be sold out.”

The excitement picked up Thursday when Italy won a surprise gold medal in the men’s team pursuit. There’s nothing like success by home athletes to give the games a boost of energy.

Turin organizers had sold 815,000 tickets by Thursday, closing in on their goal of 830,000. They’ve already surpassed their ticketing revenue target of 64 million euros ($74 million).

But sales don’t always translate into full arenas or a festive atmosphere.

Switzerland's silver medalist Stephane Lambiel, left, Russia's gold medalist Evgeni Plushenko and Canada's bronze medalist Jeffrey Buttle, right, show off their medals during ceremonies following the final of the Men's Figure Skating Free Skate competition at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2006.

“It depends on the events,” TOROC spokesman Giuseppe Gattino said. “It’s true at some events there has not been much public. We are aware of it, but we’re not particularly worried.”

Gattino said empty seats at some venues are due to no-shows – often corporate sponsors and Olympic officials who hold tickets but don’t turn up.

The International Olympic Committee has expressed only praise for the games so far.

“The opening ceremony set the tone, and now there’s a comfort factor,” IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said Thursday. “We can say we are seeing the Olympic Games getting into their stride.”

Senior Canadian IOC member Dick Pound said the games have proved the doomsayers wrong.

“A few weeks ago, you’d have thought you were coming to a wasteland,” he said. “I’m very impressed. All the crowds I’ve seen are very enthusiastic. It’s not the first time every seat hasn’t been sold at the Winter Olympics.”