NOlympics
It wasn’t until last night that I realized the Olympics are over because there was nothing on TV. As an adult I’ve never been interested in this. At all. But for some reason, I got sucked in this year. Not only that, I got totally sucked into events that I never would’ve considered sports in the past!
Take women’s gymnastics. To me, gymnastics = figure skating. But I got hooked during the frickin’ trials! What did it were the stories behind each gymnast. They made these girls more human to me instead of just a bunch of really bendy Barbie Dolls with blonde ponytails.
Beach volleyball. Come on! That isn’t a sport, it’s a game you play on the beach! Or so I thought until I got hooked on the matches between anyone vs. May/Walsh or Dalhaussen/Rogers. This, I have no explanation for. None. But I still consider ping-pong table tennis, badminton, and the trampoline as recreational, backyard games. Except for table tennis — that’s more like a garage or basement game. What’ll they add next? Foosball? Air hockey? Now air hockey, I’d like to see.
Why they couldn’t show men’s basketball during prime time is what I’d like to know. 
I’d definitely had enough of Michael Phelps even before the games started, but after learning that he’s ADHD and was bullied as a youngster during an interview with Bob Costas, I could totally feel for him. You know, being a complete underdog that people once kicked around and then to completely blow everyone away. That’s really cool.
On a completely different note, I’d like to wish my good friend Jane a very happy birthday!!!
Current Affairs/Pop Culture
I totally got into the beach volleyball too! But is it a sport? Hell yeah! Each player is involved in every single play. Have you ever tried walking in the sand? It’s really difficult.
And gymnastics, I think is a sport. What bothers me about gymnastics is I’d be at least 50% of those girls are anorexic or bulemic. They’ve got to keep that pre-adolescent body, yet be over 16, that’s a tough one.
BUT… badminton????? table hockey (ping pong) ????? sheesh!
I’m sad softball won’t be in ‘12 though.
Thank you for the birthday wishes.
August 31, 2008 1:56 am
Of course you’d say it’s a sport, you West Coaster!
One of the things that made me realize that was when the commentators remarked on May-Treanor’s ability to quickly get up from the sand after diving into it. I could relate to that because as a goalie, you also have to quickly recover into your stance after going down on the ice. (Something that I need to work on big time, after not playing for a year!)
Again, having to be limber and flexible as a goalie is what I was able to relate to with gymnastics. On TV the girls look so tall and muscular, but when I looked at their profiles on the NBC Olympics site (?), it listed some of them as like, 5′1″ (my height) and 98 lbs.! Maybe less! However, when I was 19 or 20, I probably weighed the same just because I’m short but also have a small frame. Those girls were all muscle.
The thing about gymnastics though, is it didn’t look like very many of them were having fun — everything was so incredibly serious, unlike May/Walsh — they looked like they were having a blast! What do you think?
Apparently ping-pong is huge in China so it isn’t surprising that the match for Gold/Silver was between two Chinese, at least in the women’s event. Maybe the men’s, too. I still can’t think of it as a sport. But yeah — BADMINTON??? Give me a break! TRAMPOLINE??? Sure, if backyard trampolines were bordered with big, huge safety mats, there’d probably be more contenders!
Now, will our friendship withstand the Ohio State at USC game in a week-and-half? We shall see!
September 3, 2008 11:31 am
The ones that play beach volleyball definitely are having a great time. The gymnasts just look like they’re under so much pressure. Maybe when everybody goes crazy over 1 of them it’s because she shows that she is human, know what I mean? Like she shows some emotion & smiles.
TRAMPOLINE????? Are you serious?? If so, that’s unbelievable!
I totally forgot about our USC/Ohio State rivalry; this should be interesting! I gotta say though, I think ‘SC is gonna kick their ass. Of course our friendship will withstand this. Speaking of which, I have got to call you, I think it’s been over a year since we’ve talked. I’ve totally cut myself off from EVERYONE, but I’m not depressed, so talk to me, k? (say yes)
September 11, 2008 1:59 am
Yeah, at least when the gymnasts aren’t “on stage” so to speak and the camera shows one of them, particularly Shawn Johnson, it seemed that no matter how she was performing, she’d still have a smile and a wave.
Oh, yeah. Trampoline!
As for this Saturday’s game . . . our friendship will definitely withstand the outcome!
I’ve been meaning to e-mail you actually, so I’ll try doing both, OK?
September 11, 2008 10:30 am