Olympian Thoughts

The Summer Olympics were a big event in our house for many reasons. When I was young the Olympics were a big deal. Now with the proliferation of all-sports networks and constant American team sports on television, it's nearly impossible to escape baseball, football, basketball, NASCAR, and Tiger Woods, as if no other sports are worthy of attention. Years ago I could watch ABC's Wide World of Sports, with a lot of sports that you can only see in the Olympics. Now ABC shows basketball during basketball season, and women's basketball in the summer.

The Olympics show non-Americans playing sports, and sports that American networks don't follow. With NBC's heavy coverage and our DVR, we were able to catch a lot of sports that we wouldn't otherwise see. Mandy and I kept telling Maylee that the games were played in China, her home country. This usually kept Maylee's atention as long as we could talk about China, but that would end whenever the action on the TV became too compelling, or we ran out of things to say about China.

We enjoyed the coverage, and thank goodness for the DVR. We were able to record everything and fast-forward through the boring parts. My interest is mostly on the track events, particularly distance running, so I'm sure what I skipped is not the same as the general public. Mandy had a lot of favorite moments, including the razor-close Michael Phelps wins in the 4 X 100 meter freestyle relay and the 100 meter butterfly, and Henry Cejudo's gold medal in wrestling. Maylee enjoyed the gymnastics and diving, asking me, "Daddy, when can I do that?"

Amazing and unwatchable: The biggest disparity in the games wasn't the medals won by the US and Togo, but the quality in the opening and closing ceremonies. Mandy and I were completely riveted by the opening ceremonies, with each segment a masterpiece of coreography and spectacle, highlighting an element of Chinese culture. What made the performances so remarkable was that the delecate and well-timed maneuvers were performed by hundreds at a time. My favorite was the undulating boxes. How could the performers know exactly when to raise and lower themselves to make intricate forms? Amazing. I also likes the tai-chi performers. The precision of their movement and positioning made an artistic exercize form enchanting. I agree with Bob Costas. If there's a trophy for the best opening ceremony, give it to China and retire it.

In contrast the closing ceremonies were the only ones in Olympic history that I can remember being unable to watch. In the ten minutes that we had it on, a London double decker bus drove around the stadium, revealing Jimmy Page playing "Whole Lotta Love", looking like an old hippie, bored out of his mind. I love Led Zeppelin, but I have to question the choice in the song. Why not "It's Been a Long Time"? At least then we wouldn't have to wonder if the singer would go through the orgasmic Robert Plant moans. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, David Beckham popped out of the bus. Isn't Beckham playing in the MLS? Doesn't he have a game? Did he tell his team, "Hey mates. Sorry about the bloody season we're having and the immense amount of money I'm being paid to end my career while my wife shops. I've got to go to China to kick a football into the crowd. See ya. Good luck staying out of last place." If Beckham is the best athlete the Brits can offer to promote their Olympics--even though he's not one of the top soccer players in England anymore--couldn't the organizers have him do something cool? Remember how in the Athens Olympics an archer shot a flaming arrow into the cauldron to light the torch? Why not have Beckham bend a kerosene-laced ball throuth the Olympic torch into a goal full of fireworks?

Sand in my eyes: I'm sorry, but I couldn't watch beach volleyball. Serve...bump, set, spike. It must be gthe most repetitive sport in the world. Tennis has variety in its rallies, golf is played on different courses, and even real volleyball has a lot more action. I know NBC played countless hours of the competition because the players wear bikinis, but that can only keep my interest for two and a half minutes. Why couldn't NBC show a few points, cut to something else, and come back half an hour later?

Marathon-itis: I was shocked to see the San Francisco Chronicle villify NBC for showing the entire women's and men's marathon, which the paper felt were painfully boring. I recognized a number of the women's competitors, and watched the entire race with close attention. I overheard a non-running female smoker say that she enjoyed watching the women's marathon, and a friend of mine said the same about the men's race. Is it really too much to for the sportwriters at the Chronicle to watch a race that goes less than two and a half hours every four years? They've endured counless hours of pointless Bay Area sports during that time. The women's winner, Constantina Tomescu Dita of Romania, has a history of gambling. She took a big lead halfway through the race and held on, in contrast to other cases where she tanked. It wasn't a riveting race, but one with enough uncertainty to make it worth watching. Back to beach volleyball!

Lighten Up: Jacques Rogge, president of the IOC, said of Usain Bolt's antics that "He has some maturing to do." This was in the midst of Bolt's half-week of the greatest sprinting in history. Bolt broke the world record in the 100 meters without even trying, broke the 200 meter world record a few days later and then was on the Jamaican 4x100 meter relay world record team. Amidst that string of performances, Bolt had the liberty to ham it up, pose, flex, dance and enjoy himself. Setting three track and field sprinting records in a week is unprecedented, so let the guy jump to the heavens. He probably could do it. When Brandy Chastian scored the winning goal on a penalty kick in the Women's World Cup, she ripped off her jersey to show off her sports bra. That moment remains the defining image of women's soccer. She did it after kicking a ball in a goal, something that I could do one out of three times. No way could any of us dream of the week Bolt had.

Hit the Road, Jack: American pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski did everything possible in winning the silver medal. While the all-time best in the sport, Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia won the event with two jumps, then let the other competitors try to beat her mark while she laid under a blanket on the field. Once everyone else failed, she took three shots at the world record, breaking it on her final attempt. Post-competition interviews revealed that Isinbayeva's biggest fear was winning the gold medal without breaking the world record. Clearly outclassed, Stuczynski should be proud and praised for her second-place finish. Instead, her coach gave condescending praise for taking the silver. She walked away from him. Jenn, keep walking.

Golden Touch: The United States topped all countries with 110 medals, but China ran away with the gold medal crown 51-36 over the US thanks to dominating the diving (7G out of 8 events, 1S, 3B) and gymnastics (9G, 1S, 4B)competitions. The Chinese also won both gold medals in trampoline. The genius of it is that the Chinese have figured out that all three sports are the same. The country moves athletes from its gymnastics program into diving and trampoline. The main difference in each sport is where the athletes land after flipping. China would have won all eight gold medals in diving if its last diver hadn't missed his last dive. China is to diving what Idaho is to potatoes, Milan is to fashion and Japan is to automobiles. We probably won't hear much about the Chinese superstars in diving in 2012. They'll all be replaced with a new crop.

Missed Up: Unlike the Chinese consistency in gymnatics and diving, the US track team had its share of disappointment. Lolo Jones hit the ninth hurdle in the women's 100 meter hurdles to go from first to fourth in about one second, 1,500 meter and 5,000 meter world champion Bernard Lagat failed to medal, no US women medaled in the 100 meters, Sanya Richards faded to third in the women's 400 meters after leading into the homestretch, and with one exception the US distance runners performed to their middle-of-the-road standards despite some reasonable expectations for medals. There were some great moments, especially the US sweep in the men's 400 meters; the US sweep in the men's and women's 4 X 400 meter relays; Shalane Flanagan's bronze in the women's 10,000 meters, which caused Mandy and I to fight back tears; and Stephanie Brown Trafton's gold in the women's discus. The US won 23 track and field medals, than any other country, but the uplifting moments were rare.