Haven't seen me since Friday night? The truth is you may not see me for the next two weeks! I am glued to the couch with my eyes peeled on the Summer Olympics in London. I've always been a sports fan, but I become a fanatic with the Olympics -- particularly the summer ones! Here's my take so far:
So, let's just briefly touch on Friday night. I didn't think it was the worst Opening Ceremonies, but I didn't fully appreciate it. If you enjoy British humor, you probably considered it a hit! You lost me after the Queen parachuted out of the helicopter! That was cute and then I was done. Mr. Bean, dancing through the decades....no thanks! Then during the Parade of Nations I start to seriously question my intelligence. I mean, I know, I haven't taken geography since 5th grade and don't regularly study a globe, but seriously, where ARE some of these countries?!! And the Parade of Nations takes.so.long. I was conked out by "T" and apparently missed the best part of the show, at least in my opinion. The fireworks spectacular was just that, SPECTACULAR! And, I missed it. I was in dreamland (Is that a country? Just kidding. Bad joke!) by that point.
Being the sports fan that I am, I was thrilled to wake up Saturday morning to see what was going on! The TV was tuned to cycling. I would never choose to watch cycling on TV. It is the Olympics; I was hooked! I must have stared at all of those bike wheels going round and round for at least an hour. A 38 year old athlete from Kazakhstan claims the gold! Is niiiiiiiiiiiiice!
Then we move onto the women's volleyball where the US is going up against Korea. There is a woman who is 6'4'' on the Korean team!! That is tall for the Americans, but wow! I am not trying to be racist, but such height is unusual for the Korean culture and it was just fascinating to watch. I always wonder how the different teams get assembled.
Moving right along to swimming... All I have to say is anytime the male swimmers are competing, my grief temporarily escapes me! Pure bliss! I won't discuss them any further because I don't want this blog post to turn into an excerpt of "Fifty Shades of Grey", but WOW! I could never be that ripped even if my abs were airbrushed! It's no secret that Ryan Lochte is a hottie! I'd really be more interested in Brendan Hansen, but he's married, so he's off limits. Let's not even mention the fact that I read many of these athletes bios and a number were born in 1992! A whole DECADE after me! Yikes! We'll just leave all of that alone.
Synchronized diving just blows my mind! How does anyone have the patience to ensure they are that precise? I always get nervous when their feet are hanging off the edge of the diving board, afraid they are going to fall. Then they jump and twirl and are in perfect sync. And, the kicker is the announcer said that the Americans don't even have the opportunity to train together! Crazy! Beautiful!
And my favorite event -- Gymnastics. I admire the strength and beauty of that sport. When I was younger I took gymnastics for a little while. Those of you who know my disability might think that was impossible, but nope! I don't let anything stand in the way and truly enjoyed the uneven bars because I have arm strength. If I am watching the Olympians, though, my favorite events are the balance beam and the vault. One announcer commented last night that a routine on vault was OBSCENE because she kept going up when gravity should have been pulling her down! How on earth are the moves they do even humanly possible? It's just all so fascinating to me! If I could be an Olympic athlete, I'd be a gymnast. I'm short, have "muscular" thighs (yeah...right) and would love to fly through the air! Can't ya see it? Yeah, I thought so.
I try to stay up and watch the medal ceremonies. Standing on the podium listening to your anthem being played must be such an emotional and proud moment. All of your hard work and perseverance has paid off and you are representing your country as a winner! Question: Is the US the only country that puts their hand over their heart during the anthem? I haven't seen any other country do it.
If you can't tell, I am thrilled the Games are on and that my favorite events kick it off! In case you don't see me for awhile, no need to alert the authorities. Just come and check the couch!
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