Over the weekend, Wade and I realized that for the past two weeks we’ve been more invested in watching the Olympics than in all previous competitions (hence the silent blog). Not even when the Summer Games were in Atlanta did we watch this much coverage. I think a large part of it is due to the obsessively continuous coverage aired by NBC on their conglomerate of 2,394 channels. We were of course enthralled with the swimming and gymnastics competitions. I tried my best to keep up with the women’s soccer games. We became fans of the men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams. We’ve even watched mountain biking, BMX biking and whitewater kayaking. Doubles ping pong? Insane. I won’t even go into the mess that was race walking – I can only tell you how hard I laughed.
The one area that could never attract our attention was track and field. My disdain for running goes back to my soccer days, where running was used not only for conditioning, but punishment when a drill did not go as planned. I have never been able to really run since. So now I find myself in a position where I do not understand the sheer joy these athletes display when they are dubbed “the fastest man in the world”. I also realize that they probably feel the same way when they see soccer players celebrate goals. They just don’t get it. And neither do I.
Now we find ourselves without Olympic coverage for the first full day in some 19 days. The new seasons of our favorite shows do not start for another month or more. It is as though we’ve forgotten how we spent our evenings before the Olympics.
So Wade and I return tonight to our normal marriage. Without promotional consideration from Speedo, Nike, Oakley, Coca-Cola and Visa, the only card accepted at the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing.
Monday, August 25, 2008
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2 comments:
You're definitely not the only ones... NBC issued a press release that the Beijing games were the most watched tv event EVER.
i was almost "over-olympic'd" by the time track and field started, that i just couldn't be bothered to keep up with it.
the only races i caught were the 2 worst showings in US history: the mens and womens 4x100 relay prelims, where BOTH teams did not advance to the medal race because they can't seem to properly pass a baton in the anchor leg.
and i missed the cool sports!! bmx racing and kayaking!! and speed walking would've been to die for..LOL.
and for the record, i like to run....every now and then. :) i often wonder what life would've been like if track and soccer weren't in the same season in HS, because xcountry did me f-all good since i am a sprinter.
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