Now is Not a Time: Random Thoughts on the Olympics...

Further proof that my brother and I might be the same person...except for that whole gender issue of course.

I had most of this post typed up yesterday but didn't want to post it because A.) I had already written another post and B.) I was up until 1 a.m. watching the chuckers that make up the U.S. men's gymnastics team. Yes, it's the summer and I'm not working, but 1 a.m. is pretty late for me.

So here are some of my thoughts on the Olympics thus far...

First of all, let me start off by saying that the summer olympics are FAR more exciting and interesting than the winter olympics. Also, please remind me that I said this 2 years from now when I'm completely engrossed in the winter olympics and claiming the opposite.

1. I am so obsessed with the Beijing 2008 logo and the way that the font was created to look like Chinese brush strokes and the 3 cute little dots lined up over iji...I know I'm a dork...this infatuation goes back to high school when I was contemplating a career in graphic design. Imagine me a graphic designer? I'd probably be working right now.

2. Beijing looks stunning! I NEED to go there soon.

3. Opening Ceremonies = Amazing
The drummers were my personal favorite. Beijing and China really outdid themselves. I mean did you expect anything less? They make up 1/5 of the world and could dominate us tomorrow if they wanted to.

4. Women's weightlifting = Hilarious

5. Water polo = Hardest sport ever

6. Field Hockey = Awesome

7. The Water Cube & Bird's Nest = Coolest facilities EVER

8. Where is all the eye-candy for the girls? (I can't believe I just used that phrase...I've always hated it.) Watching the opening ceremonies, Matt and I saw Leryn Franco, a javelin thrower from Paraguay and immediately looked at each other and said "Who is THAT?!" And it really only begins with this girl. So my question is where are the good looking dudes? The swimmers are all a bunch of butter faces...oh wait...that term doesn't really work for guys now does it?

9. I understand that the basketball gymnasium is a brand new facility, but am I the only person who can't watch more than 5 minutes of a basketball game because of the squeaking sneakers on the floor?!?! (Gerard called me "insane" after making this comment.)

10. I've realized that there are several events that I will never excel at - EVER - even if I spent the past 30 years of my life training for them. And that is because you must be born a FREAK to be any good at these sports.

Example #1: Basketball
I am 5' 2". I quit playing basketball my freshman year of high school after spending a year on the freshman team and realizing that a girl in my grade who was over 6 feet tall and who had never (EVER) played basketball made the varsity team as a freshman. Yao Ming is 7' 5''. You and I will never know what that's like.

Example #2: Swimming
Have you taken a good look at Michael Phelps when he stands next to the pool? At first glance he looks like your average nerdy dude, but most humans cannot do what he does in the pool and for good reason. Phelps is 6' 4" with a wingspan 3 inches longer than his height! He was born with all of the physical qualities of a champion swimmer: height, flexible joints, broad shoulders, narrow waist and a long torso (something that does run in my family but unfortunately is paired with short legs). I think if we look really closely he might have webbed feet too..

Example #3: Gymnastics
Believe it or not, I might actually be a little tall for this sport. These girls are short and muscular - I believe it is called a high strength to weight ratio.

11. Then there are a few events that I could definitely participate in...even with just a few weeks of practicing.

Example #1: Archery
All you need is coordination. Easy.

Example #2: Handball
How is this an olympic sport? This is a game you play at recess. I don't see hopscotch in the olympics.

Example #3: Field Hockey
I had to throw that one in because I rocked the field back in the '90s.

12. Call me a chick all you want, but women's gymnastics and women's figure skating are MY Super Bowls. As you can imagine, I am extremely excited about the women's team finals tonight. However, I'm disappointed that there aren't really any team members that I "love" this time around. Except this girl because I love saying her name:

NASTIA.

13. I'm sorry but there's NO WAY the Chinese women's gymnastics team meets the age requirement of 16.

14. Just minutes after I was crying foul about the age of the Chinese team, the camera showed another "girl" from the German team. I immediately turned to Matt and asked "Is she 40?" As it turns out, I wasn't far off. It was 33-year-old Oksana Chusovitina from Russia who moved to Germany 2 years ago seeking better medical care for her son who had been diagnosed with Leukemia. She continued competing to earn money to pay the medical bills and just never stopped. She is wearing white in the photo below...check her out next to the Chinese gymnast

15. As I mentioned earlier, I was up until 1 a.m. last night watching the men's team competition. These guys apparently weren't expected to come away with ANY team medal after the Hamm brothers bailed on the team because of injuries.

The Chinese team was considered untouchable and favored to win gold. Japan was likely going to win the silver, however, last night "something special" was going on (gotta love those commentators). The guys were flawless up until the very last rotation: pommel horse. Apparently this was the "achilles heel" for the Americans. Only 3 of the men did a pommel horse routine and 2 of those 3 men were not even supposed to be on the team; they were the 2 alternates who joined the team after both Hamm brothers had to bow out. The commentators kept saying how "ironic" it was and how wonderful it would be if these 2 ended up earning the team a silver medal. Alas, they did not. They both choked and because of their horrendous pommel horse scores the team dropped from 2nd to 3rd.

The boys were happy with the bronze since they weren't expected to get a medal at all, but I can't help but think how pissed I'd be at those 2 chokers (sounds oddly similar to the word chucker).

16. You mean to tell me that not ONE person on this team DIDN'T think this was a good idea?