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August 26, 2004
Citius - Altius - Fortius
So I'm about done with the Olympics. TiVo is getting every possible bit of coverage aired, so the box is totally full of Olympic coverage. For the first week, I was pretty much glued to the TV. I think I've reached the saturation point (though I am watching diving right now).
Here's some stuff I don't particularly care for about the Olympics:
1. The trampoline event. Whatever.
2. The freestyle dressage. Dressage is just plain weird to begin with, but set to music it slides into freakyville. Abbie called me the other day and urgently wanted me to turn on the "horse dancing". It freaked me out. Don't get me wrong - I absolutely appreciate the skill involved here. It's just so...weird. I do like the jumping, though. That looks fun.
3. Synchronized swimming (well, synchronized anything, but especially swimming). The hideous makeup, the hysterical plastered smiles, the wacky hair ornaments - ACK!
4. The women's team gymnastic competiton. I get so nervous for those little girls. With the new rules where nobody can fuck up, I think the pressure is just unreasonable. The men are a little older and are possibly more capable of dealing with stress, but these are little girls we're talking about. The balance beam makes me especially queasy. Rob and I fast-forwarded that part on 1X.
4a. Who the hell waxed Carly Patterson's eyebrows? Someone turned her nice, full brows into tadpoles. It's especially a shame since she has such gorgeous eyes. CARLY! GROW THEM BACK!
5. The jaded, gum-chomping U.S. men's basketball team. These guys need to get over themselves and show some respect for the Olympics. If they do win gold (which I sort of hope they don't), I just hope they are gracious and respectful on the podium and don't stand there chomping their gum and looking really, really bored.
Here's some stuff I love about the Olympics:
1. The medal ceremonies. Doesn't matter whose anthem is playing - I almost always get all choked up. I especially love our anthem. It makes me so proud that, no matter how calm and composed the athlete, that when the line "...o'er the land of the free" is played, you can see the smile breaking through.
2. Women's beach volleyball. These girls are freakin' gorgeous, and that's all I have to say.
3. The olive wreaths that the medalists wear. That's such a nice touch. It amused me that Michael Phelps thought it was a hat, but I have to give him snaps for showing respect for the flag.
4. Speaking of which, YUM! Michael Phelps! Yum! Swimmers! A lot of types of racing don't interest me, but I love watching swimming. Yum! Ian Thorpe! Yumyumyumyum.
5. Watching Alaa Jassim, the Iraqi girl, running in the 100m. She came in way at the back of the pack of her heat with (also amazing) a girl from Somalia. It was so sweet and touching to watch her run her heart out in her shorts and t-shirt. She had no chance to win, but she was there, doing her best, which is what the Olympics is all about.
But what I really like is the winter Olympics. Can't wait for that!
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