Does anyone else think it’s strange that there are so many open seats left in the men’s gymnastics team final at the OLYMPICS? Wha??? Had I known there was a spot with my name on it, a plane ticket would have been purchased long ago!
I am a great fan of the Olympic games. I can remember crowding around the television set with my parents and brothers, cheering on athletes of the likes of Mary Lou Retton. My best friend from Augusta, Georgia, and I even got haircuts like Mary Lou (as did many other all-American little girls of that day)… Sarah looked exactly like the gymnast and I looked like a little boy. Another haircut for the photo album.
Tonight props go to the Japanese men’s gymnastics team for winning, fair and square, the gold medal! Of course, I was rooting for the USA guys, but totally happy for them and the Japanese. These events are so intense… I hold my breath during the rings and everything gets paused for the vault. Love the vault! If there was one single Olympic event I’d want to compete in, it would be the vault… “flying through the air with the greatest of ease!”… So much power and airtime, it looks like fun.
It’s too bad our Blockbuster-pseudo-Netflix-dealie is done this week, because baby, the Olympics are on!!
20 Comments
mrscrumley Aug 17, 2004 8:00 AM
Actually, on the first night of the men’s gymnastics one of the announcers (the one who wasn’t a gymnast in the past) said that the camera shots were misleading because the “cheap seats” in the nosebleed section were packed.
Rebecca Aug 17, 2004 9:11 AM
Good. It must be camera angles capturing a few empty seats. Last night the arena looked really empty and I was surprised and saddened by that!
Sarah B. Aug 17, 2004 12:28 PM
I cannot express the depth of my distress a few days ago when Dave informed me that all Olympic coverage was on NBC–a channel that is impossible to watch on our tv without cable!! I, too, like you, Rebecca, totally get into the Olympics. For some reason, perhaps it’s a female thing, I get really drawn in by the emotion of everything. And then I begin to wonder, “How would I feel if I was presented to gold medal after training and sacrificing for years??” Alas, I must be content to just watch it rather than compete in it!
Jason Aug 17, 2004 12:36 PM
Mind you, I’ve not seen any of the Olympic broadcasts, but I’ve heard the commentators are terrible… specifically Costas and Couric during the opening ceremonies. At least, that’s what they’re saying here – http://tinyurl.com/58nd7.
Is that the case?
Jeremy Aug 17, 2004 12:40 PM
Crumley’s nosebleed comment may provide some insight, but it still doesn’t address the disproportionately low numbers when compared to previous Olympic years. May I suggest a Sports Illustrated blog entry (http://tinyurl.com/6sjkf) that addresses the whole issue.
Rebecca Aug 17, 2004 2:08 PM
Okay, web boys, what’s up the the “tiny url” thingamabob?
I didn’t catch much of the opening ceremonies, so I really can’t say how Matt & Katie did then. I’m usually a Good Morning America girl—all loyalties are to channel 8—but so far I think NBC has done a decent job. My biggest complaint is that internet surfing has great potential to ruin my nightly Olympics viewing… I’m learning to shield my eyes.
Rebecca Aug 17, 2004 2:09 PM
Sarah… I’m watching the Olympics every night. You are more than welcome to join Livia and I on the couch!
Jason Morehead Aug 17, 2004 2:33 PM
TinyURL.com is a site that lets you enter in really, really long URLs and spits out a shorter, “tiny” URL that is more manageable for posting in discussion forums, comment pages like this one, etc. The problem with really long URLs is that they’re difficult to read, the text may or may not wrap properly (depending on your browser), and it’s a lot to try and copy and paste. If you want more, here’s an article about it – http://tinyurl.com/yteyt
;)
charity Aug 17, 2004 3:15 PM
ok, that tinyurl.com is like the coolest thing ever!!
charity Aug 17, 2004 3:15 PM
well, maybe not “ever”, but it’s pretty darn cool!
Jeremy Aug 17, 2004 3:50 PM
First of all, props go to JM for using the TinyURL “thingamabob.” I had seen it around but it didn’t register as significant in my brain and thus I hadn’t used it until after his great movie comments (http://tinyurl.com/6qu4m).
By the way, TinyURLs should definitely be used when sending an URL via email because email clients are notorious for breaking the URL into broken pieces.
Rebecca Aug 17, 2004 3:59 PM
Very very smart.
christina Aug 17, 2004 5:59 PM
Hearing about your gymnastics watching experiences totally brings me back to the year that the USA women’s gymnastics team one–the year when Shannon Miller, Dominique, Kerri etc were on the team. I made my mom take me to see them on tour after the olympics was over….wow, that was awhile ago.
Jacinda Aug 18, 2004 12:45 AM
Weren’t there two Dominiques? Dawes and Moceanu(sp)? :)
sarah Aug 18, 2004 10:00 AM
yeah there were two.wow, i remember watching them too…a long time ago…
bethany Aug 20, 2004 12:30 PM
Ok, I’m not going to lie…I cried when Carly Patterson won the women’s all-around gold.
dena Aug 20, 2004 12:48 PM
Thank the Lord I get NBC here in Syracuse!!! I thought I was going to rent a bunch of movies to cure my boredom and alone-ness, but thanks to 12 hour-a-day coverage, I can just sit and watch the olympics instead of meeting new people! ;)
Jason- I can’t stand Costas or Couric… I think they’ve both done a pretty crappy job. I just tune them out.
Rebecca Aug 20, 2004 1:34 PM
I like Bob Costas’ snarky comments… He reports, yet keeps things lively. I’ve been pretty critical of Elfie and Tim and the John Tesh dude (gymnastics) because sometimes they say the most inane things! But then again, who could sound intelligent while talking on air for hours straight? I couldn’t!
Rebecca Aug 20, 2004 1:36 PM
B, I’d call you a sentimental sap, but I cry at things far less significant. (I get teary at most of the medal ceremonies, too!)
And Dena, yay! Do you have an internet connection at home? Or have you been hanging out on campus recently?
dena Aug 23, 2004 11:10 AM
rt- no internet at home. i have been debating it, but i think there are probably better ways to sue that 50 bucks a month while i’m here. so i come to campus every few days and spend an hour in a bomb shelter with no daylight…. well, when classes start and i get my new laptop at least i’ll have a choice on where to get access.