Saturday, August 16, 2008

There is no crying in the Olympics....oh wait, I mean there is LOTS of crying

I have been following the Olympics very closely this year. Not sure if it was that damn commercial about the track guy not being able to finish the race so his dad comes out and helps him or if it was just the idea of the US banding together for one common purpose. I am not really sure. Unlike 90% of the world, while I am excited that Michael Phelps is the human rocket, I am getting bored watching him just clean people's clocks. I did find tonight's race interesting, since he took that last 1/2 stroke to win by 1/100th of a second and looked like the other guy was going to win.

This is all pretty cool, but I personally thought the men's gymnastics team was much better to watch. It is like the difference between watching pro sports and college. In college you have hero stories, but in the pros, you usually know how it goes. I feel that way about Michael Phelps. He is a total pro...were we really wondering if he was going to be the most metaled Olympian of all time? I sorta figured that is the way it was going to be...so no serious surprise. But watching the men's gymnasts on Wednesday night at the team finals was amazing. Brought me to tears. I enjoyed how hyped they got and cheered each other on. Also, I appreciated that they didn't celebrate till AFTER all the other gymnasts went. I heard Johnathan Horton state "hey there are still people on the floor" after they figured out there was no way the German's could take them on the pummel horse. It was a great show of sportsmanship. They also were a team that totally came from behind and won a metal beyond all their troubles...like loosing both the Hamm brothers, the only ones on the team who had been to an Olympics. Then they were just SO EXCITED to win a bronze metal, which is a great accomplishment! I appreciated that they came to win....something.

But back to my title, the damn crying! Every time I hear the National Anthem, it makes me tear up damn it! Doesn't matter who won or what event, but I am teary eyed! It is like one giant American Hallmark commercial! My bf and I have ATT U-verse, so we have been DVRing the Olympics all week. Tonight we watched the ladies gymnastics. I watched a Russian Texan and a little girl from Iowa walk away with a 1-2 win! It was amazing. They were both crying, which of course made me cry! My bf was like 'why are you crying' and just sort of laughs at me, but I can't help it. It makes me proud to be an American. And Naz sang some of the words of the anthem. She has been the first athlete (from America) I have seen actually sing it!

One thing I have noticed is that the American athletes don't SING the National Anthem...what is with that?? The bf says it is b/c not everyone knows it. While I believe, unfortunately that he is correct, if I were planning to win 8 gold metals, damn sure I would learn the words! If I though, there is a chance I might stand on a podium in front of the WORLD, I would learn the damn words! So, note to all you athletes out there....learn the words to your National Anthem!

It is now late and I am still watching the Olympics...this has been my whole week! I need to go to bed, but I can't stop watching! So while this might not be totally coherent, it is my thoughts on the Olympics...and crying....and America.

Good night for now!

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