Olympics Part I: Go US Fencing team?!
August 18, 2008 – 4:23 pmI have never been into the Olympics quite like I have been for the 29th Olympiad. Welcome then to my first Olympic installment!
Most of us remember the Dream Team, Michael Johnson’s double gold, or the failure of the men’s basketball team to bring home gold in 2004. As for most of the other sports, I have no real memories. This is the first time that I have really payed any attention to sports as diverse as fencing, handball, table tennis, or volleyball. Many of my friends have likewise told me how much they are enjoying these Olympics and watching like never before.
How strange it is that the Olympic stage can lure us to not only watch sports we simply don’t usually care about, but to also actually CARE about these sports at the same time. I have found myself rooting fervently for the US fencing team, for the entire US swim team, and for the US beach volleyball teams. I don’t think I have ever watched a fencing match before in my life, I may have watched some swimming, and I definitely have never watched beach volleyball. I happened to watch Phelps first capture gold, and I afterwards watched all but one of his gold medal swims, along with the rest of America (or at least 30 million of us!). I have been hooked ever since- every night this past week I have been glued to the television, watching hours of competition. And I have been completely satisfied doing so.
I may not watch another swim race, gymnastics event, or 100 meter dash until London in 2012, but for another week or so I know I won’t be able to get enough. I am definitely betting on gold from our NBA superstars!
One Response to “Olympics Part I: Go US Fencing team?!”
This may be no coincidence but I have also never watched this much Olympics in my life! I can’t even remember a lot of the past Olympic games and I’ve heard this from others as well. Maybe it’s because we have Campaign ‘08 fatigue and we are trying to distract ourselves from that. I’m not totally sure what it is but thank you for watching the Olympics with me!!
By Aliza on Aug 19, 2008