Post#111 » by shrink » Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:49 pm
My impressions from the Olympics:
I talked to a competitive ex-gymnast, and she said age limits were appropriate not just for protection of the young gymnast's emotional development, but because they may have a competitive advantage in their early teens, where their height gives them a mechanical advantage on flips, and they may have increased flexibility. She said something about estrogen and its effect on breasts, hips and muscle tone too that I didn't catch.
I was happy to see the Americans do so well in volleyball, and I hope that it promotes the sport in the US, particularly among boys. Even Dalhauser didn't play the game until his senior year because he said, "Its a girl's sport!" I hope casual viewers were impressed with the power and speed of the game at its higher levels, and weren't cringing too much when Clay Stanley block a crucial point last night with his face.
I continue to say water polo is the toughest sport in the world. In most sports there is healthy competition, but this one has battles under the water with guys trying to drown you. I could run a bad marathon, but WP is one I could die in. The athletes who do synchronized swimming don't get enough credit either. I could never watch the sport myself, but the lifts they do, half the time underwater, is pretty athletic.
Don't all the male swimmers look like they have the exaggerated triangle bodies from the Superman/Batman/Justice League cartoons?
What is it about America that makes us feel that lip-syncing for the Chinese girl with the overbite is so so wrong. I can't put my finger on it, but I just feel outraged by this.
I watched the marathon, and when they reached tianamen square, I just expected there to be a tank.
I don't know what's more amazing .. that the US women's softball team lost the gold Medal game after outscoring all previous opponents something like 45-1, or that they may cancel the sport in the next Olympics! The softball team helped me illustrate a point to my kids though. You don't have to be a better to beat a great team, you just need to play better that day. It gave one some courage playing against her undefeated soccer rival yesterday. She still lost, but it was fun seeing her try to motivate the other kids on her team.
So where did all those gold medal China got come from? Does their state-supported programs put as much emphasis on getting a gold in bantam-weight judo and badminton as they do in more popular sports? Or do American networks mainly show sports that Americans care about, and are good at? there were a lot of medals given out for the different races in the pool and on the track, so I'm curious what sports aren't we seeing?
Jackie Chan should never sing. It would have been great though if he kicked over a mike stand, swung it between his feet, and knocked a few of those fashionista singers off the stage.
Overall, a very impressive Olympics. I became master of my DVR, and still was only getting four hours of sleep a night. This will be a favorite for a long time.