Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Hooray for the Olympics

Yes, I have spent too much time watching the Olympics, but I feel a twinge of guilt whenever I make a move to turn them off. There they are, all of these fantastic, dedicated people, with a shot at supreme greatness, and I have better things to do than watch? I think not! What kind of person would I be if I had not watched Rulon Gardner leave his shoes in the center ring of the wrestling mat? Because his tears spoke of leaving a dream after it has exploded into something great and of a walking away from years of work because the accomplishment is complete. Who are any of us to miss that moment?
The other aspect that makes the games a must-see, though, is the surreal realization of "People get medals for that?" Example: Amilynne was just telling me that her favorite event to watch so far has been Women's Trampoline. Because the action is basically "Boing..flipflipflipflipflipflipflip..Boing..flipflip flipflipflipflip..STOP" That was the key factor--the stopping. Apparently part of the skill is in being able to stop without making lots of little bounces. That goes contrary to physics as I understand it.
Which explains a lot about why I am not an Olympian.

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