I love the Olympics

I love the Olympics for a few reasons.

From an emotional aspect I understand on a much smaller scale what these athletes go through in training for an event that ends in a very short period of time. I, by no means, think of myself as Olympic caliber. Nor do I claim that the races I poured myself into were nearly as important for so many reasons as the Olympics. But, if anybody has fully dedicated themselves to a physical goal and then showed up at the start line to leave everything they have on the race course, then I believe we can at least identify with the heartbreak and triumph the Olympic athletes must feel.

During the Bush administration I don't know a lot of people who are overly proud of being American. We have to be seen by most of the world as arrogant, pretentious, above the law, hypocrites. I don't want to get into my own beliefs of our occupation in Iraq, but the Olympics are as much a political event as they are athletic. The Olympics make me proud to be American for all the right reasons. Last night's 4x100 freestyle relay is a perfect example. American swimming was not the favorites entering the event. The French team had made public comments to the press about "smashing" the Americans. There was no vocal response from the American swimmers. They simply used the French comments as motivation and swam the collective race of their lives. Out touching the French by less time than it takes to blink an eye and bringing the world record down by four seconds. The picture is now famous and being used by every media outlet, but as Michael Phelps and the rest of the relay team scream in triumph you can't help but feel the elation and pride that is pumping through their veins. Regardless of whether you're a fan of swimming, that moment, that picture of victory, has to do something to you. Like every Olympics it was one of those moments that brought tears to my eyes and made me proud to be American.

Does anybody remember the Dream Team? A bunch of NBA legends all put on the same uniform and went out and dominated the world. They didn't even call a legitimate time out the entire Olympics. Since the Dream Team USA basketball has been a major dissappointment. Basketball is our sport and there is no real reason that we don't win every year. Well, the reasons we haven't won in the past are obvious, but it finally looks like we have guys who take the responsibility of representing our country seriously and want to return with the right color hanging around their necks. The opening game against China was a show of pure domination. One of the highlights that stands out to me is Labron James driving between two Chinese defenders. Both men tried to close the seam Labron was driving through and he simply muscled his way through both of them. He finished the play with a dunk, but that's just to be expected. Getting through both of those men on pure strength and desire makes me feel like these guys are serious. There is no reason we should lose this Olympics.

I could go on an on about different events but I'm getting tired of typing so I'm going to finish this with short statements about some thoughts I won't bother to finish.

- I don't understand why gymnastics gets so much tv time. It's impressive what they do, but the highlights would do just fine.
- Does anyone else think its weird that there are equestrian events? To me, this is the one sport in the Olympics where money makes the most difference. And, its not like the horses give a shit.
- Did anybody see where good old W slapped Misty May on the lower back as she stuck her ass out at him? He's an awful president but I'd love to go to happy hour with the guy. I bet he's got some pretty awesome stories.
- Why are badminton or ping pong sports?
- Can't wait till we start dominating the Track and Field games. Well, at least everything under a mile.
- For all of the insanely designed cycling kits in a pro peloton I'm always surprised at how plain the Olympic kits are for each team. Every country's kit looks like someone went to Performance, bought a bunch of blank jerseys and ironed USA onto the chest.
- At what point in your childhood do you decide that you want to be a fencer? As a kid, isn't the whole idea of playing with swords based on the factor that they cut things?
- So far there's only been one positive drug test. Either the doctors have invented new drugs that aren't detectable or people really are starting to race clean. Either way, it's pretty impressive!

That is all.