Once every four years (in this case, five), I find myself waking up at 4 am to watch a women’s soccer game or beach volleyball. Welcome to the Olympics, when people who are household names and those who are unknown, all with stories, emerge as heroes. It is thrilling to watch unfold, and I cannot stop watching! I’m sure my observations here are similar to what I expressed watching the Rio Games in 2016, but I thought they were worth sharing.
We are a few days into the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics (or so say most of the signs I’ve seen), and I’m having trouble with the multiple places where sports are televised and with the time zones. I started watching a women’s soccer game the other day and realized it took place several days ago, so, no, the USWNT was NOT losing to Sweden AGAIN. I can watch the next game around 5 AM tomorrow. Fine, since I will probably be awake anyway.
The Opening Ceremonies were bizarre, with no one in the stands and the athletes all masked up. I’m still conflicted as to whether even having the games is a good idea. As you will see, I watched anyway.
I am watching other sports that I never get to see and find them very entertaining. Rugby, for example. You can be on the ground and the play still isn’t over!
I caught a bit of women’s water polo the other day, where the US trounced the opposition. I had no idea whether scoring 25 times was the norm. What goes on under the water that you can only see with a special camera shows these players pushing, shoving and grabbing each other. It’s like watching rugby!
I watched some men’s and women’s handball, a sport like soccer except that you CAN use your hands on the ball. It’s also like basketball, which made me want to call traveling more than once as the players moved around with the ball.
This 3x3 basketball is fast and exciting, but how is this different from pick-up hoops in the park – except that the players wear uniforms? Congrats to the USA Women’s team for picking up the first-ever gold medal in that sport.
The triathlon is crazy! Swimming, biking and running. I would need a change of clothes and a couple of days (along with public transportation) to get through the course. How do they get those shoes on so fast after the initial swimming leg of the race, as they jump on their bikes?
Those badminton and table tennis players are VICIOUS! These are not your backyard or basement sports. They SLAM that shuttlecock and ping pong ball at each other!
Each Olympics, the swimmers play a big role. Katie Ledecky is on TV everywhere. But fame is fleeting; I had to look up the name of the last “It” girl for the US, because I couldn’t remember Missy Franklin.
The physiques on the swimmers are like giant Vs – broad shoulders, narrow waists and long arms. And, unlike the last Olympics, I didn't see any swimmers with those "cupping" marks all over their bodies. Maybe that technique just didn't deliver the desired results.
I had the TV on when the taekwondo people came out, but they were still wearing bathrobes, so I figured they weren’t ready yet. Or was that jujitsu?
You can’t call the Russians the Russians anymore since they were caught doping (old news…), so now the athletes compete for the Russian Olympic Committee, or ROC. Like we don’t know who’s who (wink, wink).
I could NEVER play beach volleyball. I understand that the sand is burning hot, and there are just two people on each side. The women wear skimpy bikinis, which I think it just WRONG. Put them in shorts and a fitted shirt so when they hit the burning sand, they will be protected.
Women’s soccer is exciting, but there is SO MUCH PRESSURE on the US team to win – again. This time they took home the Bronze Medal, and with so many players aged 35 and above, it is likely that the National Team will include many new faces in the future. Thank you, RU's own Carli Llyod, for your magnificent career, capped by scoring two goals in what might be her final game. What am I supposed to do at 4 AM now that soccer is done?
The weather reports said that there was a typhoon possibly heading to Japan, so some of the rowing events had to be moved up so the water wouldn’t be too choppy for them to compete. But surfing, new to the Olympics, was thrilled at the prospect of big waves.
I watched a little bit of softball, which barely resembles the game I used to play. Those women can sure put some mustard on the ball! And by the way, why was softball eliminated from the Olympics a while back? Now it’s back, but it is a bona fide sport that should never have been sidelined.
Skateboarding is making its Olympic debut. The competitors all look like guys hanging around the park, and the tricks they do they could have practiced at the entrance to the J&J complex in New Brunswick, where skateboarders loved jumping over the stairs and hitting the railing before the security team could chase them away.
While I wasn’t expecting Bob Costas or Matt Lauer to show up as studio hosts this time around, I was struck by how many British accents there were from commentators and hosts I have never seen previously. Did you notice, too?
What does Tim Daggett (the gymnastics analyst) do between Olympics? They have been dragging him out since he competed for the US in the 70s. Oh, and one country has a gymnast who is in her 8th Olympics at age 49. I can’t imagine spending most of my life in a leotard.
I also can’t imagine having the amount of pressure and hype that some of these athletes have. They train for years to run or swim for scant seconds to win medals. To see local NJ girl Sydney McLaughlin, an alum of Union Catholic High School (where some of my friends went) not only take the gold in the women’s 400-meter hurdles but set a new world record was so exciting. Sydney is only 21 and who knows if we will get to see her defend her title in Paris in three years? Oy, the pressure!
I wonder who will be on the box of Wheaties. It could be Jersey girl Sydney McLaughlin. Or all-time Olympic track medalist Allyson Felix, who now is the holder of 11 – count ‘em, 11 – Medals. On Sydney’s 21st birthday, she teamed up with Felix, Athing Mu and Dalilah Muhammad to capture the Gold Medal in the women’s 400-meter relay. The win moved Felix to the top of the list of track and field medal winners. When you consider the likes of Carl Lewis, the late, great Flo Jo, Jackie Joyner-Kersey and so many other outstanding track athletes, you have to stand in awe of what Felix has accomplished. At age 35, after having given birth to a daughter and suffering from serious complications. she was offered a significantly reduced contract by her sponsor, Nike. So, she started her own shoe company, which will make shoes for women, designed by women. Then she competed in her 5th Olympics, won two medals at the games and made history. Or is it HERstory?
How on earth do synchronized divers stay in sync? And why do the divers have such tiny towels? They get wet, so don’t they need something larger than a washcloth?
I marveled at the choreography and skill of the artistic swimmers, who can toss each other way up in the air, where the flyers reenter the pool with grace and beauty. These ladies can hold their breath while they perform routines upside down! I’m going to suggest to my aqua aerobics group that we all order the same bathing suits, slick back our hair and give it a try!
I have never watched any of the equestrian events, but this year, well, you know: Jessica Springsteen, daughter of Bruce and Patty Scialfa, competed and took home a silver medal in a show jumping team event. The horses are amazing, soaring over fences (I don’t know the official name) that are really high, and sometimes doing several jumps right in a row. But I also wonder, aside from tradition, what’s the point of the riders wearing those cutaway jackets and ties?
Rhythmic gymnastics is intriguing. The athletes use 20-foot long, colorful ribbons and what looks like hula hoops or balls that they toss high into the air and have to catch gracefully after doing difficult floor routines. The ribbons have multiple colors and look beautiful as they move swiftly through the air. How does one get started in this event?
Why does one indoor volleyball player wear a uniform different from his teammates? Did he forget to pack the right one? And why do the team volleyball players and even the beach volleyball players have to hug after every play? Is this the volleyball equivalent of a football huddle? Anyway, the USA women’s beach volleyball team and the indoor volleyball team each had a happy ending and won the Gold Medal.
I loved the American marathon runner Molly Seidel, who, after winning the Bronze medal, told her family watching at home to “drink a beer for me.” It was just her third marathon EVER! To get to the Olympics, she had to overcome OCD and an eating disorder that caused her to miss trying out for the Olympics in 2016. Somebody give that woman a beer!
Congratulations to the USA Men’s and Women’s basketball teams for taking the Gold Medal in their events. The women’s team captured its 7th consecutive Gold Medal, and team stalwarts Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi took home their 5th golds. USA Coach Dawn Staley has now won as a coach, an assistant coach and as a player who took home three Gold Medals. The Japanese team they defeated in the finals played fast and exciting basketball but suffered significantly from a height differential and could not stop big Brittney Griner, who poured in 30 points from the paint. The men’s team, without such marque names as LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Ja Morant, Kwaii Leonard and others, still outclassed the field to take the Gold and showcased so many up and coming stars. One thing for sure is the rise of international players in this game. There’s plenty of talent out there, and we may never see this level of dominance again.
In the first week of competition, Simone Biles, the GOAT (greatest of all-time) of women’s gymnastics, withdrew from team competition with what was called a “medical issue.” Later, she explained that it has to do with her mental health. Imagine being on the cover of every magazine, the center of attention in the Olympics and in your sport, always expected to be perfect. She also admitted to suffering from “the twisties,” where she could not determine where she was in the air. My heart races just watching her. If she never does another somersault or handstand or impossible vault, she will still be the best who ever lived in her sport. She did come back to take the bronze medal on the balance beam, which has far fewer spinning movements, especially since, as she explained, she downgraded her dismount. I hope she can take the time to appreciate her accomplishments and fill the rest of her life with great joy and satisfaction. May she have as much joy as she has given others. Meanwhile, her situation opened the door for her teammates, who took home many medals that they worked hard for and deserved. In an interview on the “Today Show,” with the team members gathered, they were asked who their role models are. Simone offered Naomi Osaka, Venus Williams and LeBron James. Her teammates unanimously named Simone Biles as their role model.
And that’s a wrap on the Tokyo Olympics. As Diana Taurasi quipped as she left the basketball court with her 5th Gold Medal, “See you in Paris!”
No comments:
Post a Comment