Seriously, I was kind of doing this when I hit 1,550 yards in the pool without dying last week.
Perhaps this is why I get so ungodly excited about the Olympics. Thousands of athletes all looking to perform at their absolute best, and the whole world gets to watch and cheer. It should come as no surprise that I'd rather watch individual events than team events in the games (with the exception of Winter Olympic ice hockey). And I'd rather watch timed events because there's a clear-cut winner. Subjectively scored events are great -- they're entertaining and it's kind of fun to critique performances (you know, when you are oh-so-qualified to say anything about the technicalities of gymnastics), but the subjectivity makes me a little nervous. When it comes to summer Olympics, swimming is my sport -- always has been. Swimmers are crazy fast, and it doesn't hurt that you have people that look like this, this, and this (amirite, ladies?). I'm not ashamed to admit how excited I got watching the Olympic trials and how some of those finishes made me nail-bitingly nervous. Lord knows what'll happen when they throw some Australians into the mix and a medal is on the line.
Aside from swimming, what else am I looking forward to during these Olympics? Stunning shots of London, a city I love. The Opening Ceremonies and the cultural aspects of Britain that will be highlighted (OMG, will they recreate Stonehenge in the middle of the arena? Please, for the love of God, somebody make that happen). Will the Duchess of Cambridge be there, and will we spend two weeks critiquing her outfits? (Please, let's make that happen, too.) Medal counts. Bob Costas. Getting much more excited about football (erm, I'm sorry America -- soccer) teams from around the world than the US men's basketball team. Trampoline. Diving. Water polo. A little track & field. National anthems. Announcers yelling. Requisite shots of London cabs and Parliament. Foreign accents.
I know not everybody gets into the Olympics. The athletes aren't perfect (but you know they'd be fun to hang out with and seriously, that's one of the best reads I've had in a while). Neither is the USOC/IOC (meh, not so fun to hang out with). It's two weeks of camping out in front of the television and yelling, or going to bars and cheering/chanting/drinking with strangers. There are lots of tears, both of joy and heartache, and there is an abundance of overly-dramatic music (thanks, NBC Sports). And it's two weeks of supporting the athletes, and not necessarily a country, and all of their achievements because they just accomplished something you and I could never even come close to. Like this:
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