Skip to main content

Man on Olympics




A commentary on the current 2012 Olympic games..... from a male point of view.

There's been a lot of talk about the summer Olympics in recent days, from the opening ceremonies to some criticism of the NBC broadcasts of the events. While I'm not normally a fan of sports, it's hard not to get caught up in Olympic fever. What better way to celebrate the world competition -- centered in London, England this year -- than to offer-up my own commentary of events thus far?

Ok, here we go!



First up, is Water Polo. This is where some tough, sinewy men (and women, too) get all wet in the water and toss balls back and forth to each other. Gurl, I know that's gotta' be fun! I find myself rooting for Team Hungary in this one, as they're the reigning champs, and I'm part Hungarian, on my mother's side.



Next we have Basketball. Gotta root for Team USA here, and little Deron Williams -- former Illini -- bringing up the rear. I know I would!



How about that Women's Sand Volleyball?

Hated it!



Next we take a look at Artistic Gymnastics. You know, I felt really bad for Israeli gymnast Valeria Maksyuta, when she took a tumble off the uneven bars. Still, I give those sparkly little sequins on her outfit a 10 out of 10!


Of great interest to us here at Man on Olympics is the Pole Vaulting competition, when shapely young athletes take a firm grip on some poles and doing all sort of things with them. Now that's an Olympic sport I can relate to!



Then we come to Men's Swimming. You know, I gotta say that while Michael Phelps hasn't performed as well in 2012 as in year's past, I have to give him credit for showing good sportmanship. There he was after an event, standing there with his teammates, chest heaving up and down with his heavy breathing, muscles just rippling, talking about what a good job the team did. And how about that little Tom Daley, the British swimmer who's got people buzzing this year with his cute looks and high talent? Gurl.... set me to vibrate!



Finally, let's take a moment to recognize some of the bravest Olympians out there: those brave men who have dared to be included on female teams. Go ahead -- y'all push that envelope! Let's give a round of applause to Megan Rapinoe, proud member of the U.S. Olympic Women's Soccer team. And let's cheer-on Natalie Cook, as he helps the Australian Women's Beach Volleyball team try and win the gold! It's so inspiring to see these gender barriers coming down, kind of like how Wimbledon let that Venus Williams compete in the Women's Finals.

Hold on a minute.... I'm being informed that Megan Rapinoe, Natalie Cook and Venus Williams are all women. Clutch the pearls, what a sneaky thing to do!

Oh, well. The great thing about the Summer Olympics is that it's a fun occasion for over two-hundred nations to come together and compete without bloodshed. It's a peaceful, good-natured time, changing locales every four years, allowing us to see the world. And some fine athletes. Can I get an amen?




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Yesterday's Restaurants

The local newspaper has a feature from one of Champaign-Urbana's most legendary restaurateur's, John Katsinas, on what his favorite area restaurants were that have now since closed (or will soon be closing).  It's a nice little read, and has made me stop and think about the restaurants that have come and gone that have left an indelible (and edible) impression on me throughout the years. Here we go....

Watching The Hours

A Twitter friend named Paula has asked for folks to submit ideas for a blog-a-thon about what we think will be the classic films of the future. In other words, what relatively recent movies (namely, from the 21st century), do we think will be considered classics in the decades to come, possibly airing on such venerable stations as Turner Classic Movies ? While a number of films come to mind for such a category, one in particular stood out from the rest, and thus is my entry for Paula's blog-a-thon.

To the beat of his own Drum

Tonight I learned that Kevin Drum has died. He passed away on Friday, March 7th, from Multiple Myeloma (the same illness that took my uncle Paul several years ago). Drum's diagnosis came in 2014, and he talked about it openly on his blog , up to and including just a few days before his death. I knew of Kevin Drum through his blogging. During the early aughts, when I started to become more politically aware and involved, I began reading certain online musings by folks -- Andrew Sullivan and, on a local level, IlliniPundit, to name a couple. Drum's blog at that time was Calpundit . Eventually, he began blogging at Mother Jones . When they parted ways, he started what would be his final online venture. So, yeah, I've been reading Kevin's musings for over twenty years.