Look, there is no nice way of putting this but we're going to miss The Olympics. For as messed up as they were, it was something that brought us together for a nano-second when things feel so divided regardless of where you live. It was weird, there's no doubt about that. No crowds yelling and cheering. Empty gymnasiums, stadiums, rings and at the indoor cycling tracks. It made me so hyper aware of the quiet. When there was crowd noise, it felt as piped in as it was and became almost a distraction. Hearing the latest reports of who had to drop about because of COVID positive tests broke our hearts. Every day was some new thing to notice, so we watched. There were things we were seeing for the first time like surfing, skateboarding, rock wall climbing to name a few. It made us sit up and pay attention to the sport, the scoring, the athletes and their stories. Our social media was loaded with headlines, quips, tallies, reports, stories and like it or not- opinions. So between the live action, the highlights and social media, it was every day, two weeks of non-stop Olympics. I was sucked in from the start -from the moment I woke up, with a spring in my step to the start of the day, zipping off to make my coffee and see what was on live, and what had recorded over night. I loved having something different from the usual day time television of banal talk shows, old repeats of cooking shows, property search shows from 2009 and endless commercials for saving donkeys or life insurance and cremation policies. That's British daytime telly, folks. I shit you not. So, this was a welcomed change. I loved that on Discovery +, you could go to the "Olympic Menu" and just select ANY sport - anything- water polo, canoe slalom, archery, the stuff networks didn't really care to air. So, even when it was nighttime in Tokyo, you had plenty to choose from and catch up on before the live action started again. Fortunately, for me, I can see the TV from just about anywhere downstairs in my house, so even if I was working on my laptop, making lunch, or dinner, cleaning, folding clothes, etc. I was glued. I had text threads going with my wife and friends- that usually had things like: "WTF is happening here?" and accompanied by a pic like this:
And now, we have to go back to normal and that means shuffling into the kitchen for our morning coffee with the stupid news on rather than watching in disbelief at how fast Table Tennis goes or having our avocado toast while watching women scale the rock wall in 6.84 seconds, like a sewer rat up a drain pipe. Watching the little two person sailing boats as teammates wildly humped the air and yank cables while wondering "Is that really how it's done? Hmm...never knew that," as I chopped vegetables, prepping for dinner. One of the best parts about the Olympics was not having to find something to watch in the evenings. There was no "what do we have recorded? discussion, it was just ...Olympics. We didn't worry about "Drag Race All-Stars", "Station 19", or our regular programs because....Olympics. It's bad enough we're all still being super picky about going out, mixing & mingling, limiting of social gathering but now the Tokyo games are over. The thing that made being home sort of fun is now over. I'm feeling really overly dramatic about it and I can't help it. I feel like Carli Lloyd after that loss to Canada.
So, now it's back to the aged, old, boring, mindless bullshit of day time television. I'm so aware of how bad it is now, that I've actually decided to just put on music channels and carry on with my daily things. Like right now, I'm watching Summer Top 40 music videos. For instance, Don Henley's "Boys of Summer" just played.
I will acknowledge that ever since the London 2012 Olympics, where I actually got to GO and sit in the third row and watch USA's Misty May-Trainor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings beat USA's Jennifer Kessy and April Ross to win gold in Women's Beach Volleyball at Horse Guards Parade in the middle of downtown London, the Olympics mean more to me that they used to. I can remember it all like it was yesterday- the atmosphere, the thrill, the vibe, the scene- and it's really indescribable how palpable the excitement was. Seeing one of your country's elite athlete's getting a gold medal live and in person was incredible. It's something you never forget, and it really does stay with you.
(even more exciting was that Prince Harry was just under that person in the white ball cap to the left of London 2012 sign, in a light blue shirt.)
So, yeah, okay, maybe I'm a bit more fanatical about the Olympics than your average person but this year, what was friggin' delightful was finding out that some friends of mine were just as nuts for it as I was. I won't name you, even though you pointed out to me that the FANCY PRANCE in synchronised swimming was judged as part of the routine and not just something they did on the way to the pool. Or you, other unnamed friend, who pointed out a hefty German table tennis player on the women's team that was full of serious hustle. Or you who told me about the open water swimming race that was pretty much against typhoon currents and waves, or how we discussed at length, the fact that a 38 year old was competing against a 14 year old in skateboarding for a bit of "how is this even possible?" texts. We, the unnamed Olympic texters, marvelled at the chubby athletes in the weightlifting competition, as well as the hammer, discus, shotput games together and wondered if we could possibly excel in something like this. given our size. Then we thought about adding axe throwing to the games in Paris 2024. We laughed together, just like we do with our annual Eurovision text threads and it made my days.
So, now the crashing low of things getting back to normal is upon us. No dinner updates with my wife who may have missed something while at work, like the cry baby German woman who's horse wouldn't comply with fence jumping in the modern pentathlon. Or when Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles stepped up when Simone Biles stepped down. Or when on Day One of Surfing- the guy's board literally cracked in half in the first 5 minutes. Tom Daly winning a medal in synchro diving with Matty Lee, then knitting in the stands like a grandma showing up for her grandson's meet later that week. The men's marathon in 87 degree heat, with 77% humidity, watching the Netherlands runner spur on the Belgian runner for bronze, while he went for silver- just 100 steps from the finish line, his hand waving, pointing, saying "c'mon, c'mon" or the Belarus woman athlete that defected to Poland. There was something to talk about every damn day. So, even though, at first, it was a harrowing thought that Tokyo was even putting these games on this year, my nerves settled down and I was all in. From the heartfelt speech of the IOC President at the opening ceremony, and the drones, oh the drones - to the Japanese opera soprano singer at the closing ceremony (yes, I was convinced that was a lesbian), I had a total blast. For all the laughs it brought with the serve stylings in table tennis, to the hilarious hats of the synchro swimmers, to the fancy trotting of the dressage horses, the poor red chins of the archers, the background music at just about any event, the air those kids were getting in the skateboard parks, and BMX cycling tricks, it was mind blowing the whole way through. Even when I held my breath at the cycling crashes or the falls during the track & field events, it was all worth my heart skipping a beat. It really took me out of my continual COVID fatigue, my current news cycle spirals and my days missing my parents. So it was needed, welcomed and appreciated- probably even more -knowing what these athletes had to go through to just get there this year. The spotlight was brief and different for the winners- the medal ceremonies felt rushed and clunky, even a bit chaotic at times, but they did it. And I'll admit it, at times, I was teary.
This year, though, I learned a few things. Mainly, that I can't stand the commentators on the EuroSport channels over here, probably any channel for that matter, but especially EuroSport and the guy who said "Summies" instead of summersaults all during the Gymnastics. It was so annoying, I pictured myself breaking into the broadcasting booth and punching him in the face. Maybe it was the fact that there were no crowds to keep viewers excited or create an atmosphere we're used to, OR maybe its because of all that we never noticed how utterly annoying they really are. It felt like this year, it was worse than ever. They're comments, their stupid perspectives, it was all just way over the top. When an event like the marathon is going on, the commentators have to talk for like 2 and a half hours and most of it is just absolute bullshit about what they presume a runner is thinking or feeling. Actually, they did it in all the events- telling us what THEY think an athlete is thinking or feeling. Even if it's a former medal winner or participant who they've roped in to commentating, it's all just GUESSING and speculation- and it's so annoying. Don't tell me that you know how Alex Morgan or Meghan Rapinoe feels. You one hundred percent DO NOT know. I'd rather they just talk about the definitives- the actual sport, the rules, the coaches, the scoring and the athlete's background, how they trained, etc. rather then what they think that person is feeling. I really truly hated the way the media handled the US Women's football/soccer team losing to Sweden right off the bat and then to Canada. They still won Bronze. It's still an achievement, for f*cks sake. But even worse: the massive shit storm when Simone Biles' decision to withdraw from certain competitions due to increasing mental health issues became public. The speculation was so harsh, so outlandish, and awful. From assuming it was an injury after the vault, or pressure (that THEY cause), it was such an aggressive surge of bullshit, it made my stomach turn. And for what? ~To later learn that there was so much more going on than what they could ever know. Family drama, physical symptoms, dizziness, and stuff. It won't change how they cover a story like that, and it's hopeless to think they've learned a lesson after looking like jerks, but most of all it's heart breaking to see what these athletes go through because of the media coverage and they way they cause the very issue that's so harmful. Before you come at me and say, "well, thats the life they've chosen, they know what they're getting into," No. Just no. They aren't movie stars. They aren't reality show idiots who ask for that scrutiny when they sign up. These are people that train every day of their lives for years and years to compete on a level that none of us could ever know, and they don't deserve that kind of treatment from the media. Just because it's entertaining for to us at home to watch, it's not cool for some dickhead seated in the arena with a microphone headset on, who's never done anything close to that, to say ridiculous, speculative, off the cuff, ignorant remarks about that competitor. So, that part felt worse than ever this year. I am glad that the good stuff outweighed the bad, though.
But, okay, let's talk about how we're going to get through this, aside from music video channels. I guess I'll blog more, I'll get more adventurous in my cooking, I'll find new Netlfix documentaries to binge on, I'll keep doing podcasts, I'll get outside more now that the weather is getting cooler, I'll keep my distance from people like I've become accustomed to and happen to like, I'll hound people to get vaccinated, I'll bother my mother will calls and texts all day long and I'll most certainly fantasise about being this pro golfer who nailed a hole in one effortlessly:
......because I finally got this PlayStation4 golf game and I am looking forward to getting GOOD, baby!
Let's get through the post Olympic blues together. Recommendations welcomed- if they aren't stupid, of course.
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