Obsession: Olympics
Posted on | February 27, 2010 | No Comments
I live a fairly ordinary life (hence the name of this blog). I don’t really frequent bars or clubs, I’ve never posted pictures of myself drunk (probably because I don’t really drink much at all) and most evenings, after work, I’m at home, quietly reading or watching television. In fact, I’m so much of a bookworm that the only sports I follow with any interest at all are baseball (go Sox!) and tennis.
For the last two weeks, however, I have been glued to my Ikea Poang chair, indulging in my obsession for all things Olympic. I’m not sure why I’m so interested this year when I haven’t been in years past. All I know is that I can’t get enough. Even Bob Costa, with his slightly smarmy asides and oddly shaped head are starting to grow on me. If my TV were sentient, it would probably begin to think that NBC (and its affiliates) were the only channels it was capable of receiving.
Part of my obsession most likely stems from my fervent belief that the Winter Games are far superior to the Summer Games. Just last week, Kim offered up the same opinion, so I know I’m not alone. For starters, the Summer Games are just too much: too many sports, too many athletes, too many everything. In comparison, the Winter Games are downright intimate, with a mere 80 countries competing. And with less sports and events, you actually get a chance to see the weird and “that’s an Olympic sport?” sports on TV (unlike the Summer Games, where you never get to see the sailing or equestrian stuff).
Of course, the Winter Games gives me the usual fare: figure skating, snowboarding and skiing. But it also introduces me to lesser-known wonders like Nordic combined and biathlon (special shout-out to Wikipedia for helping me figure out the difference between the two), skeleton and curling.
Can we just talk about curling for a minute? Seriously – where has it been all my life?! I have no idea how you actually win or score points or play a game (match?) but I’m told curling is like chess on ice. And you apparently can do it while pregnant. From my highly observant watching, I deduced that you don’t need athletic ability to play, just patience, balance and mad strategy skills. And while Alternative Universe Mer can totally whip out a triple toe loop or a backside 720 no problem, Reality Mer will never be mistaken for a person with athletic ability. Which makes curling perfect for me. Otherwise I’ll never fulfill my ridiculously far-fetched dream of winning Olympic gold.
But aside from the random sports and the living vicariously through the athletes on my TV screen, the real attraction of the Olympics – aside from fun uniforms, costumes and glitter (thank you, Johnny Weir!) – is the drama.
Oh, the drama, drama, drama. Besides the endless number of athlete “sob stories,” there’s all the rivalries that simmer just beneath the surface any time certain people get around each other. It’s like a soap opera, only with a lot more snow and a lot less sex (I’m assuming; I could be wrong about that): the Canadian hockey team versus the American hockey team (men or women, take your pick)! Apolo Ohno versus the South Koreans! Lindsay versus Julia! The Russians versus just about everyone else! At any given moment, I half expect the entire event to break out with a WWE-style all-out rumble in the snow.
Sadly for me (and perhaps fortunately for my sanity and social life), the Olympics will end this weekend and I’ll have to wait four years for another chance to reveal in all of my Olympic adoration. Thank God for the Internet, where nearly every event is helpfully available via online video. That way, I can just watch my favorite moments over and over again until the next time we celebrate the “Quadrennial Cold Weather Athletic Competition.”
Comments
Leave a Reply