You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘olympics’ category.
the beijing olympics are over. now what am i supposed to do with my time? i haven’t been posting much about the games since the 400m relay because i didn’t think i would be able to comment on all of the many memorable moments with appropriate detail. but let me tell you, the tv has been on the olympics for two weeks straight.
some criticism has been pointed towards nbc that not enough attention was given to the less than favorable political stories involving beijing (detained and deported foreign press). though that may be true, the selective process of the media has long been a problem of american press and is not something unique to the coverage of the games. and it’s important to remember that the olympics are about the athletes.
swimming, gymnastics, track and field, diving; so many great moments. to see an ecstatic redeem team beam for their gold medals was great. guo jingjing. great. usain bolt. nuts. marathons. nuts. rhythmic gymnastics. actually pretty crazy. phelps and his 8 gold medals. nuts and crazy. opening ceremonies. still astounding. moments of triumph are great, but moments of heartache are equally if not more compelling. bob costas couldn’t have said it better:
“But beyond the medal podium, the Olympics remain a human panorama with many also ran finishes and first round eliminations, nonetheless representing epic personal stories, only appreciated by the participants themselves and their families, friends and countrymen.”
anyways, i’m blabbing on again. in summation, my love for the olympics have been reconfirmed. thank you athletes. london!
so i should mention that after 5 minutes into the opening ceremonies, my initial doubts about this year’s olympic games quickly disappeared. i love the olympics, haha. first of all, i have to mention that the chinese people have been very gracious towards all the olympians. the fans in attendance at the china v. usa men’s basketball game cheered for every play, for both their home team and for team usa
and right now, the men’s 400m freestyle relay just ended. it was nuts! u.s. anchor jason lezak made a tremendous comeback to win his team the gold against the heavily favored french team. lezak definitely was the hero in this race, and i’m sure phelps is very happy with the result. i hear he’s going to melt down all his gold medals to make a life size statute of himself( not true). will he go 8 for 8? it sure looks like it.
(TIMOTHY CLARY / AFP/Getty Images)
i love the olympics. i’m usually super excited about the games, but given the conflict with tibet and the recent environmental woes of the host nation, it’s been harder to get into. still, i’m hopeful that the games will offer the athletes and viewers the same rewarding experience it has in the past. on that note though, another example of politics at the olympics
the chinese government revokes the visa of former olympic gold medalist and Team Darfur co-founder, Joey Cheek. no reason has been given by the chinese government for the revoked visa, but Cheek’s involvement in raising awareness for the darfur crisis is believed to be at play (Source: NPR).
while cheek’s revoked visa is a setback, Team Darfur did get a great honor with Lopez Lomong being chosen to carry the U.S. team flag at the opening ceramony. Lomong is one of the lost boys of Sudan and will be representing the U.S. olympic team and Team Darfur at Beijing (Source: ESPN).
To read more about Team Darfur, click here.
bearsuits.wordpress.com 