I've watched every Olympics since I was a little girl. The first star Olympians I remember are gymnast Olga Korbut and swimmer Mark Spitz. That was in 1972, 36 years ago. I haven't missed an Olympic Games since! Well...actually, I don't remember the one in 1980--the one President Carter made the USA boycott...I don't remember if that was televised for USA audiences or not?
When the games come on, my eyeballs are glued to the tube for two-weeks non-stop. I can't get enough of it! Even for some sports I have no clue about (which is most of them), like equestrian sports.
This summer, I do have a bit of restraint on my Olympic obsession as I have a Maryland Jurisprudence Exam to take and pass on the 25th of August, the day after the closing ceremony. I found out I was registered to take the exam last Friday, the day of the opening ceremony, which I didn't watch. I need to pass this exam in order to get my license to practice massage therapy in Maryland. It has little to do with the field of therapeutic massage and everything to do with the laws and regulations regarding practicing in MD, hence, the fancy name "jurisprudence". So I promised myself I would NOT turn on the tube until I studied some. I slipped tonight, though. I'll make it up tomorrow and everyday until exam time! It's taken me all week to get used to the legalese in their 36-page code of laws and regulations; I use the Olympics as a reward for studying! %-)
I tend to enjoy the winter Olympics more, just because I love watching ice skating, downhill skiing, ski boarding, and other death-defying sports against Mother Nature's beautiful snow! But I do enjoy the swimming and gymnastics competitions.
Tonight, Mark Spitz was interviewed along with Michael Phelps. Wow. I hardly recognized the former w/o his moustache! Gray hair! But his face still looks youthful on my snowy tv screen. ;-)
I've been getting better over the years at utilizing commercial time to do other things, rather than vegetating even longer than I ought to, during the Olympics. I've mended clothes, sorted coupons, read an academic analysis of Simone de Beauvoir, and even studied for my MD Jurisprudence Exam during commercials. Thank goodness for the MUTE button! Especially for the political candidates' commercials against each other! %-(
I'm certainly not the athletic type, though my participation in taekwondo has helped me to appreciate being physically active (after a lifetime of traumatic P.E. experiences in school!). Naturally, I admire those athletes who accomplish amazing feats of physical prowess! I used to fantasize what kind of sport I'd spend my life in if I had been athletically talented: ice skating? swimming? skiing? martial arts? :-)
What I don't admire is when people show bad sportsmanship, such as when they lose a competition. Fortunately, that seems to be a rare occurence during any Olympics, though more common in popular sports like baseball or hockey.
Also, I get bothered by those who seem to talk about sports like it's the most important thing in the world. People have their obessions and will know every possible detail about what they love, but which is useless to everyone but themselves; I'm no different...it's just not in the sports realm. Pardon me...I could be getting on my soapbox here, so I better stop while I'm ahead...for now!
There was a time when I was still single and lived within walking distance of a public pool. I've always enjoyed swimming, even with my lousy eyesight. I timed myself: it was shockingly slow, compared to the times of the Olympic athletes!! I decided it would be unrealistic to make such silly comparisons...who did I think I was, anyway?! Just work on my own times and set a goal.
We're moving again next month, and where we'll be, there's a pool between our cottage and my parents in-law's much larger home. :-) The only way for me to get moving is to do something that is FUN for ME. Like taekwondo. I don't know what I'll do when I move, but I already announced to hubby that martial arts is what I like and enjoy and intend to do it as long as my body can do it. :-b I've had the best instructors...it's going to be difficult to find others of their caliber, I think. Not just in technical skills, but as in caring individuals, too. Next to fun, I would say the most important factor is that the instructors and students are absolutely respectful of each other. If I don't detect that when I go hunting for a new activity, I won't be able to stomach it because I know I will NOT be able to tolerate disrespectfulness. I wish I didn't have to leave my school and that there was a branch where we were moving to, as I would have LOVED to grow and advance further...I never wanted to leave, I kept telling myself over the years! %-0 But, sometimes circumstances in life dictate you must make difficult decisions, adjust, and leave your comfort zone.
I'll take it as a challenge to grow and learn in regards to our move, just like the athletes in the Olympics do when they compete. I'm especially inspired by swimmer Dara Torres, whose age seems meaningless to herself--she's got spirit!
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“Spirit has fifty times the strength and staying-power of brawn and muscle”
--Mark Twain (1835-1910), American humorist, writer, and lecturer
