posts tagged with 'olympics'
olympic review
We're done with the Olympics. Even if the events aren't done themselves, we need to cancel our free trial of television over the internet tomorrow morning. I'm definitely glad we could watch for the couple weeks we did, but I'm also glad we don't have TV most of the time. The unskippable commercials are unbearable! And when I can watch TV, it's hard not to sometimes when I'm tired. Now without that temptation I'll have lots more time to surf the internet!
We spent the most time watching curling, since it's fascinating and always on. I think the hockey was my favorite, but hockey games are really too long to fit into my life and I never had any real sense of how the tournament was going. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed snowboard cross and ski cross—I guess seven heats of two minute races for an event is about how long my attention span can handle! And we wished we were able to watch more short track speed skating and cross country. But man were there a lot of options. And now there are fewer in our house, and I think that's a good thing.
a winter sport or three
My first notice of the Winter Olympics came when someone asked me if I was boycotting because of China's horrible civil rights record and the muzzling of athletes who wanted to talk about it. Since I had no concept of how I could watch any of it even if I wanted to, I said that I supposed I was. But with the idea planted in my brain, I couldn't stop thinking of the seductive appeal of speedskating, freestyle skiing, and curling... even biathalon! So when, in a conversation with Leah, she suggested that it wouldn't be a big deal if we weren't able to find a way to watch it, I... didn't didn't immediately express robust agreement. And then, being amazing at finding out how to do things, she got us hooked up with a free trial of Youtube TV.
So now we can watch all the winter sports we want to, which is of course very exciting. So exciting, in fact, that it beat out Saturday's adventure in all three boys' Monday morning journal writing. I remember my parents borrowing (renting?) a TV in 1988 so we could watch the Summer Olympics in Seoul, and how at 11 I was quite interested in being connected to the world of international sporting competition (though I don't know how much of the sports I actually watch; all I really recall is the opening ceremony). It'll be interesting to see how long, in 2022, our interest will last: there's a lot of kind of boring down time in the broadcasts, and ever so many hours of sports still to come. But for now, even though we deplore China's oppression of minorities and lots of other things, we're on board with watching! But don't worry, we won't give Youtube, or NBC, or anybody else any money for it.
we tune in to the olympics
No camping report today, sorry: we spent all day watching the Olympics (except for when we were waiting at the RMV, exploring a playground in Wilmington, swimming in the pond, or out for a walk with friends). NBC streaming is useless to us since they check for a cable package, but never fear, the BBC is more generous—at least, when we trick them into thinking we're browsing from outside the US. So far we've sampled a great many sports, and spent serious time on sailing, cycling, equestrian cross-country, and swimming. As Leah says, "how can we be doing anything else when it's the most important moment in someone else's life?!"
As for Harvey, he just appreciates the opportunity to watch unlimited tv. Never mind being able to tell what's going on, though he did enjoy it when the horsies went through the water.
close call
Despite my previous protestations Leah and I were watching the gymnastics on the tv this evening, with some enjoyment, until suddenly a near-calamity! The commentators handed off to the studio and Bob Costas, and before I even had much of a chance to whine about him the camera panned back and he announced that he was being joined by President George Bush.
I'm not too much of a man to admit that I shrieked and turned off the tv as quick as I could; if I heard Costas and Bush talking to each other I might never have recovered. Two more annoying speakers do not exist, and in conversation their power to drive me to absolute distraction would be increased exponentially; I believe some sort of square law is in effect.
Good thing it was time for bed anyways. We're taping the proceedings so we can watch without commercials tomorrow, if we're so inclined.
tv is dead to me now
I have discovered that there is a great deal of Olympics sports content available online. It's awesome! Today I watched some of soccer, weight-lifting, judo, cycling, sailing, basketball, dressage, field hockey, and archery—some live, and some in replay. And the best part? No annoying commentary! Although I must confess is it slightly problematic trying to figure out what's going on in, say, a 150-mile cycling road race or a dingy race in fluky winds without the disembodied voices of knowledge talking over things. The judo was tricky too: we couldn't figure out the scoring. But then I looked it up on Wikipedia and it all made sense.
See, who needs tv? The internet can now provide for all of our needs.
a sucker for sports and pageantry
As much as I hate Bob Costas, I had to open up the tv to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies. Which were wicked cool!! My only complaint (beside the inane nattering of Costas et al) is that, since all this is taped long ago, it could have started a little earlier here on the East Coast. Sure, the 8:08 symmetry is nice, but some of us need our beauty sleep. Actually, I have another complaint: the unholy number of commercials. I watched the parade of nations just to see Gabon, and then they came in during a break (along with about half of the world's countries). Never fear, however, because Costas gave us a little review of what we missed, in which he pointed out Bongo's long rule and pronounced the country's name as Gah-bone.
While it's nice to see some tremendous mass dancing and technological wizardry, as well as the fashion choices of the world's Olympic committees, I'm looking forward to some actual sport. Perhaps NBC will deign to offer us a few minutes of coverage over the next couple weeks.