london day 4

Didn't see much variety tonight, but what a night!
-saw some diving, the Chinese won of course
-Allison Schmitt won gold in 200 m freestyle
-The Fab Five-Team USA, women's gymnastics. They are all my heroes. The team led going into the finals and it was theirs to lose, but unlike the men's team, they were able to pound it out. The girls started out on vault and gave three superb vaults. Jordan Wieber did an excellent vault and showed that her attitude was in the right place. McKayla Maroney is a superb vaulter, that's all she does for the team. She gets so much height and flings her body so well-it is amazing. Gabby gave great vaults too. Then came the uneven bars and the girls put up some solid scores, but Russia was still right behind them. The balance beam is the worst. I get so anxious when they perform their routines. Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, and Kyla Ross were so good on the balance beam and there were no huge mistakes to make me nervous for them. Then Jordan, Gabby and Aly were up on the floor exercise and all they needed was to do their routines fairly well. The Russians were the only ones behind them and they royally messed up on the floor. Aly was the last to go and you could see the relief in her face once she knew that he had it. The girls were so cute, crying and they were all so supportive of each other, but besides being cutesy gymnasts, you know they are top athletes of the world and came through in a clutch moment. And the parents, they are almost as fun to watch as the athletes. They get really into the routines and the emotion they feel for their kids. I definitely got a little teary watching the gymnastics. Bob was interviewing them and asked them their earliest Olympics memories (because they wouldn't be old enough to remember the Magnificent 7 in 1996) and they all said Carly Patterson in the 2004 Olympics. 2004! They are babies! Great job!

-Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian ever winning his 19th medal in the 4x200 freestyle relay, with Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens, and Connor Dwyer. Now, I don't always think the best of Phelps because he is kind of a schmo, cocky, etc. But if you look at what Lochte is trying to replicate and cannot, and how Phelps himself is struggling in this Olympic then you realize how great of a thing he was able to do in 2008. 8 medals in one Olympics and they were all gold. I give Phelps credit for coming back, there is no way he could repeat that, nor would he want to try. I think he's just trying to see how much he can add on to his record. From his interviews it seems that he may not have trained as hard or as much, so I think he's just taking things as they come and enjoying all that comes his way. Michael Phelps is truly a great Olympian. Congrats.

london day 3

-mens sychronized diving, USA wins bronze, great job guys
-Matt Grevers won gold in the 100 m backstroke and Nick Thoman won silver giving USA a 1-2 finish
-Missy Franklin won gold in the 100 m backstroke and won a fan in me, she is 17, so nice and humble and a very talented swimmer AND she won 10 minutes after qualifying for a different race, so little time they let her warm down in the diving pool instead of having to walk out to the warm up pool and waste time. What a woman.

-mens USA gymnastics choked, they were supposed to be a medal contending team but lost it. Team GB got bronze and were so stoked, the place was rocking and Harry and Will were there to witness. Cheers to the home team! Also I have a small crush on USA gymnast Sam Mikulak....

-Misty and Kerri won their match and kept their winning streak alive
-women's USA volleyball beat a top seeded Brazil
-Lochte failed to medal in the 200 free, making what Phelps did in Beijing four years ago look that much more impressive
-Rebecca Soni won silver in the 100 breastroke, but lost to an impressive showing by a 15 year old Ruta Meilutyte from Lithuania, whom no one had heard of before, so they kept mispronouncing her name.

I think that was about what I saw. I really want team USA to grab gold in women's gymnastics tomorrow!!

london day 2

this schedule is killing me, they show stuff till the wee hours of the night, how am I supposed to keep a job?
-A word on results: I know that I am nine hours behind London and I could look all the results up online and know them already. But I care more about actually watching the sport and enjoying it rather than seeing who won. If you know everything before it happens then why watch it? It takes all the fun out of it.
-men's volleyball against Serbia? I hope they won, (they did) weren't looking as solid as the women
-two man rowing, team GB had a good showing
-men's beach volleyball, Dauhauser and the other guy are amazing, Phil's 6'9" frame helps a lot but he is good.

-US woman Kimberly Rhode got gold in skeet shooting. Yeah, girl.
-american duo got silver in women's sychronized diving, which looks so hard in my opinion. not only to have a good dive but do it exactly the same as someone else at the same time, gheez. Of course China won.
-swimming finals in a few events. Dana Volmer got gold and set a world record in the 100 m butterfly. Brendan Hansen got bronze in the 100 m breaststroke.

-Men's 4x100 relay, USA was the returning gold medalist after the dramatic showdown in 2008 where Phelps almost lost his chance for 8 golds. They had a good showing and were leading on the third leg, Cullen Jones was in the lead. Ryan Lochte had a good first 50 meters but the last French leg came back to overtake him and get revenge for his team from 2008.
-women's gymnastics. I love all the scrunchies, barettes and glitter! the USA team is very strong this year and  could take advantage that some normally strong teams aren't this year because of injury. I get so anxious when I watch the vault and balance beam. I just don't want them to get hurt or fall off. And of course I want them to do well. It's so interesting, these girls are so solid and tough, they do ridiculous things with their bodies. And then they get interviewed by Ryan Seacrest and are super giggly teenagers that want to meet all the other famous Olympians. Such a contrast. Like I said, very strong team this year. So much so that they had three members that could have made it to the All-Around, but each country can only have two qualify. It was a major heartbreak for Jordyn Wieber because she is the reigning world champ, but her teammates Gabby Douglas, and Alexandra Wiesman ended up scoring better than her. It stinks; on one hand, yeah, it's your fault you messed up or stepped out of bounds, etc. On the other, you may have a higher score than 20 other girls there, but because you didn't score higher than your teammate, you don't get to compete. Jordyn was so disappointed and crying, and they kept showing her on camera while they were interviewing her teammates!! Seriously! Let her go cry somewhere while she gets over her serious disappointment and not be in background. I felt so bad for her. But Team USA looks very good and I hope they win gold Tuesday night!

london day 1

Been watching Olympics, pretty much all day. I gotta get it in while I can. Here's the recap.
-Started with the USA women's basketball game vs. Serbia. Serbia gave them a little trouble but they were able to put it away. They are contenders for the gold medal.

-Next came the USA women's volleyball game vs. South Korea. They won the first two sets and the Korea gave them trouble and won the third. USA was able to come back and get the next set for the match win, but they need to keep their game up if they want to get the gold.

-Saw a few prelims in the pool, Michael Phelps almost didn't make it to the final of one of his races. He won his prelim but ended up being the 8th fastest time.
-Then a USA men's team for beach volleyball trounced South Africa in pool play.
-Alexandr Vinokurov from Kazakhstan won the road cycle race after a big crash, he was absolutely overwhelmed to win the gold and I bet his country won't win a ton of medals. I love stories like this. Although team GB was denied a hopeful gold medal in Mark Cavendish who was a favorite to win.

-8 man crew in rowing, team USA took 1st in the prelim so they automatically go through to the final. Good job.
-Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor barely beat a pair of Aussies in women's beach volleyball. They have never lost a set or match in Olympic play. The Australians gave them a run for their money but Kerri and Misty showed why and how they won two gold medals. I hope they can do it again.

-The men's qualifying for gymnastics. This gets me so anxious. I get so nervous that they will fall, not make their catch, not stick their landing, and all the stuff they do looks so dangerous. There was a guy from Ireland who was just glad to be at the Olympics knowing he probably wouldn't place on anything. Team GB had a great showing in front of the home crowd. Team USA did very well. They are the top qualifying team of the men. Of course I love the story of John Orozco growing up in the bronx and his family sacrificing a ton to get him to the Olympics. He is a very strong gymnast. I decided that I need to date a male gymnast. Apparently most male gymnasts are pretty short. They got a 5'2" and a 5'4" guys on the team. That would work for me. And in my opinion, there is nothing more manly or athletic than male gymnastics. Dude, have you seen the stuff they do on the rings? MANLY.

-The first Lochte vs. Phelps showdown. I am rooting for Lochte, Phelps has had his day and now it's time for a new dynasty. It was the 4x100 Individual Medley. Phelps had his moments during the race but Lochte ended up winning. He didn't get Phelps' WR but did get the gold. Phelps didn't even medal, first time since 2000 that he didn't at least get a medal. They interviewed him after the race and he couldn't make sentences. He was so mad. I think he was expecting his raw talent to come through for him a bit, but it's four years later and I think he should just have fun and enjoy his last races. Lochte is the new "it" guy, I like the pretended rivalry, and I like seeing someone besides Phelps win. But Lochte is just as much of a schmo as Phelps is. I read he was told not to wear his diamond grill on the medals stand or they wouldn't give him his medal. Thanks London 2012 for keeping it classy.

-China dominates in the pool in a few races. Since when did China dominate swimming? I think they saw their 2008 performance and the good ol' communist system got working on that.
-Elizabeth Bisel got silver in the women's 4X100 Individual Medley. A girl from China won.
-I have got to keep my parents from spoiling all the Olympic results. They are a lot more internet savvy than four years ago, now they go online know everything before it airs on tv and keep ruining it for me.
-I heard USA women's soccer won their game against Columbia. I hope they can get the gold!
-I wish I could get a little variety in my Olympic coverage. It would be cool to watch some handball or something.

Tomorrow is another big day in Olympics!!

Opening Ceremony

Ok, so prior to the actual opening ceremony I read a really cool story about an archer from Korea named Im Dong Hyun. He's legally blind and can only barely distinguish the different colors on the target. What's cool is that he broke a scoring record for the ranking round they had today and helped his team post some major points. Really cool.

The Opening Ceremony. Let me just say that I knew it wasn't going to be as cool as Beijing. They spent tons of money and were out to show themselves off to the world. Also they have the world's highest population for a country so they had tons of people to do stuff for them. And I knew the London ceremony was going to be, well, British. And that it was. I read online that the director wanted to scale things back a notch so other countries would still feel able to host an Olympics because China's was way grandiose. So I didn't have outrageous expectations.

The first section was showing green and pastoral Great Britian, used real animals and grass, showed farms and hills, people playing rugby, cricket, picnicing, and other British things. (I found out they cut out a bunch when you watch it on TV). Then they showed the industrial era of GB and had smokestacks rise and forged an Olympic ring to join four others to make a set. Then they sort of rained fire. During this they had a moment of silence for all the people who fought and died in the World Wars. (Side note-one thing I noticed when I was in England in May was how much they still remember and honor and hold sacred the people who fought in WWI and WWII. I think they do a much better job on remembering those two wars specifically than we do, and it makes sense. Their country was being bombed, they fought in them longer than the US did, but I really appreciate that even though these wars are getting to be a long ways in the past they are still remembered). Then came the literature and arts section showing GB's contribution to the world and then music. Then came a lot of dancing and other stuff they didn't show and then the parade of nations. Then the official opening of the games from HRH and the lighting of the cauldron-which was unique because it was made out of lots of copper petals and stood on the floor of the stadium, not high up so that people outside the stadium could see the flame. And then Sir Paul McCartney got to sing. (I'm excited for the closing ceremonies because Take That and the Spice Girls are going to perform. And then I started remembering all these other British singers they should get like Elton John and Adele). Anyway, it was a decent show.

Things I liked:
-JK Rowling reading a quote from "Peter Pan" I think

-A giant Voldemort and other villians being beat down by a flock of flying Mary Poppinses

-Mr. Bean playing the "Chariots of Fire" theme song-his scene was pretty funny

-The Queen being picked up at Buckingham Palace by Daniel Craig's James Bond and then being flown by helicopter to the Olympic stadium and parachuting in (an actor)-this pretty much stole the show.

-David Beckham delivering the second to last torch bearer to the Olympic stadium-I learned GB hasn't had a  football team in the Olympics for a long time so he never got to go. That's too bad. But he was an important factor in getting the Olympics to GB

-All the fireworks were awesome

A word on team USA's outfits. I know there was a whole controversy when it was discovered that their clothes were manufactured in China. But guess what, everything in the USA is made in China. So I thought that was kind of fitting. Also Ralph Lauren got to choose how to make it, so, like any other business, they are going to do what's cheap. I don't think it's something to get so upset over and demand they all be burned.  Senator Reid, let's burn all your clothes that aren't made in the US and see what you have left. On top of that people were mad that they had berets as part of the outfit and that they looked too European. Does anyone not remember the 2002 Olympics? The berets they wore were all the rage, and were made in Canada, gasp! I watched the other countries tonight and ours were among the classier outfits. GB, no offense, but your outfits were weird. White capri pants and white jackets with gold lettering? It looked a little childish and casual. I think the USA athletes looked really classy and sharp in their blazers. If they didn't want classy, the people in charge of that decision should not have picked Ralph Lauren to design them. Their style is classy.  Everyone's a critic I guess. Including me.

So yeah, it was pretty good, I know some people thought it was weird/boring, but I think you just have to realize that the whole thing was completely British and it makes so much more sense.

Olympics on tomorrow: Phelps vs. Lochte-should be good!

a celebration of all things olympic

My friend, William, recently told me I was an Olympic junkie. That I am. And I have no shame. The 2012 Summer Olympics start tomorrow with the opening ceremony which is always a good time although it probably won't be as good as last time's (thanks China). So get ready, for some reason I tend to blog about the Olympic events that I get to watch so if you don't care then don't read my blog for a few weeks. However, because my Olympic viewing is limited to what they show on NBC, (no cable or smart phone-although I read that all events are going to be broadcast this year-I could see table tennis!), so they limit that to swimming, gymnastics and track and field. Also, I'm afraid that because of the 8 hour time difference from London and with all the internet and social media that I'll find out results before they show on TV. That makes is way less exciting. So I will try to stay away from that, it works ok. And I'm going to be in UT for one of the weekends so I'll probably miss some Olympics then too. Boo. It only comes once every 2 years so let's party!

Why I love the Olympics:

-Bob Costas
-pagentry
-national pride
-global unity
-underdogs
-hot shots
-commercials
-spectacle
-controversy
-athletic skill and precision

and many, many more. Also, I've started to cry at certain Olympic things. I get really into it. 

bonjour Paris!

A view of the Eiffel Tower at night

Of course I had to perform this dance from Funny Face, I was probably singing this all day long.

Fun, weren't they? I should've taken more videos.