The Beijing games have provided me with hours of entertainment day and night and have revealed some amazing performances and athletes so far. On the top of my list is definitely Jamaican Usain Bolt, who has shocked the world by dominating the 100 and 200 meter sprints with world records while looking calm as a Rasta man doing it.
Next on my most impressive athletes list is USA gymnast Nastia Lukin. Lukin, despite being grossly underscored on many of her individual apparatus routines, managed to leave the crooked judges with no options but to give her the Gold in the all-around. Lukin impressed me because she is actually a full grown human being competing against rubber like underdeveloped 13 and 14 year olds (mostly from China) who weigh nothing and don't nearly have the same impact in the air and when landing as Nastia.
Finally, there is Michael Phelps going 8 for 8 winning Gold's. Phelps performances were impressive and dominating but when you think about the fact that while setting a WR, it still takes him 1 minute 42 seconds to swim 200 meters and Usain Bolt just set a WR by running 200 meters in 19.30 seconds, Bolt is more exciting.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Olympics often give exposure to obscure and non-traditional sports such as field hockey, trampoline, rhythmic gymnastics, and ping pong. But last night when I turned on CNBC at 11:30 pm and saw the 20K women's race walking competition, I nearly fell off my couch. Now, I didn't realize that this has been an Olympic sport since around the mid 1950's and it is probably at the least very annoying and difficult to keep the race walking form for 20 km but wow, showing the whole 1 hr 30 minute "race" on TV? Russian race-walking rule bender Olga Kaniskina won the race. Walkers are penalized and even disqualified for breaking walking form by not having at least one foot on the ground at all times. Are ya kidding me? This is a sport that is dominated by rule breakers; it seems the best walkers are the most deceptive rule breakers.
Anyway, I don't mind that the obscure and even ridiculous sports like race-walking and synchronized anything are included in the Olympics; I don't. I actually kind of enjoy watching these spectacles. But now when I see these fringe sport/skill events in the Olympics, only one thought comes to my mind:
"COME ON, IF THIS IS AN OLYMPIC SPORT, COMPETITIVE EATING HAS TO AT LEAST HAVE A CHANCE TO BE AN OLYMPIC SPORT RIGHT?!?"
Don't tell me you haven't thought that as well this summer...We can all at least dream that some day some one will turn on CNBC at midnight of a long summer's evening and see hot dog shrapnel hitting their screen with the Olympic Rings showing in the upper right hand corner and they can yell at their TV - "how can this be an Olympic sport?" We can dream.
