I have discovered a new way to enjoy the Olympics! Normally, I pick and choose events. I'm not a huge sports fan to begin with so the idea of watching a whole volleyball game, or basketball game, or cycling race seems like a complete waste of time to me.
But in an effort to see my favorite Olympian compete, I had to record hours of other events, then scan through on fast-forward to get to the swimming. We've discovered it's kind of cool to speed up a game and watch the scoreboard climb (or, in the case of the soccer match between Australia and Argentina, climb then fall again) for events we ordinarily wouldn't watch. The cycling events, for example, are awesome with a little more speed. We've started recording all the Olympic events, then zipping through and slowing down when something interesting happens. At this rate, we're going to watch more of the Olympics than we ever have before, though I suspect swimming will continue to be the only summer sport we never speed through...and maybe gymnastics (gotta see if I agree with Bela about the China age issue http://www.nbcolympics.com/gymnastics/news/newsid=190870.html?_source=rss&cid=).
The best thing about watching the Olympics in fast-forward, other than being able to see more sports without living in front of the TV for 2 weeks, is not having to listen to the commentators' inane commentary. Don't get me wrong, I sometimes appreciate the input of those who have returned as commentators to a sport they once played--their inside information can be fascinating. However, I've noticed that much of the chatter is a nonsensical attempt to avoid a moment of silence, as well as hypothesizing about the outcome of a given match based on building up one or more athletes as being unbeatable, only to have the unbeatable athletes lose. To me, making assumptions about who is going to win isn't fair to any of the competitors, because as any Patriots fan knows, no victory is ever certain until the game is over.
OK, I'm off. Time to fast-forward through some weight lifting! =)
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