Olympic Observation

I’m enjoying the Olympics. I’m not alone. The ratings have been very strong.

The Olympics on NBC are entertaining in much the same way a Bruce Willis or Steven Segal movie is. There’s hard fought conflict, but in the end the US will prevail in nearly everything NBC chooses to show.

The Chinese and Americans have around the same number of medals. Have you seen as many Chinese? I rest my case.

One thing I have noticed is these are great atheletes by training and genetics. The sprinters are perfectly muscular. The gymnasts are tiny. The women in the triple jump (hop, step and jump) are scarily wiry.

I wish it wasn’t that way!

I just watched 37 year old Oksana Chusovitina compete in gymnastics. I don’t care how she places, I smiled! She is not in the Olympic mold.

Basketball had 5′ 3″ Mugsy Bogues. The Phillies had Mike Fontenot. He’s listed at 5′ 8″. He’s more like 5′ 5″. These players found success in spite of what God gave them.

Is there room for a Charlie Hustle in the Olympics? I think not. Shame.

The games are fun. They would be even more fun if everyone wasn’t a superman.

5 thoughts on “Olympic Observation”

  1. They worked and trained years to become “super men/women)…trust me they were not born that way….the same for the Original Olympians….they were pampered Gods….js…

    1. I didn’t mean to detract from their training and hard work, only that before they became elite athletes they were ‘pre-selected’ by their physical attributes before presented with these opportunities.

  2. Find it hard to accept the professionals …the BB Tennis players…..the Games were ment to be for amateurs ….It has come down to a giant commercial enterprise…..is there nothing sacred anymore???

  3. I agree with: “but in the end the US will prevail in nearly everything NBC chooses to show.”

    The coverage is so USA centric these days; if there is a Nadia Comenici, Olga Korbut, Kip Keino out there, we would never hear of them.

    Happily, they cover the amazing Bolt is the dashes. Even NBC could not ignore him.

  4. It is true that body type determines the type of Olympic sport for which a person is best suited. The most perfect looking bodies for both sexes compete in diving. Swimmers are tall with long arms, long torsos, and short legs- sort of like gorillas. Male gymnasts have the most athletic bodies, as do the females, but the females will lose that advantage when they reach puberty. That said, without the proper training and conditioning, those bodies couldn’t perform. As for Mike Fontenot, he is 5′ 4 1/2″ tall, and has a male gymnasts body, which he has developed through very hard work. He can jump 3 feet in the air, vertically, and run the 40 yard dash in 4.2 seconds. The amazing thing about him is that he has played 7 years in MLB, despite having severe vision problems. No one has been able figure out how he overcame such a severe disability. He wanted to play football, and was actually scouted for it while in high school, but his adult weight is about 150 pounds, and he was even smaller in high school. Football would have been easier for him, with his wobbly eyes, but his body type ruled it out. If he had been listed at his actual height, the scouts would never have taken a look at him.

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