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OD-ing on the Olympics
Like about 30 million of my fellow Americans, I've been glued to NBC's prime-time coverage of the Olympics for the past several nights, watching Michael Phelps assault the swimming record books in between less interesting (to me, anyway) bits of beach volleyball and gymnastics.
(I know, as a guy, that the sight of world-class female athletes competing in tiny bikinis is supposed to do something for me. It doesn't, probably because it seems like such a foregone conclusion that the U.S. team of Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor is headed for the gold medal.)
And it's been great TV, particularly all the stuff in the pool, with world records falling in seemingly every event. What I've really been getting a kick out of, though, has been the daytime coverage on USA and MSNBC.
It's been cool, first of all, to watch the men's basketball games live as I start my work day (though I, like NBC analyst Doug Collins, remain concerned about the U.S. team's weak three-point shooting thus far). And -- I don't know if this was an intentional callback to NBC's NBA glory days or just a messed-up music cue -- after the American win over Greece this morning, the network played its old NBA on NBC theme music, which in my opinion is one of the great TV-sports themes ever (and almost certainly the finest piece of music John Tesh ever composed).
Later on, MSNBC was showing some table tennis (that's American David Zhuang up above). Other than the equipment involved, the competitors in Olympic table tennis play a game that bears pretty much no resemblance to the garage- and basement-based pastime most of us have dabbled in. The precision with which they're able to hit shots, not to mention velocity and spin, are about eight levels above rec-room ping-pong.
Except for this one thing: When the ball goes skittering off the table at the end of a point, the players themselves retrieve it. That doesn't seem right, does it? Shouldn't there be a couple of ballboys and -girls at the perimeter of the competition area? These are the best in the world, after all -- it seems a little undignified to make them chase their own misses. Roger Federer and Serena Williams don't have to; why should Ryu Seung Min or Zhang Yining?
During the daytime telecasts, I've also learned that despite some very fervent fans, archery is a terrible TV sport (it consists mainly of close-up shots of archers drawing their bows, then stationary shots of the targets as the arrows land); badminton can be a little bit mesmerizing in the way its competitors make the shuttlecock dance and float; and that Melissa Stark still works at NBC, although she didn't get a ticket to Beijing.
I haven't yet seen a summer Olympic sport that measures up to the goofy charm of curling (and its announcers for the past two Winter Games, Don Chevrier and Don Duguid), but the sheer breadth of stuff to watch on TV and online makes up for that to a degree, with sights like the Togolese (by way of France) kayaker breaking his paddle over his boat after winning the country's first medal in anything, ever. That's just cool.
Have you found any hidden gems during the Olympics? What (and how) are you watching?
I enjoyed watching the Women's indoor court volleyball for a variety of reasons. First off, the shorts are fantastic. But I also like the feinting that they do for a set-up spike ball. All of the players jumping up and pretending to spike the ball is just a lot of fun. I haven't followed it closely enough to see if the American team is still alive, but I enjoy it regardless of which country is playing.
Blue Sean | Aug 16, 2008 11:04:52 AM | #My OD schedule:
-Breakfast, watch late night coverage on TiVo (usually pretty quick so far because I don't care about swim HEATS. I always watch diving at any level)
-Get home from work, watch NBC daytime coverage on TiVo (skipping through stuff I don't care about, usually a beach volleyball match)
-Make dinner, start watching primetime about 9:30 and between skipping commercials and FF (beach volleyball again) I'm caught up and watch real-time from like 10:30- 1am.
-Late Night (1-3 am): go online at NBC to less popular sports that I like (badminton, rowing, archery) check "video" and "news" sections and watch anything that sounds interesting.
Rinse & Repeat. I'm averaging 4 hours of sleep a night.
Crystal's Olympic-watching schedule is surprisingly similar to mine! Now that track and field has started, I anticipate even less sleep. But, hey, the awesome summer Olympics only rolls around once every four years. What's a little sleeplessness between countrymen?
Cat | Aug 18, 2008 7:31:05 AM | #NBC isn't feeling OD'ed b the spin they've been putting on the numbers. I guess they finally found some quality TV to broadcast. Too bad it'll be back to Number 4 in a week
josie | Aug 20, 2008 10:44:58 AM | #i'm currently not working at the moment which is perfect because i've been able to watch the olympics night and day! i love everything about the olympics!
i loved that nbc plays their old nba tune during the usa games... i really miss that tune and i always remembered those sunday mornings when i would get up and watch nba games.
joits | Aug 23, 2008 1:40:19 PM | #
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