(Cue the John Williams' Olympics theme music)
So. The Beijing Olympics.
On one hand, they were everything we expected them to be. We all knew that giving the hosting duties to China might spark drama due to China's history of human rights issues, so when would-be US flag bearer, Joey Cheek, got his visa taken away for being a huge advocate against the Darfur genocide, it wasn't all that surprising. We all hoped that they'd stick to their promise of unrestricted freedom of the press, but seeing as how two elderly women are currently being ordered to a labor camp for applying to protest, we weren't shocked that it took reporters and photographers getting manhandled and arrested for covering the protests before we even heard about them happening.
And of course, everyone knew NBC would be wholly unable to do a good job in scheduling live events, providing clear, objective commentary, or giving adequate airtime to athletes that weren't American, Chinese, or Michael Phelps. So naturally we came prepared with CBC feeds to compensate and Olympic drinking games in place before Costas even had a chance to mangle the pronunciation of his first foreign country.
Yet, as familiar as the urge to throw pillows at the TV and scream "SHUT UP, AL!" was for the last two weeks, the 29th Olympiad of the Summer Games was also drastically different. In many ways, it was the Changing of the Guard. Old world records fell to the wayside, not only with Michael Phelps's eight gold medals, but also in the pool and on the track- and they were set mostly by relative newcomers to the Games. The acceptance of beach volleyball as a legitimate sport and the addition of BMX to the Games have given it a revamped, more youthful image from your Daddy's Olympics. And maybe Thoogie put it best when he said, "It's time to step aside for the new generation of athletes" because it seems that the athletes are just getting younger and younger (and no, I'm not just talking about the Chinese gymnasts.)
So with that in mind, I give you my Best and Worst of the Olympics for 2008. Expect new faces, new categories, and even more outrageous drama than the last Summer Games. But don't worry. The snark is still there as prominent as ever, and I promise, no CGI added elements have been added this post to make it look pretty. (The pictures of pretty pretty athletes do that just fine).
( The Best and Worst of the 2008 Beijing Games )
So. The Beijing Olympics.
On one hand, they were everything we expected them to be. We all knew that giving the hosting duties to China might spark drama due to China's history of human rights issues, so when would-be US flag bearer, Joey Cheek, got his visa taken away for being a huge advocate against the Darfur genocide, it wasn't all that surprising. We all hoped that they'd stick to their promise of unrestricted freedom of the press, but seeing as how two elderly women are currently being ordered to a labor camp for applying to protest, we weren't shocked that it took reporters and photographers getting manhandled and arrested for covering the protests before we even heard about them happening.
And of course, everyone knew NBC would be wholly unable to do a good job in scheduling live events, providing clear, objective commentary, or giving adequate airtime to athletes that weren't American, Chinese, or Michael Phelps. So naturally we came prepared with CBC feeds to compensate and Olympic drinking games in place before Costas even had a chance to mangle the pronunciation of his first foreign country.
Yet, as familiar as the urge to throw pillows at the TV and scream "SHUT UP, AL!" was for the last two weeks, the 29th Olympiad of the Summer Games was also drastically different. In many ways, it was the Changing of the Guard. Old world records fell to the wayside, not only with Michael Phelps's eight gold medals, but also in the pool and on the track- and they were set mostly by relative newcomers to the Games. The acceptance of beach volleyball as a legitimate sport and the addition of BMX to the Games have given it a revamped, more youthful image from your Daddy's Olympics. And maybe Thoogie put it best when he said, "It's time to step aside for the new generation of athletes" because it seems that the athletes are just getting younger and younger (and no, I'm not just talking about the Chinese gymnasts.)
So with that in mind, I give you my Best and Worst of the Olympics for 2008. Expect new faces, new categories, and even more outrageous drama than the last Summer Games. But don't worry. The snark is still there as prominent as ever, and I promise, no CGI added elements have been added this post to make it look pretty. (The pictures of pretty pretty athletes do that just fine).
( The Best and Worst of the 2008 Beijing Games )
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