The Big Show

The Summer Olympics are finally here. It's time to celebrate the best athletes in the world by sitting on the couch for hours watching them run, jump, punch, wrestle and not sit on the couch. The Olympics also remind me how long ago it was that my legs actually sprinted somewhere beyond the bathroom.

In an earlier post I mentioned my interest in the Winter Olympic sport of curling.

The Summer Olympics are different for me. I can't pick out a favorite event. I enjoy the track and field, cycling, boxing, swimming, diving, gymnastics and just about every other event. I don't care much for Olympic basketball or baseball though. I guess that's because those sports can be seen every year. I like the uniqueness of having to wait for a sport every four years.

Last night I thought it would be educational and entertaining to watch the opening ceremonies with the kids. We all were pretty impressed with the $100 million fireworks display and basketball court sized LED television screen. Number One Son repeatedly exclaimed, "How can they do that?", referring to the thousands of dancers with costumes that lit up. The kids practically pressed their noses to the TV screen to see how the athletes ran around the big glowing globe. We also tried to figure out how they made those hundreds of square shaped boxes go up and down in such precise patterns. Was anyone else surprised when hundreds of Chinese poked their heads out and waved? Sweet Pea enjoyed most of the show. She also practiced her cartwheels in the living room, probably inspired by the athletic gracefulness of the dancers.

One drawback to the opening ceremonies that I discovered is that, if you start watching them with your kids, you have to watch them all the way until the United States team marches around the stadium. Which turned out to be around 10PM. Oh well, it's not often that the kids get to stay up late. N1S made mental notes of how many athletes each team had and Sweet Pea made note of what the athletes were wearing. I wondered when the Chinese cheerleaders would collapse from exhaustion during the parade of nations.

I hope we can make watching the Olympics a family tradition. It's fun, historical and inspiring. I do have one question though. Why are the beach volleyball uniforms so much skimpier than the indoor volleyball uniforms?