More On The Olmpics

Back to The Olympics. I live for these. Summer, Winter, doesn’t matter. They’re all great. However, I am having a problem with NBC this time around. It does seem to me that in previous Olympic gatherings we were able to learn more about  the various participants from all over the world. Not the case here. I love my American Olympians, but  this is our opportunity to learn about people from everywhere around the planet. There are stories galore…sweet, heart- warming, heart-breaking….we want to hear them all, not just the facts about the people from our own country. NBC is missing the boat here- big time! I’ve become so much not a network TV watcher anyway, and their treatment of the Olympics is not doing anything to win me back. And I’m sure I’m not the only viewer to feel this way. Come on, NBC. It’s not too late to do this right. Get with the program. Literally!

And speaking of American Olympians…so proud of Michael Phelps for becoming the most medaled Olympian, ever. He’s worked hard for this honor and he is such a pleasure to watch while he’s in the water. Well, all of them are, for that matter. But he’s accomplished quite a feat there and should be honored for doing it. I doubt it can be easy, even thinking about it, let alone getting it done.

Badminton? Cheating at Badminton? I can’t believe something so juvenile as losing on purpose in order to get a better draw for a future game is happening in The Olympics. Who the heck thought that up? Ridiculous!

And I’ve got to say, I enjoyed the sage of the zip-line marooned Mayor of London, who seems to be a pretty good sport.  Now I’m wondering…any possibility of that becoming a future Olympic sport?  Perhaps.  Seem sillier things happen. At any rate, he handled it well and it ended well. Make for a good story.

Olympic Opening Ceremony

I’m sorry, but except for the beginning portion of the London Olympic Opening Ceremony – The Industrial Revolution, which was heartfelt and had meaning and beauty – and the bit with The Queen and James Bond, and again, I’m sorry but I simply do not like this current  James Bond and can hardly wait for him to be replaced with someone who is suave and debonair, as James Bond should be, and not someone who looks like a common thug – this was one of the worst Olympic Opening Ceremonies ever. It all dissolved into a mish-mash….and for goodness sake, someone please capture ‘Sir’ Paul McCartney and lock him away someplace.  Preferably someplace soundproof. Except for Ringo Starr, this was the least talented Beatle there was…and he’s only grown to prove himself more so over the years.  And before you get your skivvies in a scrunch, stop and listen to that idiotic, “Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas time” and tell me a group of grade school kids couldn’t have come up with something better. Anyway, to quote one of my sons, “There can’t ever be a duplicate of that astonishing thousand in-unison drummers from Beijing…but then you have to remember is WAS China and the look of abject fear on their faces over the consequences of what would  have befallen them had they misplaced a beat told a story all in itself.  I mean, a stray Mary Poppins…who cares?  So it’s unfair to compare ceremonies, but this one didn’t even rise to the level of as good as ANY in the past. It was plain dreadful.”  I quite concur.  I realize it’s probably too late to fire  Danny Boyle  and hire someone else to take over the Closing Ceremony, so we can only hope good taste somehow manages to prevail – but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that.  London could have, and should have, done better. I sure expected it to!