The Olympics start tomorrow (or today if you’re reading this on Friday) and I’m excited about it. I love the whole Olympic experience from the opening ceremonies to watching obscure sports and everything in between. I remember my first Olympics in 1988 and seeing Carl Lewis dominate and I truly became a fan.
However, I learned to appreciate every sport from water polo to team handball.
I was talking with the People’s Champion, Sean Sawyer, today and I just started going off about all of the beefs that I have with the Americans who view the Olympics. Let me break it down…
There seems to be this general disinterest among Americans to follow sports that the US doesn’t dominate. We’ll follow swimming and gymnastics but heaven forbid if we don’t place well in archery. I really don’t care if the USA wins a competition or not, accept for basketball, which I’ll get into later.
Don’t get it twisted, I will cheer for the American athletes. However, if one of the US athletes comes in fifth place, I’m not going to get mad at them. Which brings me to point #2…
It annoys me when people put these ridiculous expectations on American athletes. I learned this directly in the 2004 Olympics when Michael Phelps “only” won six gold medals and eight overall. I actually heard people say they were disappointed in his effort.
YOU GET YOUR BUTT IN A POOL AND TRY TO WIN A GOLD MEDAL!!!!!!!!
He busted his ass and was the best swimmer in the world in six events in one short period.
That’s the other beauty/bad part of the Olympics. Its one every four years. Its not like professional sports where if you lose one year, you can just pick try again the next year. You have to train hard and hope that you can peak at this one moment unless its four more years of waiting.
I love seeing the athletes from smaller countries participating because they understand the greatness of representing your country. This is starting to sound like an anti-American article, whatever, let it be.
I understand why people are turned off by the Olympics. It’s become too corporate. The concept of an “amateur” is completely different now then its inception. Athletes are taking performance enhancing drugs, destroying the concept of fair competition. There are many others.
However, give the Olympics a fair chance.
BTW, I usually don’t try to get political on this blog, but some of you may have beef with the Olympics even being in China. I’m with you on that front, but I’m going to temper my issues with the country and just enjoy the athletics.
OK, lets have some fun. I’m going to give you a reason or two to check out each sport below with a prediction or two and maybe a video from some of the lesser acknowledged sports:
Archery: I’ve always enjoyed seeing archery or “bow and arrows” as we called it back in Brooklyn. The Americans don’t usually do well in this event. The Asian countries will dominate, especially South Korea, who will try to win the men’s individual title, men’s team, women’s individual and women’s team. Here’s some Korean archers in action:
Badminton: If you want an underrated, yet fun and actually active sport to try, give this one a chance. I’ve tried it several times and had a blast doing it. The Asian countries dominate this as well, even though the entire men’s team for the US is from Asia. There’s also a nice rivalry between China, Indonesia and South Korea. The host nation will look to win all of the events. Here’s some top rallies:
Baseball: This is the last time that this one will be in the Olympics, which is a shame. Some are saying that this and softball are being eliminated because of American domination, but that isn’t the case. The US will be lucky to medal in this event. Cuba and Japan supposedly have better team this time around. The games have been a springboard for US guys in the past like Jim Abbott and Ben Sheets to productive professional careers. The roster usually consists of minor leaguers because college kids are in school and pro ballplayers are doing their day jobs.
This time, look out for new Milwaukee Brewers farmhand Matt LaPorta who was involved in the big CC Sabathia trade earlier this year to make his presence felt. If the US gets a medal, I’m happy with that.
Basketball: This is a biggie. This is the only sport in the entire Olympics that I put on my USA hat and really, really care about getting the result.
The women’s side is actually really competitive, at least between Australia and the US. The American ladies have won the last three gold medals and nothing should change. Look out for my top-five bench player Candice Parker to do her thing.
The men’s side is a little more complicated. Team USA has made a new commitment to international basketball after some embarrassing showings in the 2004 Olympics and the last to FIBA World Championships. I like what I’m seeing, especially from the defensive end.
The US team isn’t a wrap to win this. Spain is legit with their guard play from guys like Rudy Fernandez and the Gasol brothers, especially Pau who suddenly turns into Wilt Chamberlin on the international stage. Argentina can cause major, major problems especially with Manu Ginoboli. Germany isn’t going to win a medal but Dirk can go off in any game and carry his team to a victory. Greece is ok and Russia will be decent with AK-47 and Holden at point.
Furthermore, I will be rooting some for Australia with A.J. Ogilvy (War Vanderbilt!)
But you have to imaging a team with LeBron, Carmelo, Kobe, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade and others will take it home. If not, I’m not a happy fellow.
US wins gold, Spain gets silver and Argentina beats Lithuania for the Bronze.
Crap, I almost forgot China with Yao Ming. Yau is legit and will be geeked to play in his home country and Yi is solid. The problem with China is that their guard play is poor and that’s a nice description. First US game is against China in arguably the biggest sporting event EVER in that country. Looking forward to that. Check out this Nike Ad to get hyped: http://inside.nike.com/blogs/nikebasketball/2008/08/04/marvin-gaye-brings-soul-to-the-american-game
Boxing: Too many divisions to break down here, but looking at medal predictions, this looks like a weak team for the US. I think this is a commentary on US boxing in general.
Besides, I find Olympic style boxing boring with the few rounds and the whole punch scoring system. If this was mixed martial arts, then we’re in business. I guess I have to wait 16 years for this (oh, MMA will be an Olympic sport)
Canoe/Kayak: I’ve never done either one of these things and feel bad about that. No predictions here, but I do like viewing the sport. Here’s how it looks:
Cycling: Most of you think this consists of only the road course style of it like the Tour De France. Not so my friend. There are races on a small sprint track which is thrilling to watch. Look for France, Great Britain and Germany to do well in the team competions. Some highlights:
Diving: The only type of diving I know about is cannonball style. They are so graceful in the air, it’s a beauty to see. Synchronized diving is pretty recent and a sight to see.
Equestrian: I really can’t give you much here, sorry.
Fencing: I love combat sports and fencing qualifies. It’s old school fighting that would take place in a castle or something. I’m in.
Brooklyn’s own Keeth Smart is going for a medal in the individual sabre and it would be nice to see the men get a medal in the team sabre.
On the women’s side, gold is predicted for the individual and team sabre for the US. Here’s some fencing for you to enjoy:
Field Hockey: Interesting sport. Some of my Wake Forest fans out there can explain the intricacies of this sport for you. To be honest with you, I didn’t even know men played this sport until doing research for this post. I’m used to seeing American women in colleges play this sport. Watch the men give it a try, I know that I will.
Gymnastics: This is the only “mainstream” Olympic sport that I can’t cosign on. I respect the skills on display but I just don’t get too excited about it. Maybe my mother constant viewing of it when I was a kid scarred me or something, I wish I had an answer.
I do know that the Chinese take this stuff seriously and there’s a nice rivalry between the US and China on both the men’s and women’s side. So, the event being in Beijing should bring the element of drama to it with the Americans trying to win gold on enemy turf.
Its like Rocky IV, accept with flips and turns instead of punches.
Still with me folks, I hope you are…
Judo: I love Judo! If you love mixed martial arts, judo is it for you. Its all about the throws and submissions. I can watch a Judo tournament all day and love it.
It was founded in Japan by the great Kano Jigoro.
The beauty of Olympic judo is that you start seeing some countries making appearances that you wouldn’t expect. Experts are predicting people from the following countries to earn a medal: Netherlands, Mongolia (are you kidding me, Mongolia!), Cuba, Iran (cue up the Iron Sheik jokes), Hungary, Cuba, Brazil, Georgia (the country, not the state), Greece, Japan of course, Israel, France, North Korea, Portugal, and my two favorites, which I have to highlight below:
Azerbaijan and Tajikistan
You can’t make that stuff up.
Here’s a video below to show the awesomeness of this sport (can you tell I’m excited about this one?)
Rowing: I’ve never rowed a real boat, but I’ve been on a row machine or two and that’s no joke. I like seeing the team competitions.
Sailing: Not much here for me. However, the oldest Olympian, John Dane III is a young 58 and making his first Olympics after 40 years of sailing.
Shooting: We have some military officers on the US team, so that’s a good story during this “time of war” (save us Obama! Sorry, can’t get political here).
Plus, its guns! Who doesn’t love guns?
Soccer: This is always a dicey situation on the men’s side for the US. You would think that since the event is U-23, the playing field would be even for everybody. That’s not the case. The youth development of other countries is better then the US. The Americans have never won a medal in men’s soccer and it ain’t happening now. Not when you have guys like Ronaldinio playing for Brazil and Lionel Messi playing for Argentina.
The good part of it on the men’s side is that it’s two years before the World Cup so you get to see the youth in action before they step up to the senior squad. I usually go for the African nations in the Olympics because it brings flavor to the events. You get tired of seeing Brazil, Argentina and the European countries dominating. Go Ivory Coast and Nigeria!
The women’s side is always good for a storyline or two. I always go for the USA. Its going to be rough on them this time, especially without Wambach.
Softball: The USA takes care of business in this event. The team is loaded. With Jennie Fitch, Monica Abbott (boo Tennessee!), Cat Osterman and a host of others, the US should cruise to this. Keep softball in the Olympics!!!!
War Lisa Fernandez! I met her at UCLA a few years ago and it was an awesome experience.
Swimming: I really like the swimming events and there will be a ton of hype on Phelps and Dara Torres, so I’ll keep it short here. This post is to bring attention to the other sports that don’t get the attention. I do like Natalie Coughlin and Cullen Jones (NYC Represent!)
Synchronized Swimming: Same as swimming, even though all of those people in the water doing the same thing is a little creepy, and not in a good way. Its like a cult learned how to swim together, not appealing.
Table Tennis: or ping-pong as some of you call it. The Asian nations continue the dominance in these events. All of the US members are from China so it’s a homecoming for them. Here are some highlights, set to Eye of the Tiger! (Two Rocky references in one post, new record!)
Taekwondo: Same thing as Judo. Watch out for that spinning heel kick! The story of the Lopez family is worth checking it out.
Here are some sick knockouts:
Team Handball: All over this! There are no US teams in this one, which is a bummer. It looks like something that you would play in gym class. The video below has some more details about the sport. European countries do damage in this one, especially Denmark, Norway and Germany.
Tennis: Very similar to what you see in a major. Moving on…
Track and Field: Track is massive of course. Here are the following things that I’m looking forward to:
1) The men’s 100 Meter Dash. The trio of American Tyson Gay and Jamacians Usian Bolt and Asafa Powell will make this the premier event in the Olympics event to check out.
2) Men’s 400 Meter Dash. Jeremy Wariner going for his second consecutive gold medal in the Olympics for the US.
3) Men’s 1500 Meter Run. Bernard Lagut representing the US for the first time going for his first gold. He won the silver medal for Kenya in 2004.
4) All of the relay races.
5) Men’s Shot Put. My man Reese Hoffa goes for gold and the US team goes for a podium sweep.
6) Women's 200 Meter Dash. My crush and top-five bench player Allyson Felix is going for gold in this one.
7) Women's 110 Meter Hurdles: Another crush and potential top-five bench player Lolo Jones (what’s up with me crushing on female track athletes?) is the favorite to win gold for the US.
Volleyball: Beach volleyball is a good time, especially on the women’s side (I’m a dude, the women are hot, sue me). The glamour team is Misty May-Treanor and Keri Walsh and will look to repeat and get another gold medal.
However, I’m old school and like to see the indoor game. I really, really want to see the US men get a medal. Brazil, Russia and Poland are too strong though.
Water Polo: I really don’t get into this one.
Weightlifting: Similar to Judo, some unique countries make appearances like Armenia, Belarus, Latvia, Hong Kong (gotta love independence!), and wait for it Borat fans…
Kazakhstan!
Here’s a video of arguably the greatest lifter ever, Pyrros Dimas of Greece getting a bronze medal in the 2004 games in Athens. He had won the three previous gold medals in his weight class and was lifting in his home country. He missed his final lift and then took off his shoes, indicating his retirement. During the awards ceremony, he got a 15 minute standing ovation. You heard that right, a 15 minute standing ovation.
I cried when I saw that because it represented everything right about the Olympics.
And finally, Wrestling: This is the original Olympic event. Similar to Judo in my love for it. Some highlights below:
That’s my preview. Here’s some more analysis of some interesting US athletes.
Hopefully that was useful in some way. Enjoy the Games. I will after taking a nap from writing this post.
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