I was searching for a quick news/weather update on the television and ended up in the middle of the Hoda/Kathie Lee (not) at the Olympics. Generally I turn off the idiot box when they come on, but I was deep into untangling a plot point and not ready to step away. Then they did one of their silly surveys, consisting of a few questions about the Olympics. In particular:
What is your favorite Olympic event?
What is your favorite part of the opening ceremonies?
Huh, some pretty good questions. So I’m going to give my favorites, and you can pitch in. Let’s see, do we want to have prizes? Why the heck not? What about a random pick from my late husband’s collection of Olympic pins? No street value, he just collected pins. Particularly from when the Olympics was in Los Angeles. And that’s when I find them again, things have been topsy turvy here for a while. Or maybe we can just do this for fun??
My answers:
Favorite event. For sheer eye candy, it has to be Men’s swimming. Wow, talk about athletic beauty on display! And when they do show a bit of Water Polo, I have to head for the ice water. But my true favorite event is the Dressage, especially when it’s Classical, without the current trend for over flexing and mechanical devices. I came into horses in the time when training was more about time spent and less about shortcuts. A good Dressage ride, with horse and rider in perfect balance and coordination, is a thing of pure beauty
NOT Classical Dressage, but really fun!
Favorite part of the opening ceremonies. I realize every opening ceremony has some special secret attraction, not all of which come off as planned. Remember Korea and roasted pigeons? On the upside Finland’s Winter Olympics with the peek a book fairy tale aspect? And who wouldn’t be impressed by the sheer magnitude of the Beijing opening ceremonies.
None of this holds a candle to the expression on the faces of the young athletes as they step into the stadium behind the flag of their country, and are met with that wall of noise. The delight and awe and sheer exuberance makes the whole torturously long ceremony worth every second.
So, those are mine. What about yours?
Mona Karel Author 
I’m right there with you on the dressage. The only booger is that so little of it is televised. The equestrian events, in general, tend to get shafted when it comes to air time, I think.
As for the opening ceremonies, I always look forward to whatever the actual show is – to see what the host country has been dreaming up for the last 4 years, and what they do that tops the last country’s effort 🙂
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My favorite Olympic event is croquet which was taken out of the Olympics in the 1920s……for current day events, it has to be men’s diving (remember when Greg Lougainis hit his head on the platform?….that’s not why I watch it….like Monica, it’s for the hard bodies).
My favorite part of the opening ceremonies is also the same as Monica……the expression of the athletes as they enter the stadium. No matter what they might have experiences before that moment, I don’t see how it could ever compare. You can almost see the bubble above their heads with the words “Holy shit!” inside them.
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Croquet? Really???? And I thought Curling was “out there” for “sport”
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Oh, yessss, Louganis. Sigh. You know he breeds and shows Great Danes? Tena, I’ll send you some info on the Dressage
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A friend of mine knows him, through dog shows. She has Standard Schnauzers, and he’s often mentioned wanting one.
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For more of a positive factor in the dog world than some celebrities
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I actually got to go to the Sydney Olympics. It was a business thing and honestly, a ‘well, if we must’. How wrong I was. We went to the gymnastics finals which I thought was blah (sorry) and then we went to the men’s volleyball between Russia and Korea. Ho hum. But it wasn’t. It was FANtastic, especially because we didn’t much care who won. And we went to the kayaking at Penrith. Once again, we didn’t know the rules but man, the skill. For the gymnastics, and other individual sports, it’s better on TV because in a stadium you can’t watch everything and you’re too far away.
Favourite at London opening ceremony? Who can beat Mister Bean?
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Husband Tom saw a lot of the “smaller” events when it was in Los Angeles. He was a serious VB fan so followed that assiduously. I came to appreciate it more when the Beach VB was televised. hot hot hot
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The 1984 Olympics were very special here in Los Angeles. I had just graduated from high school and the Olympic Torch ran through my town and I was with touching distance of the runner. I had a few friends who were dancers in the ceremonies.I love gymnastics and running because I have a few track kids myself, and I was never that good a runner so I appreciate how hard it is to split those seconds.
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