This was one television activity that my wife and I really enjoyed together. Usually she wants to watch Gilmore Girls or Bringing Home Baby and I want to watch Sports Center or CNN. It is a constant underground skirmish of switching channels and programs until one of us finally gives in.
The olympics were quite different. Every night, from the Opening Ceremonies to the Closing Ceremonies, the main TV was tuned into NBC for the Olympics from 6:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. (and often during the day from 9 a.m. until noon since we were both unemployed). I can't lie, the job searching was a bit scarce in those 17 days. I can honestly say I have never had a time period where I was more happy to be unemployed.
But anyway. Kathryn and I had fun watching the many athletes perform and compete. Here are a few things we loved about the Beijing Olympics:
Kathryn's Top Five:
Gymnastics - especially the underage Chinese team
Swimming - especially Phelps events
Beach Volleyball - especially May-Treanor and Walsh
Track - especially Bolt
Diving
Drew's Top Five:
Men's Basketball
Swimming - especially Phelps events
Volleyball - especially Rogers/Dallhauser
Track & Field - especially Bolt
Gymnastics
Some Memorable Olympic Moments:
3 races, 3 new world records. Any Usain Bolt race was worth watching.
Michael Phelps' seventh gold medal. He beat the Serbian by .01 seconds in the 100m butterfly.
Leona Lewis and that Led Zeppelin guy. What was that crap about? Thanks England. Almost as bad as your London 2012 logo.
Jason Lezak's amazing race to clinch another Phelps gold. Lezak closed a seemingly uncloseable gap to overtake the Frenchies and win in world record time.
That crazy Cuban who kicked a judge in the head and is facing booted-for-life status.
Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson win gold and silver in women's all-around gymnastics. First time American athletes have been both gold and silver in that event.
How scared I got from the communist flag guys. Those dudes were a bit too much.
The crazy Chinese drummers. Not only was their performance seizure-inducing, but it was flawless. Impressive stuff.
The U.S. basketball team beating the Chinese by more than 30 points, including the Chinese spectators cheering after every American dunk (there were 12) on their team.
That Chinese rower who forgot to show up to his event, thus disqualifying himself from two events (and his partner).
Shawn Johnson's gold. After winning three silvers, she finally ended her Olympics with a gold.
Both American relay teams dropping the batons. Two dropped batons and eight lost medals all in 25 minutes.
The tension in the USA and Spain gold metal basketball game when we felt we could possibly lose. You could really feel it at 3:30 in the morning.
How much Shawn Johnson looks like a bunny rabbit. It's a striking resemblance.
Did I forget any?