Olympics

I love watching the Olympics. There's something captivating about seeing ridiculously fit men and women, who are completely specialized for one physical activity, excel at the sport they spend most of their life trying to perfect. Whether they're cutting through water like fish or twisting and turning through the air like putty, you can't help but be amazed by the sheer intensity and determination these athletes bring to the table. It makes you want to work just a little bit harder at some aspect in your own life.

As usual, one of my favorite sports to watch thus far has been men gymnastics. It's just incomprehensible how freakishly strong and flexible these men are. In particular, the Chinese team have stood in a league of their own in Beijing. I'm not surprised they won Gold (by a landslide as well) because their talent and dedication definitely warrant top prize. The US team performed well, taking home Bronze, but I was perturbed by the way the young and inexperienced team members kept talking at the camera every time it went by. Not only were they saying obnoxious things like "US all the way, yeah baby!", but they all had very hick-like accents, making them sound like trashy frat boys. The Japanese, who won Gold in the last Olympics, made away with Silver despite their sleepy and uninspired performance.

Men's swimming has also been great to watch. Of course, it's been very entertaining to watch Phelps collects his Gold medals like cutely painted eggs on Easter Sunday. But on top of that, men's swimming hosted one of the most shocking turnarounds I've ever seen: the men's 4x100m relay. The French were highly favored to win this event even though the US team was comprised of heavy hitters like Phelps. The fact is, the French are just better sprinters, so everyone said. Most of the race played out as expected with the US falling behind by almost a full body length by the fourth leg. However, as Lezak, the 32 year old US closer, turned off the wall to complete the last 50m, Ryan and I watched in utter amazement as he somehow found the energy to push his body into a supernatural frenzy - the type of frenzy you hear about when moms lift buses to rescue their trapped babies. The man was seriously swimming for his life and before we knew it, he had closed the gap to the enormous Frenchman in the lane next to him and just barely out touched him to take Gold. Utterly amazing.

While all this has been exciting to watch, I feel like my blood pressure is taking a big toll during these games. The announcers don't help either, especially in gymnastics. They always go on and on about how spectacular someone is and just as they reach the peak of their praise, he/she eats it and makes a horrible mistake.

Up next tomorrow: women's gymnastics and more swimming!