+ kottke had a great post about Olympic moments on YouTube:
One of the best ways to watch the Olympics is to chase down all the references made by NBC's commentators on YouTube and watch them in addition to (or instead of) the regular telecast. Here are some of the ones I've found.He's got some great stuff there I'd encourage you to check out. The two that make my greatest hits are:
- Kerri Strug's nailed vault on an injured leg, Atlanta, 1996 (which, lest you forget, though they thought they needed to win, they did not).
- Greg Louganis, Seoul, 1988, hitting his head then coming back to win the gold.
- The Miracle on Ice., Lake Placid, 1980. Still gives me chills.
- Torvill and Dean, Bolero, Sarajevo, 1984. I know Jaq and Kathy hate Bolero, but I don't, and this might be one reason why.
- Mary Lou Retton's perfect vault, LA, 1984.
- Australia's 4x100m relay at the 2000 Sydney games, anchored by Ian Thorpe.
How about you? What did I miss?
3 comments:
Bingo on the balance beam analysis.
Did you know I was in gymnastics for several years when I was in grade school? Got to the point where I could do a somersault on the beam, but then living in the Mt Vernon/Lisbon area took over and I switched over to wrestling for a couple of years.
Anyway, that stuff they do is crazy-hard.
Some of my favorite Olympic moments (in addition to yours, which were all great):
+ Michael Johnson blowing away the field in the 200m
+ Vince Carter jumping over the 7ft guy
+ Rulon Gardner beating that scary Russian wrestler
+ Ex-Hawkeye wrestler Randy Lewis winning gold at the '84 games, then saying the post-match interview that, "Yeah, I knew that Jap would give me a good match." My dad aspirated his RC Cola.
Usain Bold is my favorite athlete of these games, even over Phelps, I think. The whole sleep-late-and-eat-chicken-nuggets thing, plus the overflowing personality, really injected life into track and field, which too often has a grim, glowering demeanor.
Sport I wish were more popular so I could watch it on teevee: badminton.
I particularly enjoyed (read devoured) Beach Volleyball this time. May-Treanor and Walsh are amazing! To repeat gold 2 Olympics in a row, without even losing a set! Those women are my new heroes.
In past games, I'm in total agreement with you on the "Miracle" team. Every time that movie comes on TV, I watch it. And cry.
P.S. I knew there was a reason I liked Jaq. ;-)
thanks, J. good stuff from you, too. and lol at the Lewis quote.
and thank you, Kathy. i watched a fair amount of beach volleyball. those girls were very good, obviously. my comment, which you could predict: they need to eat a sandwich ;-)
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