Yes, another post about the Olympics

There is a song that we sing in church that has a verse in it that I quote back to myself often, it makes reference to the assorted problems of life and how they can be exhausting. (Due to copyright issues I will not quote the verse or the chorus here, you’ll just have to trust me that this song is utterly fantastic.) This week I’m feeling a bit exhausted mentally. Too many decisions to make where I feel I’m simply choosing the lesser of the two evils. For me there are only two things to do when I am feeling this way, the first is to eat my weight in chocolate or, second, find something else to think about. Since eating my weight in chocolate would only bring me temporary relief and a more permanent weight gain, I opted for door number 2.

My distraction of choice happens to be the Olympics. Yes, I admit it I am an Olympic junkie. This is a useless information gatherer’s dream! (see this post for an explanation) I will confess that I prefer the winter Olympics; I’m more of an aficionado of that sport genre. But, hey, any port in a storm.

During these 16 days of competition I am at my information gathering best. Of course, all the major news outlets make the job much easier by having extensive information available with just a few clicks of the mouse. The stuff you can find out is amazing and I soak it up like a sponge. Yes, I know after the 24th of August this will all be in the past and even with the recent doping scandals that have been in the news I still find myself admiring these athletes that compete.

I was watching a replay of the USA Men’s Swimming Relay team win their gold, (Beijing is 12 hours ahead of us), and I have to admit I get teary watching the US athletes win and listening to our anthem being played. I am, after all, an American and have been blessed to be born in this country, regardless of its idiosyncrasies and problems, and in a day when Americans are hated I’m proud of our Olympic Team and wish them the best in their pursuit of their athletic dreams. Go Team USA!

The stars of these games, especially for those in a less popular sport, will have their moment. And for many it will be brief, but that moment can never be taken from them. I was listening to an announcer on the Canadian TV station, (they have real time coverage which I LOVE) say this about the athlete swimming next to Michael Phelps in one of his events, “that young man will always be able to say I beat Michael Phelps out of the turn!” Michael Phelps did win that event, but the other less known Olympian will be able to tell his children and grandchildren that he competed with the world’s best and that he was one of them.

China is having a banner Olympics, and I guess that’s to be expected, home field advantage and all. But I watched the whitewater kayaking event and the athlete from Togo, Benjamin Thomas Boukpeti, competed and won the bronze medal. Going into the final round he was in the lead, from what the color commentators were saying the course was very tough. I believe them, I would never even think about attempting kayaking, let alone the whitewater variety. He lost the lead and placed 3rd. When he was finished he was so happy he won a medal, he didn’t care what color it was. He was thrilled to win. I was thrilled for him. He won the only Olympic medal ever for Togo. The only medal EVER. Way to go Ben.

I could go on and on. The tidbits of information one can find during these action packed days of Olympic competition is astonishing. I am in hog’s heaven. I will read the stats, the obscure rules, and assorted random facts and commit as much to my memory banks as possible, regardless of what J says about me, I have limits. And for 16 days I will forget about the politics of the world and enjoy the thrill of competition, even if it is only vicariously. I will not fail to get misty when I hear the Star-Spangled Banner being played. I will enjoy watching gold medal athletes from other countries show their patriotism when listening to their anthems. I hope all the athletes from these games, whether they medal or not, live their moment. And if, by some chance, Useless Information Gathering could qualify as an Olympic Sport, I am so in!