Week Two of the Beijing Olympics (The Ups)

I know the Olympics are over, but I'm having some serious withdrawl. So I figured that I would relive some key moments to make myself feel a little better.

1. 8 Golds in '08
Uh, big surprise, Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals. And he did it totally on his own without any drugs. I would venture to say that that is probably an impossible feat, however he proved us all wrong. Although he did hit the jackpot in the genes department because he really is built like a fish (7 foot wingspan, ginormous hands, double jointed in almost every joint, legs of a 6 foot tall man with the torso of someone 6 ft 4, etc.). And he was totally classy about it and wasn't ever like, 'oh, I'm Michael Phelps, bow down.' No, he seems like a totally down to earth guy, really someone to look up to.

2. Beach Volleyball Just Became Exciting!
Both the mens and womens Beach Volleyball win gold! It was awesome! But I do have to wonder, what is Misty May-Treaner thinking now that she's going to be on Dancing with the Stars? Just because she won a gold medal, does that make her a star? And if she is a 'star', is it falling rapidly enough that she needs to go on that show where everyone goes in a last stitch effort to shine again? Just my thoughts.

3. Maybe Next Time, The Can Be the Dream Team Again
U.S. Men's basketball did it! I can't believe that Carson and I attempted to stay up for it. He did better than I did in that even though he slept through the first half, he saw all of the second half. I on the other hand would like to think that me asleep on the floor was sufficient moral support as I saw about 30 seconds of the entire game. I think that the victory was in large part due to Coach K (here is where I wax phylisophical on B-Ball strategy). He actually played people who deserved to be played based on their ability and not their reputation and popularity. They should always have a college coach in my opinion. Oh yeah, women's basketball won too.

4. Women's Soccer Has 'it' Again
That game was awsome and the game winning goal was beautiful! I was going to say that they still have it, but apparently they lost it for a while.

5. We're Not Just Good at Swimming Relays
Even though both our men's and women's track teams terfed it in the 4x100 relays do to baton mishaps, both teams came back redeemed themselves in the 4x400 securing gold for both! It was awesome. But really, I don't think our men had a chance in the 4x100, so it's probably for the best.

6. I'm With Dwight, Maybe it Should be the Centathalon
Visit www.officetally.com and watch the video, it's hilarious. But on a more serious note, our American Bryan Clay won the decathalon. So cool. I can't even imagine doing that many events and having to do them all pretty much perfect. Very impressive. Does that qualify you to be Superman in realy life?

7. Yay for Kenya
Kenya won it's first ever gold medal in the marathon! Now I, like a lot of people I think, always figured that Kenya was really good at the marathon. Well, they are, just not in the Olympics. Who knew? Anyway, they won and it was super exciting. Almost as exciting was the heated discussion that Carson and I got into over whether or not it's harder to grow a baby and give birth to said human, or run a marathon. Guess which side I was on.

8. Big, German Weightlifters do Have Feelings
This total underdog won the gold medal in one the weightlifting event and during the medal ceremony he held up a picture of his wife. Come to find out his wife had recently passed away and when she found out he made the olympic team, she started a savings account so she could go watch him. Unfortunately, that wasn't able to happen. So he held up a sweet picture of her. I was in tears.

9. Men's Indoor Volleyball Wins Gold
That one was a nailbiter. It was a little more exciting than I had previously given credit. They played really hard and I was happy for the coach that even though terrible things had happened to his family, he had something positive to show for his experience in Beijing.

10. Closing Ceremonies
Again, what a phenomenal display of artistry. I really enjoyed it. I did however think that the David Backham thing was a little overdone in the build up. He was there for like 30 seconds and didn't say anything. And has he ever played int he Olympics before? Anyway, the acrobats were awsome and as usual the fireworks were really cool. I also enjoyed the Chinese pop stars. Although, I don't remember Jackie chan being considered a pop singer. 'Beijing, Beijing, Wo Ai Beijing'