Olympics

I never watch swimming but boy do I love it during the Olympics. Lochte, Lezac, Phelps, and Torres were amongst my favorites.

Who can of course not love what Phelps did. I didn't think the first relay could be topped with the excitement of having Lezac make the amazing come from behind and win by .08 seconds(a fingertip) until Phelps won the 100 butterfly(I think) by .01 seconds(a fingernail). I was resigned to him getting a silver going into the last moments of the race and bammmmm-he miraculously gets the gold.

Lochte won my heart because I love cheering for the underdog though he isn't much of an underdog, he had never won an individual gold medal but was still breaking world records but couldn't beat Phelps and Piersol who were also breaking world records. He finally won his gold and I was so happy for him. I also can't help but be amazed that he somehow ate all you can eat McDonalds during the Olympics and still raced as well as he did. I guess it wasn't too many years ago that I could eat whatever I wanted and it didn't seem to faze me too much but this is the Olympics where apparantly .01 seconds decides your place in history. How many cheeseburgers does it take to lose .01 seconds?

Lezac goes without saying but I'll say it again anyway-talk about one of the coolest come from behind wins and against the trash talking French. I love it. I also love that Ian what's his name from Australia ate his words against Phelps. I think he is just jealous.

Torres-41 and she's the second fastest swimming sprinter in the world? WOW. She also seemed to be really nice which weighs heavily for me when I decide whether or not I like an athlete.

I am glad that the IOC strips medals from people for poor sportsmanship and representing themselves and their countries, athletes, and the sports poorly. How embarrassing that the wrestler threw down his Bronze medal because he was upset about a call in the semifinals. You know, I have always been taught in sports that if you really want to make a statement to prove how good you are, be so good that a bad call won't make a difference. You could have made a dozen bad calls against the original Dream Team and it wouldn't have mattered.

While I have fun watching the Olympics, it is also hard for me to watch. I actually don't watch too many sports(particularly football) because it makes me want to play. To be anywhere near the level I would need to be at to be in the Olympics or play football at the level I wanted, I would have had to give up everything else. I lost my opportunity for greatness when I gave up football in Cali and decided to move on with my life. I don't regret it in the least but I do think about those kinds of things all the time. Now I have two kids and I'm not in very good shape anymore(though I can still kick your butt-ha). My point in all this seemingly nonsensical blubbering is that I hope that I can work as hard at helping my children and my family grow as the Olympians work at perfecting their sport. I hope that one day I can smile and know that I have done everything that I could do and it all worked out. That I will be able to bow before God and that he will give me what I desire more than anything else...and that as a family we will enjoy that time forever.