Maybe because I'm a writer at heart, I find myself thinking at least once a day "what is the backstory behind that?" or "How did we get here?"
Lately, with commercials for the summer olympics beginning to appear more and more frequently, I have one question rattling through my brain–
How exactly does one discover an affinity for some of these Olympic sports? I'm talking about javelin, shot put, or maybe synchronized swimming even. What is the backstory behind a large woman who can really throw the hell out of a big heavy ball? Does that come up during high school, maybe? Are there Olympic scouts who scout for track and field sports like running, for instance, who also have their eye out for people with over developed shoulders? Is "javelin scout" a thing? I would really like to know. What about powerlifting, which up until now I was calling "that clean and jerk" thing with that really heavy weight where it looks like the people's arms are going to come off?" Is there a moment in high school when your gym teacher pulls you aside and says "Hey kid– come over here and try to live a 500 pound weight! Just try it! Yes, you are most likely going to get hurt."
Here's why. I went to a public high school. I'm pretty sure we had a track team, though honestly, I wasn't that into team sports, so I never went to a track meet and I can count the number of football games I attended on one hand. In my defense, I did grow up in Palm Desert, where it is so hot, you simply cannot believe there are people on that field doing any kind of sporting event when it is over 100 degrees outside and you feel as though you might burst into flames yourself and you're not even running at full speed in a circle, and it is very unbearable to sit in the stands getting sunburned and watching them. I actually feel kind of bad for the kids who run track in the desert, because I am positive they are not getting the full "team spirit" kind of support that, say, the football team gets, because they play in the fall and winter.
Anyhow, I have included here a list of sports that will be included in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and I would like us to take a moment to ponder– what brought these fine athletes to a career in, for example, synchronized diving? I would love to know the set of circumstances that led up to each and every one of these atheletes' performance at the Olympics, including "HOW/ WHY DID THEY START DOING THIS?" After looking over this list again, I have to say I am thinking this the most about "Trampoline" and "Handball," which I actually did not know were Olympic Sports and which frankly just sound like things bored public school kids do while they wait for the bus.
I'm not even trying to be disparaging– I totally love and am inspired by the Olympics. I just think some of the sports are obscure enough to be hilarious, and I take pleasure in pointing these things out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|