Gold Medal

I know squat about sports. Squat. I can follow a basketball game because that was the big high school sport at my school and I also knew a few players at my college. I have a basic understanding of football made slightly clearer by following Jeremy's college team -- mostly to watch Jeremy in the band. Other than that . . . not much of a clue.

That being said, I love the Olympics. I understand the argument for boycotting them when they are in a country that is showing disrespect for human life, but I don't know if it accomplishes much. The Olympics are a time when the youth (and some not so youth) of the world are charged to engage in friendly competition and show everyone how it's done. I love that. I just love that. So now during the summer Olympics I am hooked. I was just watching white water rafting. Isn't that great?! People have been training for four years or better to get on the white water rafting team.

Now my sister and brother-in-law are HUGE sports fans. Football, baseball, NASCAR, it does not matter. Brennan knows who, what, where, when and how long it's been going on and Sarah's right behind him. I am usually left out of their sports conversations like the nerdy kid whose only interests are books and music -- which, I guess, is true.

So imagine my delight the other day when in conversation with them I actually had some knowledge of what was going on. Sarah was explaining her frustration at gymnastics commentators who were freaking out about something that was happening during a parallel bar competition but did not explain themselves. As she shared the story with me I said, "Oh, yeah, the male gymnast can't touch his feet down at that point."

WHO KNEW I KNEW THAT?!

I said it sort of quietly. I'm not used to having sports information they don't. It was sort of a 1980 USA Olympic hockey team moment for me.

It was Finland, not the USSR, they beat to win the gold medal, you know.