Great to hear about the sun beaming down on your little island! Regarding media coverage of the Olympics, I have a pet peeve that may be especially relevant in NZ. It concerns our national obsession with the "medal count," as if one's concern for this bald numeral is a key motivation for us being a humble, grateful spectators of these sports events. I know that is clearly not why you, dear Sabrina, love to watch the athletes perform, but for some, this motivation seems almost overriding? The NZ media, in particular, continually harp on the "count." At the moment, we Kiwis should virtually be in mourning because the absolute value of this tally is embarrassingly low (most gallingly relative to our big brother Australia). Implicit in this mind set is that one only really enjoys great performances if they are accomplished by our own clan. Ok, I'm done with my peeve now (thanks).
I hear you about the medal count obsession! It's really missing the bigger point, I believe. I was used to it in the US (and also used to tuning it out). Now that Team GB is improving results for their athletes each year, they/we too are getting more medals focused. Most interestingly, GB counts medal success by the number of Gold medals, whereas the US counts by total numbers. I think if one is going to count, ALL the medals should count, not just the golds.
Glad to provide an outlet for your peeve-thanks for sharing it and I hope you feel a little bit better now as a result! xx
I wish they'd make the per-country count proportional to the number of athletes represented. You know, like the supermarkets showing 'price per 100g' on the shelf labels, not just the ACTUAL price!
Oh this is such a pet peeve of mine as well! The US is the worst. I look at our population of 330M +/- and then the size of our team and wonder why we would ever compare ourselves to smaller countries? I find the arrogance appalling. I love celebrating all of the athletes who have worked so hard to get there, and cheer on their successes and mourn their disappointments.
Agreed! So many people and so much money that is thrown at sports. Not that supporting athletes is bad; every thing in moderation always! Thanks for your comments!!
Your London experience sounds fabulous! And TBH, I think the London Opening Ceremony has to go down as one of the greats, along with Beijing. Who can ever forget that amazing drumming sequence? I watch it today and still get shivers down the spine. And with the London opening - The Queen and James Bond - brilliant British humour.
Because of the time lag, I didn't watch the Paris Opening. Not even highlights because I was bingeing the equestrian telecast. It is, as you say, restrained commentary. Which is perfect in my mind.
Husband is overseas so I get to indulge my own tastes - horses, hockey and rowing. Maybe I'll watch soccer in the top end games. Despite that I used to competition-swim, I've watched nothing from the pool. Swimmers in Australia have superstar status and egos to match in my mind. There's no humility and I stopped watching two games ago. I suppose one could argue that they're so successful in the pool, they deserve the egos and attention and yet I look at other Australian sportsmen and women and see none of that.
Oooh, and I remember something fantastic that came out of Barcelona - Freddy Mercury and Montserrat Caballé singing Barcelona. I play that on my car radio at full volume and LOVE it!
There's no doubt the Games, like the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia that are a brilliant escape from a rabid world.
You are so right that the games and other place-based top sporting events are a great escape from the crazy world. They can be a reminder of the best of all of us, and I hope that once a year, or every two, we take a moment to remember that.
I—probably very naively—hope that the music, artistic skill, athletic skills and overall organisation show that mostly we are good people around the globe. Most of us have positive hopes and profound empathy for each other and wish each other well. But there are always some who are not wired the same...I stick with my fellow positive pals!
This reminded me of when the Olympics were here in Atlanta. My children and I were able to get tickets to a baseball game. Oddly, I enjoyed the crowds the most. Well, except when I almost lost the kids on the subway!
I want more of your Olympic experiences in London! So enjoyed hearing about them. Now about that merch - where are the pictures? We had Andrea in her football socks. Sorry, I'm a demanding but enthusiastic reader of yours.
Thanks Virginia! The post was already getting long enough so I cut out the stuff about our experiences. Short version is that it was an amazing Olympic summer, we loved the events we attended, and then my camera was stolen so I have no pictures :(. The merch is all over the place in various drawers in our house. Apparently we can’t attach photos in comments so I’ll find another way. I love that you are demanding! ❤️
Well, Virginia, don't give Sabrina a hard time. My "futbol" socks were actually I Love Madrid socks. I pulled them out of my husband's sock drawer, which you might have been able to tell because the yellow heels rode up the middle of my calves.
I don't have merch yet and I can't get any until I decide which team to root for. But I think Fabio has decided for himself. For marital harmony, I have to root for the same one though the one he picked (Real Madrid) would not have been my first choice.
You looked quite fetching in Fabio's socks! Truth be told, I raid George's sock drawer all the time - am wearing a pair of his now! Looking forward to your futbol team fan update.
Enjoy the sunny sporty summer! Very interesting about 'track and field'. Made me think of the Belle and Sebastian song 'The Stars of Track and Field', and they are Scottish. The plot thickens 😂
Thanks for your comment. I haven’t heard that song lyric! The plot thickens indeed! I will research and get back to you. Very lovely summer weather indeed! (Still! Shhhh, I don’t want to jinx it)
I love checking in on the uncommon sports. Tonight we watched trampoline, pistols, air rifle. Yesterday I caught some rowing and white water, along with the standard gymnastics and swimming. I still need to see breaking and fencing.
I had tickets to one night of the ‘84 Los Angeles swimming. We saw a tie!
Thanks for the comments and I absolutely agree! Seeing the uncommon sports is another one of the joys of watching the Olympics. What fun to have been at the LA Games! And to see a tie in Swimming! I hope you are thinking about going again to the LA Olympics 🏅!
I'm LOVING watching the Olympics! Like you, I'm crazy for Wimbledon, too.
I gasped when I read that you'd gone to see the beach volleyball at Horseguards at London 2012 - a friend of mine was one of the tens of thousands of volunteer Games Makers, and the beach volleyball was her 'patch' to work at! You might even have encountered her! 🤣 She had an incredible time. One highlight for her was how much respect the Games Makers were shown by the crowds - and she told me that she'd never, ever been the subject of such warmth and friendliness on the Tube before as when she was travelling on it in her uniform to get to and from her post! I thought that was terrific.
I certainly hope we saw her!! It was such a fabulous experience all the way through. We loved all the volunteers and they made it so easy to navigate London those two weeks.
I’m glad you’re an Olympics and Wimbledon fan too! We’ve spun our small tv around to face the deck and opened the doors so we can sit outside in these lovely warm evenings and watch the games! 🏃♀️🏊♀️🤸♂️⛵️🚣♂️🚴♂️!!!
Hurrah for watching the Olympics outside! We were away for the first weekend, and watched those first epic swimming finals sitting outside the van on that glorious sunny Sunday evening at the campsite! We’d muted the sound entirely, but it didn’t diminish our excitement. Oh, we didn’t mute ourselves, of course - we might have cheered a little…. 😁
I used to be glued to the Olympic broadcasts, both summer and winter, but I haven't watched a single minute of this year's coverage. I've grown quite disillusioned in my dotage; I actually used to believe in the purity of "amateur" (well, sort of) competition, but once they started allowing pros to compete - like the U.S.A.'s basketball "Dream Team," as magnificent as it was in action - a lot of the fun went out of it for me. It's all been downhill since Chariots of Fire! Bah, humbug!
Oh Martin! I'm so sorry you are disillusioned, although I agree with your opinion about the US basketball team players coming from the very professional (and lucrative) sports teams. I believe top athletes should be able to spend full-time on their craft, and that means some kind of funding, but not at the level of what the NBA provides.
I still love the competition, seeing what amazing skills so many have worked so hard to develop and perfect, the places where the games take place, and that after a couple of weeks it is over and done for another long period. I know you are enjoying some lovely travel during this time, so hopefully that is a brilliant distraction for you!
I actually agree with you about top athletes being rewarded for their talents and dedication; it's just hard for me to let go of my youthful idealism (naivety)... though I also worry about the kind of sacrifices these athletes - especially the very young ones - have to make to develop their abilities to the fullest. Sometimes the line between rigor and abuse can seem awfully thin. Or maybe that's just sour grapes from someone who can't imagine what it's like to have such a gift. ;)
I was so happy to see the sun out in that beautiful opening photo that I nearly skimmed over the Olympics.
I confess that I haven't watched any of the Olympics on TV. Not that I don't want to but I only know how to turn on Netflix with the remote. A second remote manages our other service, Movistar. I don't want to mess around with it because if I screw it up, I won't be able to watch Netflix for a few more days until he comes home. A sorry case. I think there must be a lesson here.
Oh those darn remotes! I despise ours too but I have learned how to use them, until they mess up. Which they do, often. Or the batteries die.
I suppose not watching shows that you aren't that interested. If you were, you could probably stream it on your laptop, but then you couldn't write. I understand priorities!
And thank you for appreciating the glorious sun. 😎
Olympics are it in our house right now that’s for sure!! Thanks for this super piece Sabrina, and hurray for summer sun on the Isle of Wight!
Tennis, golf, swimming, gymnastics, athletics (thank you so much for that explanation by the way - never understood what it was before!), “the soccer,” dressage, BMX - they’re all being enjoyed here at one time or another!
I really liked one comment I read recently - in watching these events, you’re seeing, over and over, an athlete having the best day of their lives…that makes it exciting for sure.
Yes, I love that idea of watching people have the best days of their lives. Great sentiment. Yes, Paris does make a lovely backdrop! And I was just watching the sailing off Marseilles…ahhh.
Thanks for your kind words and I appreciate that you used the non-American words for sports in your response! Enjoy the next week of sport!
Great to hear about the sun beaming down on your little island! Regarding media coverage of the Olympics, I have a pet peeve that may be especially relevant in NZ. It concerns our national obsession with the "medal count," as if one's concern for this bald numeral is a key motivation for us being a humble, grateful spectators of these sports events. I know that is clearly not why you, dear Sabrina, love to watch the athletes perform, but for some, this motivation seems almost overriding? The NZ media, in particular, continually harp on the "count." At the moment, we Kiwis should virtually be in mourning because the absolute value of this tally is embarrassingly low (most gallingly relative to our big brother Australia). Implicit in this mind set is that one only really enjoys great performances if they are accomplished by our own clan. Ok, I'm done with my peeve now (thanks).
I hear you about the medal count obsession! It's really missing the bigger point, I believe. I was used to it in the US (and also used to tuning it out). Now that Team GB is improving results for their athletes each year, they/we too are getting more medals focused. Most interestingly, GB counts medal success by the number of Gold medals, whereas the US counts by total numbers. I think if one is going to count, ALL the medals should count, not just the golds.
Glad to provide an outlet for your peeve-thanks for sharing it and I hope you feel a little bit better now as a result! xx
I wish they'd make the per-country count proportional to the number of athletes represented. You know, like the supermarkets showing 'price per 100g' on the shelf labels, not just the ACTUAL price!
Thank you for the outlet. I am (temporarily) purged!
Oh this is such a pet peeve of mine as well! The US is the worst. I look at our population of 330M +/- and then the size of our team and wonder why we would ever compare ourselves to smaller countries? I find the arrogance appalling. I love celebrating all of the athletes who have worked so hard to get there, and cheer on their successes and mourn their disappointments.
Agreed! So many people and so much money that is thrown at sports. Not that supporting athletes is bad; every thing in moderation always! Thanks for your comments!!
Thank you, Patricia. Yes!
Your London experience sounds fabulous! And TBH, I think the London Opening Ceremony has to go down as one of the greats, along with Beijing. Who can ever forget that amazing drumming sequence? I watch it today and still get shivers down the spine. And with the London opening - The Queen and James Bond - brilliant British humour.
Because of the time lag, I didn't watch the Paris Opening. Not even highlights because I was bingeing the equestrian telecast. It is, as you say, restrained commentary. Which is perfect in my mind.
Husband is overseas so I get to indulge my own tastes - horses, hockey and rowing. Maybe I'll watch soccer in the top end games. Despite that I used to competition-swim, I've watched nothing from the pool. Swimmers in Australia have superstar status and egos to match in my mind. There's no humility and I stopped watching two games ago. I suppose one could argue that they're so successful in the pool, they deserve the egos and attention and yet I look at other Australian sportsmen and women and see none of that.
Oooh, and I remember something fantastic that came out of Barcelona - Freddy Mercury and Montserrat Caballé singing Barcelona. I play that on my car radio at full volume and LOVE it!
There's no doubt the Games, like the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia that are a brilliant escape from a rabid world.
You are so right that the games and other place-based top sporting events are a great escape from the crazy world. They can be a reminder of the best of all of us, and I hope that once a year, or every two, we take a moment to remember that.
I—probably very naively—hope that the music, artistic skill, athletic skills and overall organisation show that mostly we are good people around the globe. Most of us have positive hopes and profound empathy for each other and wish each other well. But there are always some who are not wired the same...I stick with my fellow positive pals!
Thanks for being here with me!
Agree - positive, even if it is Pollyanna-ish is all!
This reminded me of when the Olympics were here in Atlanta. My children and I were able to get tickets to a baseball game. Oddly, I enjoyed the crowds the most. Well, except when I almost lost the kids on the subway!
Oh that must have been so fun! The crowds are SO fun to watch and be with: I agree!
Well, except for nearly losing the the kids. I can imagine you got your heart rate up to Olympic levels during that event!
I want more of your Olympic experiences in London! So enjoyed hearing about them. Now about that merch - where are the pictures? We had Andrea in her football socks. Sorry, I'm a demanding but enthusiastic reader of yours.
Thanks Virginia! The post was already getting long enough so I cut out the stuff about our experiences. Short version is that it was an amazing Olympic summer, we loved the events we attended, and then my camera was stolen so I have no pictures :(. The merch is all over the place in various drawers in our house. Apparently we can’t attach photos in comments so I’ll find another way. I love that you are demanding! ❤️
Well, Virginia, don't give Sabrina a hard time. My "futbol" socks were actually I Love Madrid socks. I pulled them out of my husband's sock drawer, which you might have been able to tell because the yellow heels rode up the middle of my calves.
I don't have merch yet and I can't get any until I decide which team to root for. But I think Fabio has decided for himself. For marital harmony, I have to root for the same one though the one he picked (Real Madrid) would not have been my first choice.
You looked quite fetching in Fabio's socks! Truth be told, I raid George's sock drawer all the time - am wearing a pair of his now! Looking forward to your futbol team fan update.
Enjoy the sunny sporty summer! Very interesting about 'track and field'. Made me think of the Belle and Sebastian song 'The Stars of Track and Field', and they are Scottish. The plot thickens 😂
Thanks for your comment. I haven’t heard that song lyric! The plot thickens indeed! I will research and get back to you. Very lovely summer weather indeed! (Still! Shhhh, I don’t want to jinx it)
🤐😅
Oops, hit enter too soon. The women’s 100-meter freestyle had the first tie in Olympic history.
I love checking in on the uncommon sports. Tonight we watched trampoline, pistols, air rifle. Yesterday I caught some rowing and white water, along with the standard gymnastics and swimming. I still need to see breaking and fencing.
I had tickets to one night of the ‘84 Los Angeles swimming. We saw a tie!
Thanks for the comments and I absolutely agree! Seeing the uncommon sports is another one of the joys of watching the Olympics. What fun to have been at the LA Games! And to see a tie in Swimming! I hope you are thinking about going again to the LA Olympics 🏅!
I'm LOVING watching the Olympics! Like you, I'm crazy for Wimbledon, too.
I gasped when I read that you'd gone to see the beach volleyball at Horseguards at London 2012 - a friend of mine was one of the tens of thousands of volunteer Games Makers, and the beach volleyball was her 'patch' to work at! You might even have encountered her! 🤣 She had an incredible time. One highlight for her was how much respect the Games Makers were shown by the crowds - and she told me that she'd never, ever been the subject of such warmth and friendliness on the Tube before as when she was travelling on it in her uniform to get to and from her post! I thought that was terrific.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19201329
I certainly hope we saw her!! It was such a fabulous experience all the way through. We loved all the volunteers and they made it so easy to navigate London those two weeks.
I’m glad you’re an Olympics and Wimbledon fan too! We’ve spun our small tv around to face the deck and opened the doors so we can sit outside in these lovely warm evenings and watch the games! 🏃♀️🏊♀️🤸♂️⛵️🚣♂️🚴♂️!!!
Hurrah for watching the Olympics outside! We were away for the first weekend, and watched those first epic swimming finals sitting outside the van on that glorious sunny Sunday evening at the campsite! We’d muted the sound entirely, but it didn’t diminish our excitement. Oh, we didn’t mute ourselves, of course - we might have cheered a little…. 😁
oh that sounds so brilliant! The best way to watch! Good for you!
I used to be glued to the Olympic broadcasts, both summer and winter, but I haven't watched a single minute of this year's coverage. I've grown quite disillusioned in my dotage; I actually used to believe in the purity of "amateur" (well, sort of) competition, but once they started allowing pros to compete - like the U.S.A.'s basketball "Dream Team," as magnificent as it was in action - a lot of the fun went out of it for me. It's all been downhill since Chariots of Fire! Bah, humbug!
Oh Martin! I'm so sorry you are disillusioned, although I agree with your opinion about the US basketball team players coming from the very professional (and lucrative) sports teams. I believe top athletes should be able to spend full-time on their craft, and that means some kind of funding, but not at the level of what the NBA provides.
I still love the competition, seeing what amazing skills so many have worked so hard to develop and perfect, the places where the games take place, and that after a couple of weeks it is over and done for another long period. I know you are enjoying some lovely travel during this time, so hopefully that is a brilliant distraction for you!
I actually agree with you about top athletes being rewarded for their talents and dedication; it's just hard for me to let go of my youthful idealism (naivety)... though I also worry about the kind of sacrifices these athletes - especially the very young ones - have to make to develop their abilities to the fullest. Sometimes the line between rigor and abuse can seem awfully thin. Or maybe that's just sour grapes from someone who can't imagine what it's like to have such a gift. ;)
I was so happy to see the sun out in that beautiful opening photo that I nearly skimmed over the Olympics.
I confess that I haven't watched any of the Olympics on TV. Not that I don't want to but I only know how to turn on Netflix with the remote. A second remote manages our other service, Movistar. I don't want to mess around with it because if I screw it up, I won't be able to watch Netflix for a few more days until he comes home. A sorry case. I think there must be a lesson here.
Oh those darn remotes! I despise ours too but I have learned how to use them, until they mess up. Which they do, often. Or the batteries die.
I suppose not watching shows that you aren't that interested. If you were, you could probably stream it on your laptop, but then you couldn't write. I understand priorities!
And thank you for appreciating the glorious sun. 😎
That's exactly right/write. If if were that important, I'd find a way. Like going to a sports bar or something.
I can’t quite imagine you going to a sports bar!!
That would probably make for a very interesting piece of writing.
Olympics are it in our house right now that’s for sure!! Thanks for this super piece Sabrina, and hurray for summer sun on the Isle of Wight!
Tennis, golf, swimming, gymnastics, athletics (thank you so much for that explanation by the way - never understood what it was before!), “the soccer,” dressage, BMX - they’re all being enjoyed here at one time or another!
I really liked one comment I read recently - in watching these events, you’re seeing, over and over, an athlete having the best day of their lives…that makes it exciting for sure.
Plus seeing Paris as a setting is amazing!
Yes, I love that idea of watching people have the best days of their lives. Great sentiment. Yes, Paris does make a lovely backdrop! And I was just watching the sailing off Marseilles…ahhh.
Thanks for your kind words and I appreciate that you used the non-American words for sports in your response! Enjoy the next week of sport!