2012 Summer Olympics

[davekay1971]

Not to be too critical of what is and isn't sport, but rythmic gymnastics is now on. In what way is this an athletic competition? It's a very beautiful dance competition, but I keep expecting Bristol Palin to come out with a ribbon for the pairs competition. About the time the commentator started going on about how grueling and tiring the ribbon twirling is, but how the ribbon competition is one of the most exciting Olympic events, I'm done. I think the men and women who rocked us with the 4x200 swimming relays would beg to differ.

Back to work now, and waiting for some world class athletes to start an athletic competition I can clearly identify as sport, in about 105 minutes. Go USA!

[ArkieDukie]

Tastes differ, of course. I sat spellbound during the women's semifinal featuring Walsh/May-Treanor. The atleticism was world class, the effort both teams exerted was superb. One point (that gave the Americans the working margin at the end of the match) was as fine an example of Olympic play you will ever see.

I'll second that. What an incredible match - in fact, it was better than the gold medal match. The duo from China will be a force in the future; both players were only in their 20s IIRC. I was extremely impressed with them.

[ArkieDukie]

I had a similar experience. I was never into beach volleyball because I thought they only showed it for the T&A appeal and I was generally mad that it seemed to always be on. I watched the entire semi-final, and then the final last night, as spellbound as killerleft. Aside from agreeing with his assessment, I found that Misty May-Treanor is one of the best leaders and skilled athletes at her sport that I have ever seen. As one of the announcers said last night, she has every shot in the book. She doesn't look like an elite athlete, yet she is partly because she is a veteran in full command of her craft, able to summon power or finesse as the situation demands. She rarely, if ever, makes a mistake. Once you get a general sense of the game, her abilities come into sharper focus. Man - she was amazing.

May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings are an amazing TEAM, and I think that may be the secret to their success. They communicate so well on the court, and your observations about Misty May-Treanor are spot-on. Funny thing is, I enjoy their game for the same reason I always enjoyed Shane Battier's game: both almost seem to anticipate the next play and manage to be in the right place at the right time. As much fun as it is to watch indoor volleyball, I've come to the conclusion that those who play beach volleyball might have to be even more skilled.

[rthomas]

Not to be too critical of what is and isn't sport, but rythmic gymnastics is now on. In what way is this an athletic competition? It's a very beautiful dance competition, but I keep expecting Bristol Palin to come out with a ribbon for the pairs competition. About the time the commentator started going on about how grueling and tiring the ribbon twirling is, but how the ribbon competition is one of the most exciting Olympic events, I'm done. I think the men and women who rocked us with the 4x200 swimming relays would beg to differ.

Back to work now, and waiting for some world class athletes to start an athletic competition I can clearly identify as sport, in about 105 minutes. Go USA!

I'm not completely disagreeing with you, BUT rythmic gymnastics became an olympic sport in 1984 in the LA Olympics. It's a little late to complain. And its more worthy to complain that the Olympics dropped women's softball.

[Tom B.]

And its more worthy to complain that the Olympics dropped women's softball.

And baseball.

[SoCalDukeFan]

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This has been a once in a lifetime experience for me.

SoCal