Sydney Games Soothe Sporting Spirit
by Tom Rathkamp
 ello everybody!
Just thought I would peel myself away from the Olympic spectacle. Won’t
miss too much. My darling wife will hopefully give me updates on events
that I miss as I sit here and reflect upon what the Olympic spirit means
to me.
As voracious sports fans, we perch our lazy butts in the front of the
tube, season after season, watching athletes we know too much about. We
know that Todd Helton of the Colorado Rockies won’t reach the majestic
.400 plateau. We grow tired of irrelevant September MLB games. We can feel
early-season gridiron participants writhe in pain as injuries begin to
mount in the NFL. This is one of those sports-flooded times of year when
we (and our wives) ask ourselves: How much is too much?
In short, it’s the perfect time for the 2000 Olympic Games. You won’t
believe it, but I actually passed on the espn/espn2 Major
League baseball twinbill tonight in favor of swimming pool marvels and
gymnastic ballerinas. Do I care if the USA wins tons of medals? Maybe. But
what I care most about is relaxing in my family room with my wife and two
young sons, watching courageous after courageous athlete entertain us to
the nth degree.
I must admit. My aforementioned wife only occasionally enjoys a
baseball or basketball or football game. During the Olympics, however, we’ve
"high-fived" and applauded our way through the normally somber
mid-section of the week. My youngest son is just 13 months old, and even
"he" joins the applause. He even appeared to notice the
Equestrian event more than others. Go figure!
A headline in the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel on Wednesday hinted
that the USA men’s gymnastics team engaged in a little bickering amongst
each other following their failure to medal early this week. Frankly, I
didn’t even read the article. Nothing was gonna spoil my Olympic joy.
...Sorry, had to break for the 100-meter men’s freestyle swimming
...NBC has littered their telecasts with gymnastics and swimming, at least
the past few nights. Women’s basketball is intriguing. Men’s
basketball .. booooooooring .. Boxing? I can do without it. I’ve even
watched part of the USA-Cameroon men’s soccer match last weekend. Have
these 2000 games rendered me whacked? I never watch soccer. Baseball?
Well, OK. I’ll watch what I can. At least the USA hit a grand slam for a
4-0 victory over South Korea. Drama has its role.
I’ve always been a fan of gymnastics. I covered gymnastics as a young
beat reporter in college, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this year’s
Olympic rendition of the sport. Whoever says that basketball players are
the best athletes of the world are lacking a few brain cells. I have
always believed that gymnasts were the most amazing athletes. Strength,
balance, agility .. they got it all.
Balance beam, rings, floor exercise, vault. These guys and gals aren’t
designated hitters, or pinch hitters, or linebackers. They do everything!
What’s so difficult about a slam dunk? Watch one of those gymnasts
balance themselves on a pair of rings, 20 feet in the air, with their arms
stretched straight out.
Well, it’s time to get back to the tube. You guessed it. More
gymnastics, the individual competition in particular. Don’t hear any
distant cheers emanating from the family room. Must be a string of
commercials. Wait! My wife’s silence is no more. The USA women just won
the 4x200-meter freestyle swimming relay!
By the way, Pieter von den HoogenBand of the Netherlands triumphed in
the men’s 100-meter freestyle (To borrow a phrase from horse racing, he
won by a little more than a nose). von den HoogenBand. See, even
the names are great!
Sporting Briefs … (or, "Back to the
normal sporting world")
… The New York Knicks finally traded Patrick Ewing. Talk about
anti-climactic. I wonder if the NY media will eulogize him after the fact.
One of the principles in the trade, Glen Rice, goes to yet another team.
… Looks like the Cardinals, Braves, Giants, Yankees, White Sox, and
Mariners will be your division winners in 2000. Do we really care who gets
the wildcards?
… Well, well. Dan Snyder’s Washington Redskins are 1-2, possibly
1-3 after this weekend. They say that money can’t buy love. Apparently,
it can’t buy football games either.
Any comments, criticisms, or condemnations on
this sports column or previous ones? Feel free to email me at andydan@milwpc.com
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