These Are The Games of the XXIX Olympiad

My scattered, trivial thoughts on the 2008 Beijing Olympics thus far:

- I would hardly consider water polo a sport that's respected and revered amongst most people, but it's actually really fun to watch. And I imagine even more fun to play. The match between U.S.A and China was really exciting.

- The "Redeem Team" beat Angola 97-76 the other day, and D-Wade led the team in scoring again with 19 points. After all the problems with his knee and shoulder the past couple of years, it's a great to see he has his trademark lift back. He's running and jumping so effortlessly again. It looks like he's definitely got the spring in his legs back.

- I wonder what the monetary value of a gold medal is? I imagine that's a serious piece of cheddar hanging from their necks.

- I love the Olympic theme song. I can't even get mad when NBC takes a commercial break -- I'm still unsure of how I feel about the new Free Credit Report commercial; I've only seen it once, so I'm gonna have to look it up and YouTube and peep it a couple more times before I can fairly judge -- because that just means I'll get to hear it again. It's so inspirational. There's just something so visceral about it, stirring up competitive emotions at the very core of your being. It makes me want to mount a pommel horse. And if it isn't his nickname already, we really need to start referring to composer John Williams as "The Hitmaker."

- I'm biased because I'm a sucker for Asian graphics -- walking into an Asian supermarket, I want to buy everything I see, and not because I'm particularly fond of fermented shrimp paste, but because I love the awesome crazy cartoon character on the jar -- the Beijing mascots are infinitely better than the mascot we designed for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. I mean, the Whatizit? Ugh, we have no taste.

- I cannot wait for the Men's 100-meter final. Tyson Gay can become "The Fastest Man Alive." That's seriously one of the illest nicknames imaginable. I used to be really fast when I was little, then I got slow in my teens, and now I've kind of leveled off at what I guess could be considered slightly above average speed. So clearly, I never fulfilled my aspirations to be a world-renowned track star. But if I did, I would've done it up O.G. like Michael Johnson, running my meets while wearing a gold necklace and gold shoes.

- About that Iranian swimmer who refused to compete against an Israeli swimmer...come on guy, give it a rest. It's the Olympics, two measly weeks every four years. It'd be nice to see petty rivalries take at least a brief respite. But I guess that's what raving mad fanaticism and political posturing does -- on top of clouding all sense of honor and rationality, it also ruins good sportsmanship, too. And here's the thing, if you hate a nation that badly, compete against them and beat them. That's how you're supposed to do it.

- I love the Olympics, and if you don't, it's probably because you run like a girl.

- Today, I heard the Caesars' "Jerk It Out" twice, once when I was at Pasquale's for lunch and then again playing over the PA system during the Men's beach volleyball match against Argentina. It's nothing important, but I just thought that was a neat coincidence after not hearing that song one time over what's probably been years now.

- A friend of mine said that Michael Phelps is "like a shark when he's in the water." Yeah, pretty much.

- These particular competitors are obviously experts, but do children normally practice archery? Like in P.E. class, or at those secluded sleep away summer camps in the woods? I don't know if they actually do, or if this it's a misconception that I've dreamed up. Or maybe it's just TV, because I remember a couple of episodes of Salute Your Shorts that showed some of the campers casually using bows and arrows. I know that I wouldn't want to be within 1,000 feet of any stupid kid shooting off arrows.

- This doesn't apply so much to Kobe Bryant and LeBron James because they're established household names already, but it amazes me that for most Olympic athletes, this is the absolute pinnacle of all their hard work. Sure, there's stuff to do inbetween -- training, preliminaries, qualifying tournaments, etc., etc. -- but they essentially live for these two weeks of competition, and that alone. Their only opportunity for self-actualization comes once every four years. That's gotta take an unbelievable amount of sacrifice and discipline.

- I don't know an awful lot about architecture (other than that I don't really like Frank Lloyd Wright), but the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube are awesome.

- There's something so calming and reassuring about Bob Costas. His presence on camera puts you at ease. If I were on my deathbed, I would want him to read my last rites. It's as if he were built specifically for television, which makes sense because he kind of looks like an android.