Patty and I were stuck all day in the doctor’s office yesterday. A giant TV screen dominated the waiting room, like the guy with the whip who walks up and down between the rowing-benches to clout any slave who rests his oars.
Of course the Olympics was on. Hours and hours of it. Sports that nobody watches except during the Olympics. Sports that nobody even heard of. I mean, really–women’s four-man kayak racing? I guess we missed the bottle-cap swallowing, the men’s typewriter-throwing, and mixed doubles beach cockroach racing.
In one of the horsey things, the obstacles the horses had to jump over were very nicely decorated with castles and palaces and… well, a great big head of Charles Darwin. What’s that about? It seems sinister.
But, hey–I guess if they tell millions of people they’re passionately interested in women’s four-man kayak races, then millions of people are passionately interested in women’s four-man kayak races. Every four years.
It speaks volumes that many waiting rooms have TV sets blaring. I refuse to participate, preferring to wait in peace.
The Olympics puzzle me; who cares about these niche sports? Does any of this really make any difference these days? This morning I heard about a doping scandal involving Curling. If cheating is rampant, why bother to watch?
They dope themselves up for curling???
I thought you had to shoot up just to watch it.
The Olympics have never interested me – Summer, Winter, whatever. It’s probably safe to say that most of us wouldn’t even notice if they were gone.
When I was young, the Olympics were really about sports and were really exciting. Now they’re just another variety show — with an overlay of politics.
Strange phenomenon, these games. Back to the early days of Greece, while everybody is yelling “progressive” is the way to go