(Note: This was part of the personal newsletter for 2021 that I mailed in February 2022).
Best Olympics Ever! A Couch Potato Dilettante’s Olympic Diary
Although I am as just about as far from being a sports fan as a person can be, I am a big fan of the Olympics. I love the elaborate, creative programs put on for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. I cheer on all competitors, especially those from small countries. A caller to the KQED radio program Forum complained that she has gotten very disgusted over the years with the news coverage that focused so heavily on the American competitors, as if no one else in the world mattered. This nationalistic chauvinism had annoyed me mightily for decades. I have found coverage of the Olympics frustrating and irritating, as American television focused so intently on American athletes and the sports they compete in, while athletes from many countries, especially small ones, were neglected. When the Olympics were squeezed onto just one channel (yes, I am old enough to remember pre-cable life), one had no other viewing options. But this year, with some 3,000 hours of television coverage on seven channels, there was truly something for everyone, and one could see more coverage of various events that are normally skimmed over.
Yes, we all know that ratings were down forty percent this year. Why, I don't know. Did potential viewers really miss the roar of the crowds? Perhaps the athletes missed having the crowds cheering them on, but I am wondering how many “friends and relatives” were able to travel to the various Olympics in past decades, including the games of a hundred or more years ago, when there would not have been plane travel available (or even television to enable viewing)?
A commentator said that this situation might have been avoided had Japan initiated a stronger CoVid response, getting more people vaccinated, for example. In any case, no one expects to have the same situation three years from now.
Another commentator, on NPR, complained that because of the time difference, it was hard not to see the results on the internet before being able to watch the event on television. I myself did not see any results or Olympic coverage on the internet, so this is a problem obviously avoidable for anyone not job-required to be looking at Olympics news constantly.
My methodology for watching the 2020 Olympics in 2021 was simple: I had none. Having time at my leisure (aka unemployed, aka retired), I turned on the TV when I felt like it and used the onscreen channel guide to scroll through the seven channels offering coverage until I found something of interest. With Olympic events being shown on NBC, USA, NBCSH, the Olympic Channel, CNBC, Telemundo (sometimes), and the Golf Channel, there was almost always something. Serendipity was the name of my game.
Daily notes, as written in real time:
Friday night
It’s always exciting to see the athletes of all the countries enter the stadium one nation at a time—even with masks on! The innovation this year is that each country has two flag-bearers, a male and a female. Since they enter alphabetically according to the countries’ names in Japanese, I can’t predict which country will enter next. NBC has a box on the left side of the screen showing the name of the country and the flag-bearers.
It tickles me to see athletes competing for Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, Slovenia, and North Macedonia; for so long, until 1991, they were all part of the nation of Yugoslavia.
First event: Women’s water polo match between U.S. and Japan on NBCSH. This is a novelty, as I’ve never watched water polo before. It seems to be like soccer, but with hands….and in the water. The women spend lots of time and energy swimming from one end to the other.
Saturday, I tune in to Telemundo, which is showing a women’s softball game between the U.S. and Mexico. This is of interest to me chiefly as an opportunity to practice my Spanish (aurally). In school, I always dreaded having to take part in any sport that involved balls flying through the air; baseball, tennis, volleyball—they all seemed designed to kill me.
Over on the USA channel, there’s skateboarding, another sport about which I know nothing, except that it’s noisy. The course is quite basic. The main challenge is a flight of steps that clever skateboarders avoid by leaping up on the railing. The most adept can jump and turn their body around in the air before landing back on their board while it is on the railing. The less fortunate fall splat onto the cement. Why don’t these folks end up covered in bruises and sprains, or worse?
On Sunday, Telemundo is showing women’s volleyball, USA vs. Argentina. It’s mostly an absorbing match, with the lead going back and forth until the US wins. The enthusiasm of the announcers greatly enhances the spectacle.
CNBC is showing a rugby match between New Zealand and Korea. I know that American football developed from rugby, a game named after Rugby School, where it was established in the early 19th century. It’s considered the national sport of New Zealand. Nevertheless, it fails to command my interest any more than the American version.
On Monday, July 26, I happen upon a surprise gem: mixed doubles table tennis! It turns out that crowding four expert players around a ping pong table results in lightning-fast moves, interspersed with the serving ritual of squinting at the little ball in one’s hand and then bouncing it on the table before whapping it. China has won every gold medal for decades, we are told, but today Japan wins—what a coup!
From there to Taekwondo. In the men’s middleweight class, the Chinese contestant defeated the one from Jordan for gold. In Judo, the girl from Kosovo defeated the one from France. (I have to look up Kosovo on a map, to figure out which part of Yugoslavia it used to be.) Martial arts--another area I know nothing about. I need a video demonstrating the essential facts of taekwondo, judo, karate, jujitsu, and that one we all know about from an old TV show, kung fu. Meanwhile, I am impressed at these tough ladies from Japan (3 golds) Kosovo (2 golds), and France (1 gold).
It’s Tuesday now, and the Olympics Channel is showing the men’s surfing final. How can surfing be judged, in the ocean, where surely no one can manipulate the waves? In this case, the decision was made to hold the event at a Japanese beach known for having consistent waves. I should find this more interesting, as I am pretty good at surfing myself (channel and web, not water). The Brazilian wins gold, which is rather nice, as we don’t see so many Brazilians winning in the Olympics. The mask rule still applies, I see—even outdoors, on a beach.
Another event I never expected to see—and didn’t know existed--is the canoe slalom. Watching ladies maneuver their vessels (which look like kayaks with some difference in the paddle) around various poles would be an absolute snoozer if it weren’t for the informative announcers who explained what each contestant did right and wrong. Unlike the surfing event, the canoes are racing (one at a time) in an artificial set-up that looks like a small canal. Jess Fox, from Australia, wins the gold in the first-ever Olympic canoe event.
It turns out that there is something even better than mixed doubles ping pong (sorry, I mean table tennis) and that’s mixed doubles badminton. That gentle game some of us remember fondly (I say fondly, because it seemed to hold no danger of being bonked painfully on the head by a flying ball) becomes a fast and furious spectacle here, as Thailand and Japan vie to reach the semi-finals. Japan wins, 2-1. I love watching this, and make a note to tune in to the final later on. It’s China (Zheng and Huang) vs. China (Wang and Huang), tied after two games. The score goes back and forth but Wang and Huang win the gold in the end.
The men’s table tennis match between Chinese Taipei (i.e., Taiwan) and Egypt is intriguing because the Chinese player is 5’9” and the Egyptian, Omar Assar, is 6’5”. He has to bend or squat to be at the right angle to the low table.
Archery: Not what one would expect if one knows about archery from old Errol Flynn movies. These bows are high-tech machines! But it’s another sport that just isn’t that fascinating unless you practice it yourself or are already a fan.
Track and Field, on the other hand, never changes and is something whose rules are simple: run fast! The steeplechase, I mean hurdles, perplex me, though: how can they avoid bumping into each other? After all that running and jumping, the tired athletes have to climb stairs as they leave the stadium—whew!
It's now a week into the games, and NBC is showing a women’s water polo match between the U.S. and the R.O.C (aka Russia). But really, after you’ve spent five minutes admiring a group of people as they energetically swim back and forth and occasionally toss a ball, there is really nothing more to be gained here.
Over on the USA channel, it’s men’s handball. This is a sport I’ve heard of for decades, but I evidently had a misunderstanding about it. It’s really just soccer, but with hands instead of feet. Or water polo, without the water.
Then we have judo. OK, is this my chance to figure out these martial arts disciplines? USA channel is showing Georgia vs. Czech Republic (men) and then Japan vs. Cuba (women). I take notes, but—nope, I still cannot tell you about judo, except that it looks painful.
The Mixed Team Triathlon Relay is a delightful discovery, and new to this year’s Olympic games. Each team consists of two men and two women, and each person has to bicycle, swim, and run. It’s rather exhilarating, but I only catch about ten minutes.
It's Sunday afternoon and I am a bit disappointed in the selection. There’s men’s 100-meter race, men’s volleyball, men’s tennis, wrestling, and golf. I turn to the Olympic Channel for the wrestling, because I like the wrestling commentators/announcers. Soon there’s a women’s match, Turkey vs. Brazil.
I’ve learned from the announcers that there are two types of wrestling for men: Greco-Roman and Freestyle. In Greco-Roman, only the upper body is used, that is, there is no grabbing hold of the legs as in freeform. Women, however, do only the Freestyle, and there is plenty of leg-grabbing.
My constant thought during women’s wrestling matches is, “Don’t they lose some hair every time?” I wonder because they all seem to have long hair, and although it’s mostly tied up or braided, a perennial move is to push your hand against your opponent’s forehead, and although I am sure that actual hair-pulling is not allowed, it seems that hair must suffer eventually.
In men’s Greco-Roman, it's now Rumania vs. Cuba. I am constantly charmed by the commentators, particularly the one with the folksy accent; I think this is John Smith, a former gold medalist from Oklahoma. I wonder why we don’t ever see the commentators, and later learn that they are doing all this remotely, from Miami!
On the website "teamusa.org" I read the following, published prior to the games: "Starting
on the third day, all of The Olympic Channel coverage of wrestling will be
live. The
announcers for the NBC coverage of wrestling are play-by-play announcer Jason
Knapp, plus color commentators John Smith and Jordan Burroughs. Smith
is a two-time Olympic champion and four-time World champion. Burroughs is an
Olympic champion and four-time World champion. Also included in the NBC
coverage on the Olympic channel is studio host Carolyn Manno."
From the commentators, I learn more about wrestling than about any other Olympic sport. Among other things: the method of selection of contestants varies from country to country; there are three referees and two must agree; in case of a tie, the person who had the highest scoring move is the winner. Most importantly, when wrestling one thing you want to avid is a Passivity Warning. Yes, you get dinged for inactivity. (Just like in real life….)
In one of the women’s matches, Germany defeats Belarus. I notice quite a lot of athletes from Belarus here in Tokyo. One reason that parade of nations takes so long in the Opening Ceremonies is that there are now so many more nations than there used to be. Remember when Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, etc. were all part of the U.S.S.R.?
Adelina Gray of the U.S. vs. Yasmin Adar of Turkey in a quarter-finals match. Is wresting not bad for a girl’s posture? The women spend almost all their time bent over, their backs making a graceful but unnatural arch, like half of a “m”, legs apart for balance, arms reaching out.
The arena has three wrestling rings, like a circus tent, but as far as I could tell, there were only two matches going on at a time. Sometimes the screen split to show both and the poor commentators had to switch back and forth. They inform us that it’s a popular sport in Japan, but of course, here there is no audience except other players and the coaches, etc. Things get slow, and the commentators kibbitz, “Open this up! Use your hands! Use your skills!” etc. I know enough now to yell, “Move it, or you’ll get a Passivity Warning!”
Wrestling is a perfect sport to follow at the Olympics if you want to get a real international experience—or if you have a short attention span. The matches go quickly and in one afternoon, I am watching competitors from Turkey, Brazil, Rumania, Cuba, Korea, Iran, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Russia (ROC), Germany, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, as well as Japan and the USA.
It’s time for a bit of novelty, so I tune in to the Golf Channel. Don’t you find the very existence of a “golf channel” a bit hilarious? Why not a Figure-Skating Channel, or a Sailing Channel, or better yet, a Ballet Channel? But as an urbanite (more or less), I figure just looking at some expanses of greenery will be calming and invigorating. As a child, I lived with my family for many years right across the street from one of the greens of the local public golf course. We kids collected quite a few stray balls that landed in our yard, and got the bright idea of having a sidewalk sale. Golf course managers put a stop to that—but what were we supposed to do with all those balls?
Anyhow, I learn that Olympic golf only allows four players per country, and that women’s golf is quite popular in Japan. A pleasant surprise was the entry of an Indian golfer, Aditi Ashok, who came in fourth. I connect India with cricket…but not golf. And where were the Scots?
Back to wrestling (I can’t stay away!). Some attendees—mainly coaches!—wear flimsy masks that don’t stay up. Of course, the coaches are constantly pulling down their masks to hell advice. Some coaches just don’t bother, and wear the mask below the nose (like some non-athletes one sees in the stores where I live). But why don’t they get better-fitting masks? Logically, the wresting ref does not wear a mask, he wears one of those plastic shields.
Those are all the notes I had typed up. For my newsletter, I summarized the games as follows:
Most
graceful: Rhythmic gymnastics, natch, and there was a lot to see! I learned a lot about the styles and the rules, but mostly I observed the costumes. If you are sporty but like to dress up, this is the sport for you.
Most
surprisingly dull: Kayak slalom, maybe
because of the artificial situation.
Probably interesting to people who do kayaking.
Most repugnant: Beach volleyball. Why does this sport even exist, other than the sight of women in skimpy swimsuits?
Best announcers: Wrestling (extensively covered) turned out to be fun and fascinating because of the (unseen) announcers and commentators.
Most Unexpectedly Exciting: Mixed doubles table tennis! Very fast-moving. Altogether, there were 173 competitors from 57 nations in table tennis.
Most Complicated: The Modern Pentathlon requires athletes to run, swim, shoot, fence, and ride an unfamiliar horse through a show-jumping course. For various reasons, this event is going to change. 2024 will be the last time horses will be involved.
And now it's only two and a half years until the next Summer Games....be ready!
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