Random: Women with sabers FTW!

[nebroadwe]

Coolest Olympic moment thus far, from an American perspective, that you probably haven't seen:

U.S. Women's Saber Team Sweeps Medals

Given that their victory did not come out of nowhere (this would be Mariel Zagunis's second Olympic gold and Sada Jacobson adds a silver to her 2004 bronze, not to mention that their teammate Rebecca Ward is a world champion), it's a crying shame it isn't making primetime on NBC's broadcast. Maybe we could see some of the team saber competition, o network moguls? Because fencing totally rocks?

ETA: An interview with the saber-wielding U.S. women takes place just before midnight. Yawn. I'd rather see 'em in action. Go team!

Comments

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I agree. I love fencing (used to do it and still have a saber and a foil, even though I never did it competitively and learned in the SCA).

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

I did the fencing unit in high school. My knees would never have stood taking it up as a full-time hobby, but it was fun to learn some of the basics. I'd win matches occasionally, too, by being more patient than my opponent and thrusting straight in after they'd flailed wildly for a bit. :-)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I've started out training with long bladed weapons twice now and both times, my instructors have told me that I'm a good scary student - I have no hesitation in my thrusts and I'm not afraid to mix it up in close range. Sadly, I've never gotten anywhere with my training, which sucks.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

I was at the local Chinatown on Friday night for their street-fair/"Hey, our country of origin is hosting the Olympics!" party. A number of local sports clubs were demonstrating, including the fencers. Way cool. They were handing out flyers, but if I take up any sport in my next phase of life (i.e. after I get a car), it'll probably be tai chi.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

OoOoOO.

Mom is supposed to take Tai Chi if she ever regains her balance enough to do so. I told her if she does, I will.

[ishte.livejournal.com]

You know.. I used to watch the olympics faitfully when it was on. However the TV networks have really just destroyed the coverage. They barely cover more than just the highlights any more. Just one more of the reasons I no longer watch television. *shrug* nothing is presented that I want to watch. The last of the shows I did want to watch transported themselves to pay tv so I can't watch them any more. The others, have either been destroyed (like the olympic coverage) or are so stupid as to be beneath contempt for me to watch.

Correct me if I'm wrong ... but didn't the olympics used to be more than just a short two week little advertising opportunity? I seem to remember watching the olympics when I was still living at home and they lasted seemed like the whole winter or summer season. When did it get so condensed?

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[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

The Olympics won't be dead to me until they're nothing but highlights or disappear completely on to cable. I'm the kind of person who shouts, "Come on! Come on! Go, go, go! YES!" and leaps up to punch the air while watching a swimming final, or clutches my pounding heart as a gymnast regrasps the bar after an outrageous release move. (The Athens games took place right after I moved into my new house; I didn't have any curtains for the living room window yet, and it occurred to me that my neighbors must be thinking that I'm incredibly weird, because I kept bouncing off the sofa to dance around the room and cheer when stuff I liked happened. :-) Even the commercials can be kind of cool -- some airline had the animated one about the kid imagining his dad as a medieval hero, fighting dragons and stuff to make his way home, in the last round of summer stuff; and the one this time about the little Chinese kids taking hay up to the dragon in the hills so that it heats the water for their swimming pool is pretty darling. I'm also the kind of person who appreciates the dopey humor of the bobsledders screeching to a halt in front of the bunny who hopped into the run and then remarking, "If he does that in competition, he's toast!" or the fruity, portentous voice-over describing the overwhelming might of a basketball team and ending, as the lead player bonks his head on the lintel of a door, "They're tall. REAL tall." [Snortle.] Maybe I'm just easily amused.

Correct me if I'm wrong ... but didn't the olympics used to be more than just a short two week little advertising opportunity? I seem to remember watching the olympics when I was still living at home and they lasted seemed like the whole winter or summer season. When did it get so condensed?

I think that's nostalgia speaking -- since 1928 (yay encyclopedia!) the modern Olympics have always lasted just a couple of weeks. Of course, there's all the trials and things in the run-up, so if you're counting the pre-Olympic tests, it would seem longer. I can remember tiny bits of the 1976 games, but the first ones I really paid attention to were the 1980 winter ones. I made a huge scrapbook out of the newspaper coverage (wonder where that went? must go look, at some point ...). I remember being devastated when Babilonia and Gardner pulled out of the figure skating and awestruck by Heiden winning all those speedskating medals (outdoors, IIRC). I wasn't all that into the hockey, but I was in front of the television for the whole "Do you believe in miracles?" thing, too. Then, actually going to the Salt Lake City games as a grown-up was a dream come true. Like I said, I'm easily amused. Must take care not to be too diverted by all the bread and circuses ...

Hey, your dragons hatched! Congratulations!

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

that was my reaction. Every time i sit down it's something boring I could care less about.I would have LIKED to see the fencing

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness for the Internet. They only showed three rotations of men's preliminary gymnastics for any of the participating groups (no floor! argh!), so I kept zipping over to check the results of the events not shown.

I felt so darn bad for Kevin Tan of the U.S. on his signature event, the still rings. They had him in close-up as he was waiting on the podium and his eyes were darting all over the place, and then when he got up on the apparatus it was clear to me that he just didn't have his head together. The ever-optimistic Tim Daggett was saying, "He's looking very good," and I shouted back, "No, he's not! He's having all those form breaks! The rings are moving! When I saw him at the trials, they were bloody still!" -- and just then he failed to press up properly to a handstand and I felt sadly vindicated. (Most bizarre error of the night still goes to the Chinese parallel bars superstar who didn't pull hard enough to get back up above the bar he was working and sat on it. Even the crowd was dumbfounded. That's a totally different order of problem than losing your grip or underrotating your dismount or stepping out. I don't think I've ever seen that before.)

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

those are so really bad problems. I missed it all (can't watch it on the net)

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Me neither. None of their video interfaces speak non-Intel Macintosh. Phttthtbtt!

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

and i have dial up. oh well

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

This is absolutely the only circumstance under which I say, "Well, at least I have a Windows machine at work." :-)

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

snort

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

I hate NBC. Turns out you can only view their live video feeds or full reruns if you have cable. Sod 'em and the horse they rode in on.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

i haven't bothered. to be honest, the Olympics really isn't my crack