8.8.08

I meant to write about the summer Olympics on opening day which was 8.8.08, but time got away from me. The title of the post is staying the same so get over it.

I love the summer Olympics. Swimming, diving, sprinting, gymnastics, even putting the shot. There's something about the summer Olympics that seems like an equalizer. Whereas to compete in winter Olympics, you definitely need equipment like skates, skis, snowboards, bobsleds, boots, etc., if you really want to kick ass at the summer Olympics, you really just need feet. Sure, gymnastics, bicycling, and swimming are still sort of elitist sports--renting gym or pool time and buying a high-quality bike and related equipment are expensive. But there are plenty of sports in the summer Olympics that aren't inherently expensive. This is probably why more than double the number of countries are represented at summer Olympic games that at the winter games.

At the 2004 summer games, there was some break-out Dominican kid named Felix who won a bunch of the track events. It was awesome because no one ever heard of him and he was just fast as hell. One of the reasons I love watching the Olympics is for the great unknown athletes that come and kick the American, Chinese, and Russian asses. This is a phenomenon that will henceforth be called the "Felix Phenomenon." You heard it here first.