I've Got the Fever

Summertime is a my worst nightmare, in terms of my blog. I’m not at school so I can’t talk about my sportscasting experience and there are only so many times I can reference the MLB in a blog (although I thought my blog on the positives of baseball brawls was brilliant). As far as other sports go, I’m not blogging about tennis because I can’t watch it long enough to gather material (the grunting bothers me, hm maybe that is a blog topic in the making) and as far as golf goes, there is only so many times I can watch a guy hit a ball with the goal being to make it into a hole. I am pretty easily amused but even that gets old after awhile.

But I am in luck this summer because it is that special time of year that only happens every four years and that is the Olympics, so I am going to force feed you some more Olympics goodness whether you like it or not. Because let’s face it, I, Meredith Constant, have the fever, the Olympic fever if you will. And how can you not? The last 8 nights have brought me the American Swimming Trials from Omaha, Nebraska. It was like Hanukkah come early with 8 nights of wonderful gifts such as the Women’s 50 free being broken 3 times in one day, Gary Hall Jr. in a sparkly cape donning the phrase “The Godfather of Swimming” (too bad he didn’t qualify), and of course, Michael Phelps in a tight bathing suit, water dripping off those glistening abs, and that sonorous voice (ok the last part was a stretch, I prefer Michael, like most athletes, mute, like children, athletes should be seen and not heard).

And all of you blogettes out there cannot deny that you’ve caught the fever as well. Don’t tell me that every time you see those Visa Olympic commercial with Morgan Freedmen doing the voice overs that you don’t get shivers down your spine. Or that when you see the Bank of America commercials promising to donate money to the American athletes if you buy a patriotic card that you don’t want to get in your car and go buy one right this second. And, please, don’t tell me that you don’t get excited over the thought of seeing America own in every single event proving that we are the best country in the world (athletically speaking) and that you don’t proudly stand up and sing the anthem along with the television when an American receives a gold medal. And finally, don’t tell me that Bob Costas sea blue eyes don’t hypnotize you into watching hours of late night events because you know they do.

So, in the spirit of the Olympic Games, I give you my Top Ten Greatest/Most Shocking/Bone Crushing Moments at the Olympic Games:

10: Mark Spitz winning seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics proving once again why America owns everyone in swimming despite the fact that countries such as England and Australia are actual islands. Take that. And Michael Phelps is still to this day trying to tie Spitz’s record.

9. US Women’s Soccer Team wins Gold. It was their first time on a world setting as a recognized team and the US Women’s team managed to take down China in the finals taking home the gold. And despite the fact that I loathe Mia Hamm for marrying my one true love, Nomar Garciaparra, I think in the end I won, because we no longer have a U.S Women’s Soccer League anymore. So take that Hamm.

8. Marion Jones winning…oh opps that’s all null and void now because she was tested positive for steroids. Shame on you Marion.

7. Michael Phelps, need I say more? He is young, literally built to be an awesome swimmer, attractive, and despite that DUI, which we will just pretend never happened, will go on to be one of the most celebrated Olympians of all time.


Image by bbc.news.com

6. Nadia Comaneci's Perfect 10 at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Ok she is a Romanian which is why I placed her at number 6 which is better than if she had been Russian because she would have probably clocked in at number 10. Nadia scored the unheard of mark on the uneven bars at the age of 14, an achievement that no gymnast had ever attained before 1976. All that at 14, overachiever.

5. Paul Hamm’s come back after a crushing (and hilarious) fall into the judge’s table during a difficult vault to come back and win the Men’s All Around. And ok, maybe he sort of won on a technicality and the International Gymnastics Federation maybe tried to make him give back the medal but in true American spirit, he said no, clinging to his medal, and his title, for dear life.


Image by graphics.jsonline.com

4. Dara Torres. She’s already had a swimming career that has spanned more than two decades and includes 9 Olympic medals but that isn’t why she has made the list. She’s made it because of what she is going to do at these upcoming games. Dara Torres will be the oldest swimmer on the team at 41 and has qualified in two events, the 100 and 50m freestyle and even took back her 50 free American record at the trials. And this is after having a child, losing her father, and having an atrocious start/dive. The woman is fierce.

3. Mary Decker tripped by Zola Budd during the 3,000 m final at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Let’s sum this one up, Decker is an American track princess looking for her first gold in her last Olympics after missing the first two due to injuries and then a boycott of the games. Budd is a barefoot runner from South Africa who suspiciously obtained last minute citizenship from Great Britain in order to run. The race begins with Decker in the lead and then Budd cuts in front of her in a move in which my friend Alison told me is not allowed, (well Alison is not actually a runner but she hooks up with a lot of runners and has a roommate who is a runner so I figure she is a reliable source), and trips Decker who rips a muscle in her hip in the process. So, was she tripped? Was it just an accident? Watch the video and decide for yourself.




2. Derek Redmond finishes the 400 m with help from his father at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He may not have won but it was good enough to mention in those gosh darn touching Visa commercials. Just goes to show you, you can even be an Olympian and still need your Mommie and Daddy to lean on.

1. My favorite moment of all time, Kerri Strug in the 1996 Summer Games who needed to land a ridiculously high vault in order to win the Women’s Gymnastic Team gold. Her first vault she landed funny on her ankle and was in obvious pain but like a champ, she shook it off and went for vault two. And like any good Disney movie, she landed it perfectly, basically on one foot and literally dragged herself off her mat, her sprained ankle trailing behind her. I wanted to be Kerri Strug. She was a star, destined for Wheaties boxes, a gold medalist. But there was a down side. That haircut. Strug really could have used some hair extensions, or a barber that wasn’t blind.