Olympic Fever

Also competing this weekend are elite BMX cyclists in hopes of becoming Team USA’s first representatives in this sport.

New sports are always interesting to watch on the Olympic roster.  I’m curious to see how well BMX will fare with the fans.

The other week I was in the bookstore, and I looked to see if there was a Beijing 2008 Olympics book available yet.  It wasn’t, and I was disappointed.

However, it looks like my store just didn’t have it in stock, because it is available.  David Wallechinsky’s The Complete Book  of the Olympics: 2008 Edition is the book you’ll need to have by your side as you watch the Games.  I have several editions of these, and I drag them all over the place while the Games are on.

Wallechinsky’s book is my favorite because you’ve got the entire Olympic history right in front of you.  It’s a godsend when you need to look up that obscure fact right now.  The history’s concise, up-to-date, and you get some really great fun facts in the book as well.  I’m so thrilled another one has been published!

Over on WCSN Rick Perelman offers up some advice for the Chicago 2016 Bid Committee.  Perelman’s worked with five Olympic organizing committees, so it’s not like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  Will Chicago heed his advice?

The Beijing Olympic website has a fun little feature:  Learn Chinese phrases!  Every day, Fuwa, one of the Olympic mascots will teach you a different phrase.  Bonus:  You can also learn it in French.  It’s always interesting to see what phrases other people think are important in their language.  For example, on this site you can learn, “You are a very precise person,” and, “She’s blonde.”

Oh, there are plenty of phrases that help you navigate traffic and the post office.  Unfortunately, I didn’t see any for the Olympic sports themselves.  I suppose you have to learn the Chinese word from each sport’s page, and then you can have at it with your sporting conversations.

The NY Times has an article about an Olympic hopeful who’s got to make a choice about pursuing his Olympic dream or pursuing the rest of his life.

Ben Wildman-Tobriner, the current world champion in the 50-meter freestyle, wants to be a doctor.  He’s been accepted to medical school, but this month he’s got to pick his classes for the fall.  That is, if he goes.  This month is also the month the US Olympic swim team starts being formed.

What a choice–do you swim for Olympic glory?  Or do you put your life on hold once more?  What do you think?

Personally, I would go for the gold.  Yes, you’re deferring med school for a year, and if you don’t make the team, that could be a serious blow.  On the other hand, it’s the OLYMPICS.  How many times will you be in the prime of your athletic career and get this chance?  I mean, it’s a no brainer, right?  Or do I just have the Fever so badly that I can’t make a reasonable decision?

Beijing 2008 wants to hear from you. They’re looking for 100 good Olympic stories to share–one for every day leading up to the Olympics. Details are here and here. To be honest, I’m not sure if this is open to those who aren’t Chinese, but it’s worth a shot, no?

If you do enter, I’d love to hear from you about your experience!

Sportscaster Jim McKay passed away on Saturday, and funeral services will be held today .  McKay was a legend in the field and broadcast twelve Olympic Games, most notably the 1972 Games in Munich, which were marred by kidnapping of several Israeli athletes.

ESPN has a wonderful story about McKay.  He was also the host of ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” show that included the line, “The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat,” which is one of the most widely known lines in sports broadcasting.

I admired McKay because he was always calm and collected while he was on the air.  He loved his work, and he came across as the consummate professional.  He will be missed.

If you get Olympic Fever, you’ve probably wanted to be an Olympian at some point.  However, if you’re not super athletically inclined, it’s probably out of your reach.  Even so, if you’re athletic, the bar has been set so high that it’s difficult for all but the best (or all but the best doped up) to compete.

ESPN has wondered if a regular person could become an Olympian, so they picked someone and have documented her journey.  She’s not a regular athlete, she’s Kathryn Bertine, an Ironman, but that also poses a lot of problems.  She’s used to going massively long distances, so any sprinting is actually really difficult for her.

Still, the series is interesting.  She tries modern pentathlon, handball, and cycling among other things.  Will she get to Beijing?  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

With the popularity of “Dancing With the Stars,” ballroom dancing is once again trying to be a part of the Olympics. It’s not really ballroom dancing though–it’s DanceSport. See? It’s a sport! The Wall Street Journal has a nice article on its struggle to get recognized and see Olympic glory.

MSN Encarta discusses what makes an Olympic sport, but since there are always new ones coming down the pike, I thought I’d list what sports are trying to make the Olympic cut:

2008: No new sports , but there are additions: BMX cycling, marathon swimming, team table tennis (replacing doubles), women’s 3000M steeplechase, and in fencing women’s team foil and team sabre will replace men’s team foil and women’s team epee.

2010: Skicross will be included. It’s a newer discipline of freestyle skiing.

2012: Baseball and softball are out; squash and karate were nominees for inclusion, but they didn’t receive the majority of votes needed to be included.

Gizmodo reports that all tickets for the Beijing Olympics will include an RFID chip containing your personal information. The Beijing Olympic officials claim it’s to prevent counterfeiting (ironic, no?), but it really seems like a Big Brother move. What, are they going to look at your passport too and verify all the information before you can get through the door?