just watched the replay because i missed it yesterday :/

[luciene]

The Chinese floor exercise. So fantastic. I love Deng Linlin, because she works so hard and her floor exercise ajdfjdgjkdg the butt wriggle, oh god so cute. Cheng Fei is reliable as always... but the last floor, so much pressure, especially after the beam fall and oh my god it could have been an wushu routine and I loved it. Yes, I am pretty stoked

Comments

[luciene]

That is interesting, because I was totally reading all this America-yay and China-bashing nonsense on the American newspapers and then suddenly-- one of your main coaches is Chinese? Your head coach originally championed no age limits? The girls themselves are not at fault at all, but seriously the rest of them. So hypocritical.

I did hear bad things about Karolyi and that there were people calling for Shawn Johnson's coach to replace him as head coach instead, because he was a much better coach that actually cared about, well, his charges' wellbeing. Even in the televised broadcasts it was pretty clear none of them gave a shit about Marta Karolyi, just a few congratulatory hugs for politeness' sake. Ugh.

YES THE HEIGHT. annoyed.

Sacramone might have been okay if she didn't let it drag her floor exercise down, because I think it looked like she dwelled too long on that previous mistake. To see her sitting down after a tumble was just... :/ my heart went out to her. It was definitely not her best day at all and the errors were pretty costly.

Also, about the Chinese gymnasts-- that is horrible. The commentators here did refer to their size but mostly used words like "tiny slip of a girl", etc, you know, it was just descriptive rather than implying something derogatory because they would usually say that while marvelling at their technique or how unique their personalities were and how that came through in their routines (esp Jiang). They also did point out that it is much more difficult for small girls to nail things like the uneven bars because they have to swing much further to catch the next bar... but also acknowledged the Americans (esp Liukin!) should have scored higher on those bars than they did. I am really proud of them for that.

You can rant to me about NBC. I want to know! It is crazy how reporting is different everywhere, and now we are more aware of the differences than ever because of the Internet.

[augustfai]

It's all over the place, really. NBC was also saying how it's 'interesting' that their coach is now back in his hometown of Beijing, and they don't mean interesting like 'oh wow, ironic' but more like 'hmmm, suspicious.' Uhh, how is that so? Do they think he might secretly be rooting for the Chinese? I don't understand it, but I just might be missing their point.

I'm not too familiar with either of the Karolyis, but from what I've seen on the broadcasts Marta is really in the background and only comes up to the 'surface' when one of the girls ends her routine, and then there's a hug (or not, in Sacramone's one case). On the other hand the cameras are all over Liang Chow when the girls go over to him. I can't help wondering if it's back to that 'interesting' thing--that this Chinese man who left his country years and years ago to start a new life in the US is now back in Beijing and coaching the US womens' team. It's like he's subtly being exposed for character study. :(

I know--to see Sacramone after her fall really broke my heart. It was great how her teammates were trying to cheer her up, though. I hope she excels in the individual section, just to make up for this.

The NBC announcers, I don't think, were trying to go for derogatory--but it's not like they tried to change their tone any when they were commenting about the girls' size. They do comment on how amazing the Chinese team is, and praise their routines, as they do with any of the other teams. When someone messes up, though, or if a favorite team isn't doing so well, then they pull out the (unintentional, maybe, but also maybe not) snark. On the beam, for instance, they kept on pointing out how high the scores were for the Chinese team and how by their own experience/standards it should be much lower--they wouldn't stop talking about how the scores seemed wrong. Perhaps it's just me, but I really think that the NBC announcers focus on the negative aspects of a team or its routines far more than is necessary. When Sacramone fell off the beam, for instance, they replayed it so many times, zooming in every which way, pointing out where her foot missed the beam, and then slow-motioning her fall--like it wasn't already painful to watch.

What I think got me the most, however, was a moment during the mens' gymnastics final when one of the Japanese fell during his vault landing and went back to his team. He was laughing a little at something someone said to him, and he clearly wasn't all that fazed by his fall, but one of the announcers went and pointed that out like it was horrible--I don't remember the exact quote but he (the announcer) said how that kind of thing 'should not be done at the Olympics' even if he acknowledges that 'that's how some people cope, it really makes me angry.'

W-what!? Really, what. I don't watch the Olympics to see how a team copes with their mistakes--in fact, I don't see anything wrong with what he did, as that's how I get over my mishaps and move on with my life. But this announcer sought out this man's laughter like it was a crime to do so at the Olympics. And honestly, who cares, really? So he laughed, that's great--can we move on to what actually matters, now?

I think what pisses me off most about the NBC broadcasts is that they are so, so biased, and I believe that unless you're doing an opinion piece about something, your opinion is completely and utterly unnecessary in reporting. It's not like they're always like that, but their side comments imply so much that you really have to wonder what they're getting at. I understand being patriotic, but you can only have so much of that when you're a reporter, especially when you're broadcasting a multicultural event such as the Olympics.

Truly, I'm grateful that NBC is broadcasting the Olympics, but their announcers really should find a good place to shut up. They just talk too much--literally and more so.

PHEW. Sorry. Well, there goes my rant, I hope it's not too all over the place. XD

[gothicauthor]

Ahhh, I remember that! And they keep remarking about how the Chinese fans don't stand up and cheer with banners and stuff. But that's so retarded. The audience is being polite because they know the athletes are already under a lot of pressure. I'm sorry that we don't act like Americans at the Super Bowl.

Also, we cheer for everyone because we're nice people; surely this can't be too hard of a concept to grasp, even for paranoid anti-commies.

GA

[augustfai]

It's amazing to me how America expects every other country to do anything and everything 'their way,' like somehow it's the 'right' way. Oh, they know about cultural differences and everything, but when they really see it up close they get all confused and upset. Because somehow not screaming wildly and going crazy =/= national pride, and also if you cheer for everybody that must mean you're on their side and don't care about your own country. :|

[luciene]

I guess 'interesting' is really about the only thing they can say. But it is a word that, like 'nice', is most often used when one holds an opinion that is usually politically incorrect and not fit for public broadcast. It does sound pretty suspicious... but who knows. I do find it a bit weird too -- I'm generally not a big fan of those who migrate to work elsewhere and come back representing some other country. I bet he finds it a bit strange too.

Sacramone probably will, and fight back harder than ever before. Still rooting for Liukin, though XD

When Sacramone fell off the beam, for instance, they replayed it so many times, zooming in every which way, pointing out where her foot missed the beam, and then slow-motioning her fall--like it wasn't already painful to watch.

That is pretty painful.

Also - he laughed. Yes I agree with you - so? The Japanese team did seem pretty chilled out, like they were just going in trying not to put too much pressure as defending champions. I wonder why NBC is the only channel broadcasting it? Is each country only allowed one channel?

[augustfai]

Is each country only allowed one channel? I have no idea--I think this might be the case, though. I know Japan sent NTV over there and I'm not hearing of any other kind of coverage, so I guess it's one channel per country so the place isn't overloaded with reporters.