(no subject)
Still can't believe the Olympics are over. I was a bit reclutant to watch in the beginning since it started on a pretty bitter note - what with all the stories of female athletes having to seek sponsorship by doing commercials and getting judged for their looks and all. I guess it would be naive to belive that the big corporations weren't the ones pulling the strings here but it's still really upsetting to hear how many athletes can actually barely earn for living. Bitterness aside, the competition itself is still one of the most inspiring and memorable events that only happens once every four years so I couldn't avoid it for too long. And it didn't disappoint me in the slightest, actually I'm quite upset to see it go. Even watching the closing ceremonly brings me some unexplainable sadness.
Anyway, I'm quite happy with how my country did - this was the best performance our athletes had since we regained independancy. I'm a little disappointed in some of our veterans, though. This time it were the underdogs that won medals for us but I guess it shouldn't be all that shocking - after all most of our veterans are about to retire and it's time for the new generation to take over. Really happy for our womens' penthatlon athlete who won gold just today, and our guy who won silver in kayak rowing (he might have been only second in rowing but at least he's easily the most fashionable athlete. Sneakers, tight shorts, swimming cap, what looks like a one piece bikini over a white shirt and all that in bright neon green. Groovy.) and our boxer had to fight not only his opponents but also really shady judges. And our guy in decathlon too, even though he took only second place (second from the end) but he is always so simple and positive and :) whenever he gives interviews and it seems he realized he wasn't aiming for medals here but just trying to do his best so I can't even be angry at him for failing. And I'm also really glad for the 15 year old swimmer who already won gold (which makes me think about my life and my choices since people younger than me are already breaking world records and I'm just... sitting and making funy faces at my cat.) but the cynic side of me finds it hilarious how no one in our country helped her train or sponsored her or... did anything for her but now that she won us a medal (after training abroad) everyone is all "See, we always believed in you! We were your friends the whole time!". It's pretty ironic in a way.
Forever bitter about our basketball team though. They had some good moments - the fight against USA and even the game with Russia was kind of good but overall they were embarassingly bad (almost losing to Tunisia and Niferia, for once). It's even worse since the Russian media was acting as if our team is a completejoke to them and... yeah, we proved them right.
One of the most inspiring non-my country performances have to be Oscar Pistorius - I've been following his story through the Olympics and no matter what place he took, I think it's still really inspiring how well he did and what he achieved. The Olympics is about showing what unlimited possibilities we have and he is the embodiment of that message.
I've seen only snippets of opening, though that's enough to make me wonder what kind of drugs Danny Boyle is on. The closing ceremony looks pretty good - nothing special or brethtaking but I like it! Loved the Monthy Pyton bit especially and all the shots of athletes from diferent countries just being happy together, singing, hugging and dancing. It's just really touching and human.
Thinking about it ending makes me really sad. I guess it's the whole atmosphere- we've just witnessed something grand, history in the making and in a way, we've become a part of it. It's sad to see it go. And the next Olympics aren't going to occur until I'm twenty and that's really scary for me, for some reason.
Anyway, I'm quite happy with how my country did - this was the best performance our athletes had since we regained independancy. I'm a little disappointed in some of our veterans, though. This time it were the underdogs that won medals for us but I guess it shouldn't be all that shocking - after all most of our veterans are about to retire and it's time for the new generation to take over. Really happy for our womens' penthatlon athlete who won gold just today, and our guy who won silver in kayak rowing (he might have been only second in rowing but at least he's easily the most fashionable athlete. Sneakers, tight shorts, swimming cap, what looks like a one piece bikini over a white shirt and all that in bright neon green. Groovy.) and our boxer had to fight not only his opponents but also really shady judges. And our guy in decathlon too, even though he took only second place (second from the end) but he is always so simple and positive and :) whenever he gives interviews and it seems he realized he wasn't aiming for medals here but just trying to do his best so I can't even be angry at him for failing. And I'm also really glad for the 15 year old swimmer who already won gold (which makes me think about my life and my choices since people younger than me are already breaking world records and I'm just... sitting and making funy faces at my cat.) but the cynic side of me finds it hilarious how no one in our country helped her train or sponsored her or... did anything for her but now that she won us a medal (after training abroad) everyone is all "See, we always believed in you! We were your friends the whole time!". It's pretty ironic in a way.
Forever bitter about our basketball team though. They had some good moments - the fight against USA and even the game with Russia was kind of good but overall they were embarassingly bad (almost losing to Tunisia and Niferia, for once). It's even worse since the Russian media was acting as if our team is a completejoke to them and... yeah, we proved them right.
One of the most inspiring non-my country performances have to be Oscar Pistorius - I've been following his story through the Olympics and no matter what place he took, I think it's still really inspiring how well he did and what he achieved. The Olympics is about showing what unlimited possibilities we have and he is the embodiment of that message.
I've seen only snippets of opening, though that's enough to make me wonder what kind of drugs Danny Boyle is on. The closing ceremony looks pretty good - nothing special or brethtaking but I like it! Loved the Monthy Pyton bit especially and all the shots of athletes from diferent countries just being happy together, singing, hugging and dancing. It's just really touching and human.
Thinking about it ending makes me really sad. I guess it's the whole atmosphere- we've just witnessed something grand, history in the making and in a way, we've become a part of it. It's sad to see it go. And the next Olympics aren't going to occur until I'm twenty and that's really scary for me, for some reason.