I've Watched It For 15 Minutes, So I'm an EXPERT!

at 02/18/10 10:49AM *
Our family loves, Loves, LOVES, watching the Olympics (Winter and Summer)! I've noticed that we, especially me, become experts on sports we only watch once every four years. Just yesterday I was watching women's curling while I ate my lunch. The game makes very little sense to me, BUT after about 15 minutes of viewing, I found myself saying (out loud, no less!), "Boy, that was a bad stone! She's left it open for Germany to score 2, maybe 3." Later that evening, while watching the Halfpipe, which is totally cool, I heard myself critiquing a rider's frontside fakey-to-fakey! If you don't know what a frontside fakey-to-fakey is... well, neither do I!!! Thats what I think is so funny. Who am I to judge these guys and gals who spend years training everyday and are capable of amazing feats that I can only marvel at? It begs the question, what else am I trying to judge without any real understanding of the motives, dynamics, and behind-the-scenes details?


On another note related to the Olympics. Here's a great article EVERY dad (and mom) needs to read:

Bottle Caps on Strings

I fixed the link!


(Small print legal notice) Please do not try to explain curling, frontside fakey-to-fakey, switchback double cork with a twist, etc.. That's not the point of this post, and quite frankly, I don't want to know. I just enjoy watching and pretending to be an expert!!
  • kiss_the_rain
    Hahaha...this post made me laugh!!
    by kiss_the_rain at 02/18/10 12:21PM
  • homeschoolmomma23
    I am still trying to say double McTwist 1060 or whatever it was. And I noticed there was a lot less of the fakey-to-fakey stuff going on this year. I guess it must be becoming OLD SCHOOL!!!!
    by homeschoolmomma23 at 02/18/10 12:41PM
  • smiley_beth
    EXACTLY! I have thought about this before too. We critique as if we could do better and how could they have made such a mistake. So funny and scary how we get. Thanks for the thoughts. I am so bummed that we can't get the Olympics on our TV. We only get one channel since the digital switch. Oh well, a lot of time I am not spending as an armchair critic.
    by smiley_beth at 02/18/10 1:13PM
  • 26reasonstobrag
    Great article. You should include "anyone who one day wants to be a mom or dad."
    by 26reasonstobrag at 02/18/10 10:49PM
  • sallyanne
    Love the blog and article!!
    by sallyanne at 02/19/10 12:25AM
  • sweetgirl_103
    HAHA!! Mr. Simon, I love you. This post just makes me smile.
    I think I've watched more of the Olympics this year that I ever have! I really like the snowboarding, downhill skiing, and pairs figure skating!! My mom and I watched several of the women crash while skiing though. But that's part of why I'm convinced I find it so exciting to watch.
    by sweetgirl_103 at 02/19/10 1:06AM
  • crysi
    LOL, I"m an expert too! =)
    by crysi at 02/19/10 10:43AM
  • purky
    How loud were you hollering tonight? Nail-biters in the curling events.
    by purky at 02/20/10 9:18PM
  • mmswife
    Just one. His right ear is more floppy than the left. For the first few months of his life I didn't noticed and then noticed that his ear was sticking out because it's almost always folded forward. So I have been obsessive about keeping it back. Thought about taping it back. It's some better but still out there.
    by mmswife at 02/23/10 8:56PM
  • stouts
    i was in the living room saturday afternoon, waiting for everyone to finish getting ready to take jacob to a teenage bible class, and i was watching curling to pass the time. i hollered out and jenny came running in from the kitchen, thinking i had hurt my back or something, but i was simply excited that the swedes knocked their opponents' stone out of the circle. quite a useless sport, imho, but addictive nonetheless!
    by stouts at 03/02/10 1:54PM