...but we're pretty thankful for the Olympics coverage here. Not only do we actually have a TV in this apartment as opposed to our DC home, but we also get to watch most of the best events live after work. We have three channels showing the Olympics (called gold, silver, and bronze), so when one channel is showing something we're not super interested in, we can just switch to the next one.
We've been hearing some complaints about NBC's coverage back in the States, particularly about the announcers. I think that's what we've been most impressed with--the announcers here are actually quite articulate and we learn a lot about the rules of various sports that we didn't know before. And, in typical British fashion, they are quite droll, making comments about the competitors like "well, there is a man who is definitely here to get some experience" or "well, we know what will happen here..." or even, "he looks disappointed, and he should be!"
In terms of following the various athletes and teams, we're just looking for good competition and sportsmanship. In addition to cheering for Team USA (spoiler alert: we just watched the USA women's 4x100 team break the world record!), we also have been cheering for teams in Africa, and particularly East Africa. But not only is East Africa capturing our attention. David particularly enjoyed seeing a North Korean weight lifter who (from his memory) broke a world record during his competition. But what touched David was that the North Korean seemed genuinely excited about competing for himself and full of desire to engage with the spectators who came to love him as well, cheering loudly during each of his lifts. A few years ago, during the last World Cup, David felt bad for the North Korean soccer team who appeared to be uncomfortable on a world stage, desiring to get out of view as quickly as possible. But now, from a country kept in darkness for years, a country where you are taught that the supreme leader is the sole one to be praised and adored, now you have a North Korean weight lifter competing not just for his country, but also himself. It didn't appear to be pompous pride on display, but the liberating excitement of one reveling in their goodness. Long live the Olympics.
Here's a photo of our TV with live coverage of the 5000m women's event. Go East Africa!
We've been hearing some complaints about NBC's coverage back in the States, particularly about the announcers. I think that's what we've been most impressed with--the announcers here are actually quite articulate and we learn a lot about the rules of various sports that we didn't know before. And, in typical British fashion, they are quite droll, making comments about the competitors like "well, there is a man who is definitely here to get some experience" or "well, we know what will happen here..." or even, "he looks disappointed, and he should be!"
In terms of following the various athletes and teams, we're just looking for good competition and sportsmanship. In addition to cheering for Team USA (spoiler alert: we just watched the USA women's 4x100 team break the world record!), we also have been cheering for teams in Africa, and particularly East Africa. But not only is East Africa capturing our attention. David particularly enjoyed seeing a North Korean weight lifter who (from his memory) broke a world record during his competition. But what touched David was that the North Korean seemed genuinely excited about competing for himself and full of desire to engage with the spectators who came to love him as well, cheering loudly during each of his lifts. A few years ago, during the last World Cup, David felt bad for the North Korean soccer team who appeared to be uncomfortable on a world stage, desiring to get out of view as quickly as possible. But now, from a country kept in darkness for years, a country where you are taught that the supreme leader is the sole one to be praised and adored, now you have a North Korean weight lifter competing not just for his country, but also himself. It didn't appear to be pompous pride on display, but the liberating excitement of one reveling in their goodness. Long live the Olympics.
Here's a photo of our TV with live coverage of the 5000m women's event. Go East Africa!
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