Olympic musings

There's something about the Olympics that stirs a sense of patriotism inside me. Normally ambivalent, bordering on irritated, by the amount of sport taking up the TV space, advertising space, and conversational space, during the Olympics I'm the biggest sports fan around.

Yes, there's the crowd pleasing swimming, athletics, and gymnastics. But there's also that fascination that you gain from drawing a direct comparison between women's weightlifting, men's gymnastics, and those famed Ethiopian marathon runners. The boundaries between male and female, fit and fat, are blurred into you have to ask yourself, 'Are these people really human?'

At the time of writing, I'm watching New Zealand's Valerie Adams compete in the women's shotput. Listening to the commentators speculate on her medal prospects, I don't envy the pressure placed on one woman's (admittedly large) shoulders. Soon it will become apparent whether she can carry that weight far enough to throw it into the final.

Of course you have those sports that are really just not cool, but hey, it's the Olympics, let's pretend. You know what I'm talking about... Do horses reminisce over those medals they won in the show jumping? And when's the last time you saw a handball game outside of your high school playground?

As an Australian living in New Zealand (probably the only one, it seems) I am experiencing a sense of patriotic confusion. New Zealand is ahead of Australia in the medal tally, as everyone I know has told me. "Probably I brought the good luck with me across the ditch," I reply. At least now, I have twice as many athletes to cheer on. Perhaps the only downside of watching the Olympics in New Zealand is the amount of show jumping aired during prime Olympics viewing time.

As the Olympic Games begins its second week, I begin to wonder what I'm going to do with my evenings when it ends. When I think back to everything that I've seen so far, the most admirable performance was by far that of double amputee, Oscar Pistorius. Perhaps he doesn't want our admiration. But I'm a long-term fan of the Paralympic Games, and Oscar has reminded me that when they start again in a couple of weeks, the obscure and fascinating sports really do become truly admirable.