The Olympics

Is it bad that I just learned about Hmong and Hmong Americans? Had no idea they were an ethnic group.
No not all. Their immigrant story (not that it's singular) and ties to the Vietnam war is pretty fascinating and important history that most of us are not taught.
I learned about them because of Gran Torino
I only learned because I live in the place. The Hmong community is one of the best things about the Twin Cities, especially St. Paul. I mostly only interact in the various marketplaces, but that's where I do the majority of my grocery / farmer's market shopping. In the white desert of MN, the Twin Cities Hmong, Karen, Somali, Guatemalan etc. immigrant communities are an oasis I'm grateful for.
 
Ranking of my favorite Olympic sports to watch:

1) Gymnastics
2) Diving
3) Swimming (esp the medleys and relays)
4) Volleyball
5) Canoe Slalom

For basketball or water polo, I might watch the 5 minute highlight clips of the match, but that’s it.

For certain sports, if I get bored, I try to think of the athletes as the embodiment of their actual countries and the athletic competition as a metaphor for actual international economic or political or technological competition between those countries haha. That’s a good one for like wrestling or boxing, but is a little trickier to do with gymnastics or diving haha.
 
I love all the sports that never get airtime elsewhere:
  • Fencing
  • Air rifle/pistol
  • Archery
  • Surfing
  • Water polo
  • Rugby
  • Triathlon
  • Rowing
  • Badminton

Still, my favorite Olympics event is the Winter Biathlon (cross-country skiing and rifle shooting). Really as badass as it gets imo.
 
Love the Olympics. My mum would never call herself a fan of sports, but she always loved watching this. I think it was the fun of watching stuff you don’t normally see, and seeing how gifted these folk are.

Luckily, I’m able to go online and pick my sport. The UK coverage used to be amazing, and my cable provider would have about a dozen channels with everything on. Now, the vast majority of the events are behind a paywall, and everyone is kicking off.
 
I love the Olympics and cannot wait for the athletics to start. I’m pleased street skateboarding made it in this year - that was a good watch. Horse Dancing (otherwise known as dressage) is not a sport and shouldn’t be in the Olympics though. 😬
 
Love the Olympics. My mum would never call herself a fan of sports, but she always loved watching this. I think it was the fun of watching stuff you don’t normally see, and seeing how gifted these folk are.

Luckily, I’m able to go online and pick my sport. The UK coverage used to be amazing, and my cable provider would have about a dozen channels with everything on. Now, the vast majority of the events are behind a paywall, and everyone is kicking off.
Yep the coverage moving to Eurosport sucks. I wanted to watch the women’s Judo on day 1 or 2 (family sport we’ve all done growing up) but even though GB won a medal there was no coverage on bbc iPlayer 👎🏻
 
Yep the coverage moving to Eurosport sucks. I wanted to watch the women’s Judo on day 1 or 2 (family sport we’ve all done growing up) but even though GB won a medal there was no coverage on bbc iPlayer 👎🏻
That’s brutal. Wee VPN and get stuck into Channel 7 over here. The broadcast coverage is full of adverts but online is great.
 
I love the Olympics and cannot wait for the athletics to start. I’m pleased street skateboarding made it in this year - that was a good watch. Horse Dancing (otherwise known as dressage) is not a sport and shouldn’t be in the Olympics though. 😬

Could not agree more - if they insist on keeping dressage in the Olympics, then the horses should get gigantic medals for doing all of the work!

Amazing that the women's street skateboarding podium had an average age of 14, with a 13-year-old winning gold. Fantastic to watch. I was expecting big things from Nyjah in the men's street final, but Horigome totally stole the show. Amazing results for Japan.
 
Watching this US/NED game this morning

keyandpeelesweat.gif
 
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