I was so strong for nearly 12 days. My proud record of not having watched a single second of the Olympics was going strong. I was confident of lasting all 16 days without going near the TV.
Let me clarify here and now that I am following the results on the Internet, but I am not watching any of the action. If you had to watch them on Doordarshan Sports, one of India's insipid government-run TV channels, you'd avoid watching them, too. An Indian boxer entered the semis in his event yesterday, and he was interviewed by Doordarshan. It was so interminably dull and boring that we should use that interviewer as a tactical weapon: have him interview our opponents before the game and lull them to sleep. I'm telling you, we'd be unbeatable. (Incidentally, the slick sports channels show almost nothing but cricket, football and WWE wrestling. Millions of Asians think that pro-wrestling is America's national sport!)
So, I was reading the BBC's Live Olympic Text Updates yesterday when I saw that the final of the Men's 200 metres started at 19:50 Indian time. It was 19:45. Five minutes to Usain "Lightning" Bolt-time. I hadn't seen his 100 metres romp over the weekend (well, I was on a train just then), but just the reports of the show he put on that night made me regret on missing out. So I made an exception and went to the living room and turned on the television. (Thankfully, although the action is shown on Doordarshan, the commentators are not provided by them. They re-broadcast some Australian feed, which means the commentators are worth a listen.)
The athletes were in the starting blocks when I turned on the TV. Ten seconds later, the race was over for all intents and purposes, and I was left laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Bolt just stormed away from the rest of the field. The others could have caught a fish in the desert sooner than catch the Jamaican. Bolt duly broke the legendary Michael Johnson's 12-year old world record, becoming the first man to win both sprints at the Olympics in world record time.
The best part of the whole deal? While on his goofy victory lap (at one point he did his version of the Funky Chicken), Bolt was serenaded by the crowd/PA system singing "Happy Birthday" to him. The phenomenon turned 22 today.
Those of you who really know me will appreciate the magnitude of what I am about to say.
Usain Bolt is...awesome.
PS: The last time I was this impressed by a sprinter was Ben Johnson in Seoul in 1988. Please let this be nothing like that.
Let me clarify here and now that I am following the results on the Internet, but I am not watching any of the action. If you had to watch them on Doordarshan Sports, one of India's insipid government-run TV channels, you'd avoid watching them, too. An Indian boxer entered the semis in his event yesterday, and he was interviewed by Doordarshan. It was so interminably dull and boring that we should use that interviewer as a tactical weapon: have him interview our opponents before the game and lull them to sleep. I'm telling you, we'd be unbeatable. (Incidentally, the slick sports channels show almost nothing but cricket, football and WWE wrestling. Millions of Asians think that pro-wrestling is America's national sport!)
So, I was reading the BBC's Live Olympic Text Updates yesterday when I saw that the final of the Men's 200 metres started at 19:50 Indian time. It was 19:45. Five minutes to Usain "Lightning" Bolt-time. I hadn't seen his 100 metres romp over the weekend (well, I was on a train just then), but just the reports of the show he put on that night made me regret on missing out. So I made an exception and went to the living room and turned on the television. (Thankfully, although the action is shown on Doordarshan, the commentators are not provided by them. They re-broadcast some Australian feed, which means the commentators are worth a listen.)
The athletes were in the starting blocks when I turned on the TV. Ten seconds later, the race was over for all intents and purposes, and I was left laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Bolt just stormed away from the rest of the field. The others could have caught a fish in the desert sooner than catch the Jamaican. Bolt duly broke the legendary Michael Johnson's 12-year old world record, becoming the first man to win both sprints at the Olympics in world record time.
The best part of the whole deal? While on his goofy victory lap (at one point he did his version of the Funky Chicken), Bolt was serenaded by the crowd/PA system singing "Happy Birthday" to him. The phenomenon turned 22 today.
Those of you who really know me will appreciate the magnitude of what I am about to say.
Usain Bolt is...awesome.
PS: The last time I was this impressed by a sprinter was Ben Johnson in Seoul in 1988. Please let this be nothing like that.
1 Comment:
Awesome? Did you just say awesome? That's, that's, that's just... awesome.
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