The Rockwood 2004 Olympic Watch--Saturday, August 28, 2004

Saturday, August 28, 2004

Will NBC dedicate itself to continued coverage, or will it try to cram all of their unused fluff down our throats at the last minute? Let's find out.

We open with wrestling, where American Cael Sanderson, undefeated in his college career at Iowa State, wrestles today for the gold. He wins, despite, or maybe because of, his brothers in the crowd having their faces painted in garish, patriotic colors. That's kind of weird. If it would have been perfect strangers who painted their faces, I would have been okay with that, but because it's family it somehow seems odd. Maybe that's just me.
Cael, up on the medal stand, puts the olive leaf laurel over his heart for the national anthem, and then halfway through puts it back on his head. I don't think Cael was purposely disrespecting the Star Spangled Banner. Repeatedly throughout the games, the Greeks have started applauding the Banner halfway through the song because the recorded version of it is so wimpy it fades to almost nothingness during the "and the rockets red glare" part. The Greeks, hearing the fade, started applauding. Sanderson, who I'm sure was overwhelmed by the moment, heard the applause and just assumed he'd somehow lost track of the song. Note to the USOC, for Beijing, let's get a really kick-butt version of The Star Spangled Banner up there, okay?
And we're off to Men's C2 Canoeing. You know, different athletes have different body types. Weightlifters look barrel-chested, divers look long and lean, swimmers shoulders are way too big for their bodies and bikers thighs are way too big for theirs. But the canoers? They look like they could pick you up and break you in half like a dry twig. That's the men AND the women. I've rowed boats and paddled canoes before, and it's a lot of work. These people make it look effortless. I guess that's why they're getting gold medals and I'm writing about them getting gold medals.
NBC teases us with four minutes of the Men's Javelin competition. You want more? Too bad, that's all you're getting.
Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie gets a few minutes of fluff. He's always been a competitive athlete, and NBC has acquired the home movies to prove it. Now he wants to change the sport of diving. To what? How about this? A sort of diving biathlon...you jump off the 10-meter platform and shoot something with your air rifle on the way down! No spectator is safe! The ratings would be through the roof!
Still in diving, analyst Cynthia Potter gets all fancy on us as she uses both the StroMotion AND the Telestrater at the same time! Cool.
After tonight, I only have to see Jimmy Roberts and his "Chevrolet Olympic Moments" one more time. Once again, Jimmy says the right words, but doesn't listen to them as he presents us with what Bob called the "Olympic blooper reel." Jimmy's unacted upon quote tonight was that there was "all sorts of great material to choose from," since NBC and MSUSACNBC were broadcasting over 1,200 hours of Olympic events. That's exactly my point, Jimmy. There's all of this great Olympic material, and what do you show us? Ian Thorpe being mobbed by Australians at a theater. Jimmy getting lost in the Greek countryside. Rulon Gardner on a tractor. 1,200 hours of great coverage, and we have to spend some of it watching Jimmy on The Plaka. Sigh.
Over to Women's High Jump, where Amy Acuff of the U.S. and Playboy has just passed on a jump that Dwight Stones said would have guaranteed her a shot at the bronze medal. Okay, I like Dwight Stones, but why? Why does Acuff pass? I don't know, because the rules of the high jump are a mystery to me, and no one will explain them. At least last night we got that fluffy little piece explaining how the pole vault competition worked. Why can't we get something similar for high jump?
The U.S. men lose the 4x100-meter Relay for only the sixth time since its inception in 1912. The only reason I note this is that Bob came back with some interesting trivia. Of the six they haven't won, they've only finished second twice. The other four times they didn't win included the 1980 Olympic boycott and three disqualifications. Bonus to Costas for style points!
Back to the pool, where we spend the next 43 minutes watching diving. Ordinarily, I wouldn't say this was any big deal, but tonight it is because there are no Americans in the competition! I think this is the longest NBC has spent in prime time on any sport that was American-free.

Interestingly, NBC seems to be trying to make Alexandre Despatie of Canada into the audience favorite. Well, if you can't have an American, why not a Canadian? After all, Canada is the 51st state, right? Ha ha ha ha! Just kidding, Canucks!

Ultimately, however, Despatie finishes fourth. I guess he'll have to change the sport of diving from the bottom up.
Back on the track, U.S. pole vaulter Tim Mack gets his gold medal tonight because last night's competition finished to late to award it then. NBC spent a lot of time showing how calm Mack was while vaulting, stressing his attention to detail by showing him making notes on which pole to choose. So it was a bit surprising to see how emotional he got on the medal stand. Good for you, Tim!
On high jump, Amy Acuff will have to survive on her Playboy money, because whatever strategy she tried didn't work. I still don't know what it was.
The U.S. men win easily in the 4x400 Relay, but not until after we get a little fluff on them. The fluff says they're, like, really fast. Thanks fluff! I couldn't have figured that out by myself from that 30-meter lead they had while crossing the finish line.
Argentina, which NBC said had never won a gold medal in anything, won gold on Saturday in both Men's Soccer and Men's Basketball. The live feed from Argentina showed thousands of people bouncing up and down in the streets. Woo-hoo! Party in Buenos Aires!
Costas, back on his "Later" set, interviews ATHOC President Gianna Angelopolous-Daskalaki. Not only that, but he pronounces her name correctly. He IS the man. Anyway, she says lots of great things about Greece and Athens and blah blah blah...fluff.
And now, with the Closing Ceremonies coming up tomorrow, we close with a montage of American medal winners set over the Star Spangled Banner. This is fluff in its purest form. It was still cool, though.

So, with one day to go, am I willing to give NBC a gold medal for coverage? Well, they're close, but there's still tomorrow. They've still got to stick the landing.

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