Olympics Already?

Is it really time for the Olympics again? Didn't the winter games just get over....

Growing up in the "early" days - pre-cable TV, internet, etc. when the Olympics were being broadcast, there was nothing else on at our house. Neither of my parents was particularly athletic but apparently the draw of the Olympics was another matter.

With no disrespect to NBC, I always think of ABC Sports when the Olympics come on. Maybe because I grew up watching ABC's Wide World of Sports on the weekends. Yes probably by default because there weren't 257 different cable stations we had access to.

It is amazing to me to see snippets of the different sporting events that we don't have access to every day. We always get a lot of coverage of the "popular" sports - swimming, gymnastics, running - sprints or distances, etc. But I what I remember more was learning more about the other countries involved and learning more about the host country.

I just want to see more of the different events. In my 'extended' way down the road family, we had an Olympic hammer thrower. Lance is related on my Grandma Bybee's side - because she was a Deal. Long story short - Lance is my mother's cousin's son. The hammer throw wasn't a very high profile or glamour event - so we never saw much of it.

To explain - they don't actually throw a hammer- of the variety that pounds nails in the wall.

Please excuse my less than technical way of explaining, but the throwers spin around and throw a big, heavy, round object which looks like it is attached to a chain. Whoever can 'throw' the hammer the furthest wins. Simple enough but a person would have to have a great deal of skill in releasing this properly and would have to be pretty darn strong. At least that would be my arm chair version of things.

Most of us secretly admire each of the athletes and their dedication to the perfection of their particular sport. Even though most of us know our abilities probably make us better spectators and commentators than participants. We can admire their dreams for the gold.

I will watch with fascination as the athletic stories unfold in the next couple of weeks and watch as dreams and the drama of the games play out on the world stage.