No one ever is. I mean, you think you're ready to watch the Olympics, but are you really ready? So ready that you're willing to watch not some but all of the Olympic games? Well, now you're just talking crazy.
And yet here we are again. All crazy-like. Yes, for the eighth Olympic Games in a row, you'll be reading as I watch all of the Olympic Games. For those of you who haven't been here before, welcome! Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to watch all of NBC's prime time Olympic coverage and break it down into three delightful categories:
1. Events
2. Advertising
3. Meaningless fluff
Who decides which is which? I do! That's the perk I get for making the web site. If you want to decide, the web awaits your input. Get coding! So a better question might be why am I doing this?
Well, if you've read any of the previous Olympic Watches (see those links on the bottom right? Go!) you know that I love the Olympics and always have. Ever since I was a wee boy I've gotten a charge out of watching sporting events that I never would have watched otherwise just because they had five pretty rings somewhere in the background. No, it doesn't make any sense, but it's still true.
But along the way, something interfered with my mindless pleasure. The Olympics started to focus less on these obscure events (sliding a rock across the ice... really?) and more on the stories behind the athletes ("...in order for Noge Tekla to master the rock, he had to let the rock be his master..."). Or so I thought. But did I really know? There was only one way to find out, and that was to keep track.
So I did. And now, some 14 years later, I've built up quite a resume of crazy tabulations. I may never have the fame and fortune of Bill Gates, but I've got detailed knowledge of how often NBC has given me a sob story about random figure skaters over the last decade. Yes, I've wasted my life.
But as long as I'm frittering away my high-earning years, join me, won't you? It should be somewhat entertaining and who knows? There may even be that one moment during the Games when you see something so amazing that you, too, will vow to watch all 10 zillion hours of Olympic TV coverage with me.
There's a spot right here on the couch. I'll keep it warm for you. Swifter! Higher! Stronger! Let's go!
