Shut Up, Al Trautwig

"Could you go for the knockout blow if your opponent was sobbing?"

I know everyone is hating on NBC for not showing things live, showing interviews instead of tributes to terrorist victims and assorted other fuck-ups. I wasn't going to blog about it because I'm sure Deadspin has done it better.  In many different ways.

But. I haven't been able to get Al Trautwig's comment out of my mind. He uttered it during the women's gymnastics team finals, when the Russians kept making stupid mistakes. The Americans were on target to win gold and he says this. As if only these little Russian girls cry at the Olympics. As if the Americans would stop doing their best because the Russians were crying.

This is Al. I thought about using a picture of the Russians crying, or the Americans going for the "knockout blow", but then I realized that this is really about Al himself. So here he is. 

Do you think he said anything like this during the men's team finals?

Do you think anyone said this during women's boxing?

Look, I get that almost none of the female gymnasts in question are legally women yet, being under 18 and all. I too thought the Russians were a bit over the top with the crying. . .at least according to the NBC broadcast, since they neglected to show that there were other teams in the competition. Maybe everyone was crying? I don't know. I do get that they get more emotional than the hockey players he normally reports on. But for the love of Christ, these are world class athletes. They do more in a day than Al Trautwig does in a week. They were in the freaking Olympics, not one hockey game among many. And if they were all so affected by each other's tears, none of them would win anything.

The Fab Five are way tougher than you are, Al. So shut up. 

Tainted Love

I love the Olympics. During the Olympics, I will pretty much watch any sport and be perfectly entertained. I once explained it to the uncomprehending Hot Guy that I love watching people live their dream. I cry a lot during the Olympics, even when I'm not pregnant.

I get crushes, too. I have a crush on Dara Torres, for example - the 41 year old mom who's swimming against women half her age. But she's the exception. Usually my Olympic crushes aren't as well known. Usually I develop them while watching an event or hearing a (brief, it's gotta brief, I hated that Olympics where they showed more stories than events) human interest story. Right now I love Cullen Jones, member of the US swimming team whose cause is teaching inner city kids to swim. After last night's men's gymnastic team performance, I also like Jonathan Horton. He was so steady in this amazingly high pressure situation - and it was his first Olympics.

But last night I realized that not all of my Olympic joy comes from crushes and excitement in seeing athletes reach their dreams. I know this will shock you all, but apparently I am not all sweetness and light. Last night, knowing that the kids were actually asleep and Hot Guy out of town, I indulged freely in my other Olympic passion: talking back to the announcers and making fun of their often inane commentary.

Possibly more than half of my Olympic joy actually comes from making fun of people. Out loud. By myself.

Which begs the question, should I stop telling people how much I love the Olympics? Because I don't exactly want to tell them WHY.