Olympic Stuffs and the Closing Ceremonies

And the last of the commentary from our crack team of commentators.

Wednesday

Amanda: There’s a woman in this 800m heat wearing a full t-shirt and calf length pants. She’s last by a bit, unfortunately. But she just looks like a normal person. Looks like she’s from Egypt. Finished 20 seconds behind the 7th person.

Amanda: The mother of an American in the 800 heat was a popular fitness guru and trainer with lots of workout videos in the 70s and 80s and was also a pioneering female distance runner. Fascinating.

Amanda: Ugly fall in the men’s steeple chase.

Amanda: A tiebreaker in equestrian jumping is calleda jump off.

Amanda: 5000m runners are so sweaty.

NBC at Men’s indoor volleyball: You might want to capitalize that lazy like you’re yelling in a text.
Um, okay.

Lisa: They said the French equestrian guy has a flailing style. I can’t decide if that’s an actual thing or just that guy’s thing based on how they said it.
Iddo: They’re wearing helmet hats.

Lisa: I love that in the second heat of the 5k there was a guy who was timing himself with his own watch.

Lisa: Kayaks are far too narrow for me to ever want to get in one. Boats should be wider than my shoulders.

Lisa: Phelps is in Phoenix now. He’ll be an assistant coach at Arizona State now.
Amanda: Interesting.
Lisa: I’m surprised he didn’t stay for the closing ceremonies.
Amanda: Me too. Kate Ledecky came home today. I follow the airport she flew into on Instagram and they posted a video of her homecoming. And then it popped up on other local news feeds.
Lisa: Lochte’s lawyer says he’s home too.
Amanda: That situation is a little ridiculous.

Watching the hurdlers knock the hurdles over and realizing there are no judges deducting points for that, Brett has decided he’s going to train for the hurdles and just push them over.
Amanda: Ha! I’d watch that.

Amanda: Somehow, this is the first piece I’m seeing from Mary Carillo these entire games. Maybe there have been more while I’ve been at rehearsal, but I haven’t seen them.
Lisa: I’ve been wondering where her bits are. I like her.
Amanda: Me too. There are a LOT Of events in the summer, more than winter. So there probably just hasn’t been time. Relatedly, I wish I’d seen more Omnium this year. Apparently it’s like the decathlon of biking. Why haven’t we seen any of that? They interviewed a medalist this morning and that’s the first I had heard of it.
Lisa: I just looked it up and apparently this is only the second time it’s been in the Olympics.

The women’s 100m hurdles – WOW! Go moms with their babies at the end!

Men’s triathlon tomorrow. The London one was awesome. I’m excited for this one.

Thursday

Amanda: Two people capsized immediately after completing the Canoe Sprint.
Lisa: If you’re going to capsize, that’s the time to do it.
Amanda: True. I think at least one of the capsized was a medalist.
Lisa: Iddo is a bit concerned with the capsizing.
Amanda: There are shots of them celebrating. They’ll still get water in their eyes but otherwise they’ll be OK. If that helps.
Lisa: Didn’t know you could lunge to the finish in a boat. Iddo did point out their faces were above the water.
Amanda: Hehe. Also, I did not know that either.

Amanda: If you need a two hour window to get stuff done, the US-Serbia indoor volleyball match that started before noon is now in its 5th set. No idea if I missed anything else if they took glimpses at other events, but this game started while I was still at the [car] dealership.
Lisa: I’d rather see other events than entire volleyball or handball games.
Amanda: Agreed.
Lisa: MSNBC is showing the entire semifinal handball game between France and the Netherlands but only a 30 second summary of the men’s triathlon. Lame broadcast scheduling.
Amanda: *thumbs down* Looks like the last 90 minutes of daytime broadcasting is going to be a documentary about the Karolyis.
Lisa: Weird. Because there was nothing exciting today.
Amanda: Nothing at all.
Lisa: NBC says they are going to show flipping swimming now. Unfortunately it’s right at nap time.
Amanda: Flipping swimming was cool. I wonder if platform is more difficult because you don’t get any bounce help. Or does the bounce make it harder?
Lisa: They said that if you time the bounce wrong it messes it up.
Amanda: That makes sense.

Amanda: Related to your video [of Shimri], I haven’t seen any rhythmic gymnastics. What’s up with that?
Lisa: It starts tomorrow.
Amanda: That’s a good reason.

Lisa: Go shot put screams!
Amanda: Absolutely necessary.
Lisa: Definitely.

Amanda: My plans tomorrow evening have been canceled due to illness. It occurs to me that I could do nothing but watch Olympics all day tomorrow. I’ll probably choose to do some other things too, but there will be a lot of Olympics tomorrow. Also, some of the divers are a little more chesty. Their swimsuits are also not compression suits.
Lisa: We’ve basically been doing just Olympics all day. It’s only every two years. So that’s moderation.
Amanda: I think it’s totally okay. And you guys have done Olympic crafts and other fun things. Pouring rain for beach volleyball.

Lisa: Go Eatons! Go Bolt!
Amanda: Yay Eatons! Did Bolt with the 200?
Lisa: He did. And he had a Brazilian flag around his neck and held a Jamaican flag high for his victory lap.
Amanda: Awesome.
Lisa: He Ledeckied the race.
Amanda: So he won by a lot?
Brett: Why does he need his guns (biceps) to run?
Amanda: Is this golf man wearing an ascot?
Lisa: It was him, and then a few feet and everyone else all bunched up.
Amanda: Nice.
Lisa: If he’s got an ascot, he could easily have a top hat too.
Amanda: Totally. When we cut back out of this feature thing, hopefully we’ll get a close up. What about guns and running?
Lisa: Brett doesn’t understand the importance of biceps to the sprinters.
Amanda: I think it’s just a wide tie and unbuttoned collar. Pretty fancy for sports. I don’t know that I understand why runners need biceps, but I do know that people who only do strength training on one portion of their bodies (legs or arms) look pretty funny. We’ve reached 100 medals.
Lisa: I’m sure I can find strength training articles on Runners World.
Amanda: Probably.
Lisa: There is no part of my body that moves as fast as sprinters run.
Amanda: Same.

Amanda: Canadian High Jump Info-Graphic

Lisa: I love that info-graphic.
Amanda: me too.

Friday

Amanda: The father of a French equestrian rider, and I think a medalist himself, is actually the coach of a Moroccan rider. Interesting. And apparently if you destroy the jump and knock down all the rails you still only get four faults. The Eatons collect Christmas decorations and ornaments on their travels so they don’t forget all the places they’ve gone for competition. Blake and I do too, because we got married at Christmas. Rebecca Lowe had a baby in April. I like that she looks like a normal woman who had a baby a few months ago.
Lisa: I had no idea horses were right or left handed. Are all animals handed?
Amanda: I didn’t either. I wouldn’t be surprised. I’ll try to remember to watch Malcolm tonight as he eats dinner and see if he prefers a hand.
Lisa: They said they are born preferring to jump off either left or right turns and have to be trained to be ambidextrous.
Amanda: I remember that. didn’t think about the connection to all animals.
Lisa: I just figure it would be strange if it were just humans and horses. Watch if Malcolm turns clockwise or counterclockwise.
Amanda: I agree. It would be strange. I will!

Amanda: Max Holt of men’s volleyball looks like the villain of a TV show Blake and I watch.
Lisa: He doesn’t look super scary.
Amanda: Nah, but if someone told me they were brothers, I would believe them.
Lisa: One reason I’m not good at volleyball is I won’t throw myself to the floor for a ball.
Amanda: That’s a good reason. Probably one of several reasons I’m not good at it.
Lisa: It’s strange that some of them have used tape to give themselves webbed fingers.
Amanda: or straight fingers.
Lisa: Their fingers can separate, but not far. They’ve webbed them.
Amanda: Right. I noticed that. But there are a few who have taped their fingers so it doesn’t look like they can bend.
Lisa: That I can understand if they’ve taped them to use one as a splint for the other.
Amanda: Definitely, but the fingers I’ve seen taped straight were not together.

Amanda: I forgot BMX biking is an Olympic sport! Why have we not seen this!?
Lisa: I think BMX is just starting.
Amanda: It was the gold medal races and they said something about “she’s been racing well all week.”
Lisa: Then it means NBC has odd broadcasting priorities.
Amanda: Yes it does. One day, they should offer a menu to everyone and not just the people who can afford the unlimited cable and Internet Olympic streaming packages.

Lisa: There is no backstroke relay. I like the mixed gender-ness of equestrian. And the huge variety of ages.
Amanda: I like it too. There’s also no breaststroke or butterfly relay. Just the freestyle and the medley.

Amanda: Malcolm pulled on his feeder with his right paw and was going at it in a clockwise circle. But I only started watching toward the end. I will watch again tomorrow.

Lisa: We need a hurdles relay.
Amanda: That would get complicated.
Lisa: Exactly. If they claim to be the best, let’s see it.
Amanda: Hehe. They’d have to have some speedy assistance if hurdles get knocked over that have to get jumped over again.
Lisa: Or that could just make it more difficult for following legs.
Amanda: And dangerous.
Lisa: It’s not like we’re lighting them on fire.
Amanda: Ha! But tripping and face planting still hurts.

Lisa: Iddo has figured out we generally wear blue. So then she asks where the athlete in red is from, and if I can’t figure it out I say Canada.
Amanda: If they aren’t Asian, that’s probably true.

Brett: Do you think it’s a coincidence that Trinidad and Tobago are always right next to each other?
Amanda:

Brett: I’m actually liking the Olymics this time and I think it’s because I’ve been watching them.
Amanda: *snort*
Lisa: He qualified it by saying he’s seeing the back stories of the athletes and so he cares about how they do now.
Amanda: Haha. It does help.
Lisa: It does.
Amanda: I’m rooting for a Brit in platform diving for that reason.

Lisa: I’m finding the relay teams’ entrances into the stadium to be funny.
Amanda: I was amused by the Canadians finishing zipping up their uniforms.
Lisa: The coordinated waves/pretend sword drawing/shirt zipping are funny. Japan drew imaginary swords and then sheathed them.
Amanda: Love it.
Lisa: China didn’t do anything.
Amanda: Lame.
Lisa: Jamaica all pointed straight at the camera.
Amanda: Nice.

Saturday

Lisa: TV Guide says we are supposed to be watching canoe/kayak and diving. Instead we’re watching volleyball. I’d rather watch canoe/kayak and diving.
Amanda: Totally agreed.

Brett and Iddo went shopping and were supposed to be getting stuff for our Closing Ceremony sushi.
Brett: Sushi nori sheets. I don’t even know what those are, but I bet they’re with the Asian stuff.
Iddo: I like Asians.

Amanda: Apparently there is nothing more exciting happening in the Olympics than watching the entirety of the women’s basketball medals ceremony. First they read off the names, then pass out the medals, then the medal holders. Just no getting to the silver medalists.
Lisa: Oof.

Amanda: Turned in just in time to catch replay of the end of the gold medal soccer match. Excellent moment.
Lisa: I saw the first half of the game and then Iddo and I had to go do errands. I was cheering for both sides.
Amanda: Why Germany?
Lisa: They have a set of twins and the same country has never won men’s and women’s before.
Amanda: Those are good reasons.

Amanda: Mo Farrah is praying after his 5K. He even sort of brushes off a hug so he can pray.
Lisa: I really like him.
Amanda: Me too. Drama in the men’s 5000m.
Lisa: Probably not the good kind of drama if you’re mentioning it that way.
Amanda: Not really.
Lisa: Mo barely reaches Bolt’s shoulder.
Amanda: Ha!

Amanda: Nice feature about the women’s tri today.

Amanda: Ryan Lochte re-dyed his hair to a normal color. Probably an image thing as he comes clean. Also, don’t just apologize for lying/exaggerating. Apologize for doing the thing in the first place.
Lisa: I read that one of the four swimmers is sticking to the original story.
Amanda: *sigh*
Lisa: Right. And don’t blame language barriers on your stupidity.
Amanda: Also, I read something that pointed out that Lochte has 10 years of international competition and partying experience. He knows how to get around language barriers. Ugh. A few minutes with Lochte and Lauer was sufficient. Can we get back to sports? Specifically said he feels embarrassed taking focus away from the games. While he’s taking air time away from them. Blerg.
Lisa: Blerg is right.
Amanda: Apparently we heard 14 minutes of a 20 minute interview. We will hear the rest on the Today Show on Monday. Well other people will, I won’t.

Lisa: Here goes Mo!
Amanda: Yay Mo!
Lisa: Yea Mo!!! I saw some jostling during the middle. Is that where the drama comes from?
Amanda: Yes.
Lisa: It didn’t look like Mo was involved.
Amanda: He wasn’t. He’s OK.
Lisa: Oh good.

Commentators at men’s platform diving: “Does he need to score more than 100 points here?” “I think it would be a good idea for him to do that.”

Amanda: Love watching Olympians get emotional about their spouses and kids. This time it was David Boudeia.
Lisa: Yea Boudeia (he has all the vowels in his name) and his family!

Amanda: I think you’ll like the feature about the gaucho.
Lisa: My brother’s mission has one of the world’s largest rodeos. I had the best Italian food in my life in Brasil.

Amanda: The sound of an entire soccer stadium singing the Brazilian national anthem is beautiful.
Lisa: And they all sang too. Americans don’t do that.
Amanda: Not really no.

Lisa: Belgium twins and their brother took fourth in the men’s 4×400.

Sunday

Amanda: The BYU Professor finished 6th in the marathon!

Brett (watching rhythmic gymnastics for the first time, happened to be the Spanish team): Huh. And I thought the only thing Spain was good for was rice.
Amanda: He gets another one of these:

Brett: Bowl-R-Us got 18. They’re out of medal contention.
Lisa: Who?
Brett: Bowl-R-Us.
Lisa: Belarus. There is no country called Bowl-R-Us.
Brett: Oh, like there’s a country called Belarus.
Amanda: Hehe. Brett’s not really this clueless about international things is he?
Lisa: He’s a bit clueless about small Eastern European countries.
Amanda: Spain isn’t that small.
Lisa: No. But he’s never seen rhythmic gymnastics before. He knows Spain’s history. But even I’m having a hard time thinking of what they’re up to lately.
Amanda: Yeah, I got nothing. A Spanish woman won high jump. So they have that.
Lisa: High jump is something.
Amanda: Yes it is.

Amanda:

Closing Ceremonies

Blake (after seeing an awkward military lady): That’s the difference between the US and other militaries. We spend money on guns and training, they buy fancy scarves.

Lisa: The flag is bigger than Simone.
Iddo (upon seeing Simone): She did all the jumping.

Amanda: Why are the Canadians wearing mittens?
Lisa: Because it is 60 degrees and raining.
Amanda: That’s Canadian summer.

Amanda: There’s a bit about saudades in lots of different languages.
Lisa: Cool!

O poema “Saudade”, escrito e interpretado por Arnaldo Antunes. Confira:

não tenho saudades
do que vivi
porque tudo
está aqui

encorpado
dentro de mim
como um fígado
um pâncreas
um rim

não tenho saudades
do que vivi
porque tudo
continua aqui

na superfície da pele
que em mim sente
o vento do passado
no presente

não tenho saudades
do que vivi
(vi ouvi sonhei senti)
pois já se tornou
o que sou

não tenho saudades
do que vivi

tenho saudades do que viveram
aqueles com quem convivi

não do que vi, do que viram
não do que ouvi, do que ouviram
do que sonharam, sentiram
as pessoas que perdi

Lisa: How’s the rain affecting it?
Amanda: Not slowing anything down.
Lisa: Good. There was a power outage earlier so hopefully they don’t have any problems with that.
Amanda: Haven’t noticed any. This dance part is cool in the rain.
Lisa: My mom was just saying that. Megan loves her a good samba.
Iddo (noticing everyone wearing rain gear): Everyone is wearing a bag.

Lisa: Love the kids with the light hats being the stars on the flag during the national anthem. Cute!

Shimri loved the music with the lace part.

We agree the Kenyan national anthem is beautiful.

Amanda: Loving the transfer ceremony.
Lisa: That is an awesome prime minister!
Amanda: I know! I think Dr. Seuss inspired this part. But the extinguishing of the flame was beautiful.
Lisa: That always makes me cry.

Amanda: There’s a woman threatening to fall out of her top. Not surprised really.
Lisa: It’s not as big a deal down there.
Amanda: Fair enough. If she’s cool with it, then whatever.
Lisa: I don’t think my breasts are firm enough for that samba outfit.
Amanda: I don’t think mine are either.

We know this guy! His daughter is friends with Iddo.

Amanda: How did Bob Costas do on his sign off?
Lisa: He’d definitely been practicing.

The only event I didn’t see any of was the modern pentathlon.

Join us in 2018 when we not only commentate on the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, but also compete in our very own Living Room Figure Skating competition. Should be some exciting stuff.