I’ve been watching a bit of the Olympics over the past few days and kind of fell in love with the gymnastics gals, especially after last night obviously. I am both amused by and in total awe of the Floor Routine (pageantry + how the fuck do you roll out of being on the floor into a handstand split, asks my decayed bones). Perhaps it’s the sisterhood that forces my heart to swell anytime I see young women being extremely good at things, and I started to think that if I was a powerful Hollywood person I would immediately create a Hanna Barbera cartoon starring the five of them solving mysteries. I’m pretty much all for brightness in books and in sports. I want all the girls to win all the gold medals, and I want it to seem like they’re not going to be beaten and left in an old abandoned box car if they don’t. That’s all.
I agree with everything above. What I thought was interesting was that all five said watching the 2004 Olympics where Carly Patterson won gold was their first recollection of the games, and it made them strive to compete in gymnastics. 2004? That made me feel incredibly old; I think the first games I remember were in Barcelona in 1992 when I was 10. I was obsessed with Shannon Miller and would always pretend to be her when we played “Olympics” in our basement. Megan always chose to be Dominique Dawes which I love. And while I could only do cartwheels and round-offs, Megan did front handsprings and walk-overs; she was fearless.
But even now, I am completely enthralled by every single part of the games and Megan is starting a tally of how many times I cry and how many times I gush, “I love the Olympics!” Now if only the internet would stop telling me outcomes before I’ve seen them, I’d be even happier.
You know you’re old when the person saying “that made me feel incredibly old” about the gymnasts’ first Olympic memory being 2004 then goes on to say that her first Olympic memory was 1992. Love you Erin, but 1992? Does nobody in this world remember Mary Lou Retton?
