RSSGuilty Pleasures -- Remembrances of Olympics past
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Back in the summer of 1996, Guilty Pleasures was working at a bakery that, sadly, virtually no one ever came to. This left a lot of time for getting completely wrapped up in that summer's Olympic games in Atlanta.
Because Guilty Pleasures had to be at the bakery early to make all the pastries (that no one came in to buy), a lot of Olympics coverage was consumed via "The Today Show."
On a little 12-inch TV, Guilty Pleasures sat and watched as Katie Couric and Matt Lauer told various stories of various athletes' various triumphs over adversity. They were absolutely brilliant at this, never failing to leave Guilty Pleasures a blubbering mess.
Of course, this was exactly when a customer would come in, and Guilty Pleasures, embarrassed and wiping tears away, would mumble an earnest explanation about Michael Johnson's gold shoes or Kerri Strug winning the freakin' gold medal after vaulting with a busted ankle and landing on one foot.
Once again, Guilty Pleasures is all wrapped up in the excitement of the XXIX Olympiad -- in Michael Phelps' quest for Olympic history, in that unbelievable (and now controversial) opening ceremony, in watching the final Olympic softball and baseball games, in Bob Costas' all-knowing, never-ending commentaries.
In fact, right now the U.S. baseball team is on the television -- Guilty Pleasures sits next to the Yakima Herald-Republic's sports department -- which is providing for quite a distraction.
But not as distracting as surfing the Internet to find weird Olympic games of yore. Games such as tug-of-war, the rope climb, solo synchronized swimming, dueling pistols -- don't worry, competitors fired at mannequins -- and live pigeon shooting -- in which they did actually shoot at live pigeons.
Hmmmm, if those competitions were at one time deemed Olympic-quality, Guilty Pleasures may actually, one day, get the chance to fulfill a lifelong -- OK, yearlong -- dream: to win a gold medal in Wii bowling.
Watch for it at the 2016 summer games.
* Guilty Pleasures is a weekly look at whatever Guilty Pleasures wants to look at.
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