Best Olympic Moment Not Involving Michael Phelps

The Olympics were two of the greatest weeks of 2008 and there were dozens of amazing moments ranging from the incredible Opening Ceremonies to the unforgettable I Love Beijing theme song. There were so many great moments this year it’s hard to choose just one that stands out. Ok, that’s a lie. There’s one moment that was far better than any other and is, quite frankly, the greatest moment in aquatic sports history. The Justie for the Best Olympic Moment Not Involving Michael Phelps goes to Jason Lezak’s amazing comeback in the 4×100 relay which won the USA a gold and created one hell of a story. There has never been a comeback quite like that nor has there been an instance of shear determination. Way to go Lezak, way to go.

Greatest Thing on TV

All in all, it’s been a pretty crappy year for TV. The Writers Strike cut a lot of seasons short and seemed to affect the quality of TV for this season as well. So the pool to draw from here is obviously pretty slim. But there were some stand outs. The Office and 30 Rock have been stellar and new shows Fringe and Life on Mars have been entertaining. But one show has been better than the rest, so the Justie for Greatest Thing on TV goes to Chuck. Chuck is consistently entertaining and just quirky enough to be endearing but it was “Chuck Verses Tom Sawyer” that pulled it in. Twin Galaxies, arcade games and Rush? Can’t get much better than that.

Best Unintentional Use of Keywords to Drive in Search Engine Traffic

People search for funny things on the internet. Some people spend tons of money and time trying to figure out the best combination of Julianne Hough, Will Smith, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, the Jonas Brothers and Wil Wheaton to get their search engine ranking high enough for people to notice. Around here I do things a little different. I write things and then see how people find them. If a Miley Cyrus mention gets slipped in, well, so be it. It was earlier this year while perusing my site logs that I came across this category’s winner. The Justie for Best Unintentional Use of Keywords to Drive in Search Engine Traffic goes to this post about Chinese food and Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno. I’ll let you figure out what people were searching for.

Crappiest Thing to Happen to Someone Other Than Me

A lot of crappy things happened in 2008 including hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, fires and a new Rambo movie. I jumped off a cliff and blacked out in the water, but I’m exempt from this category for obvious reasons. No, there was one crappy thing that unfortunately deserves this Justie; the Crappiest Thing to Happen to Someone Other Than Me Justie goes to the economy. Sure, I’m affected indirectly, but whatever. The economy pretty much sucked this year and have put hundreds of thousands out of work. Unfortunately it looks like it may get worse before it gets better but one thing is for certain, it will get better. Here’s to hoping that the economy earns the 2009 Justie for the Greatest Thing to Happen to Someone Other Than Me.

Most Addicting Social Media Outlet

Hello my name is Justin and I’m a social media addict. This year there were plenty of social media sites begging to earn an addiction: Facebook, Shelfari, Strands, and Last.fm just to name a few. But there was one that stood out far above the rest — possibly combined. The Justie for the Most Addicting Social Media Outlet goes to Twitter. I wasn’t the only one addicted either. Not only did twitt rank as one of the years ‘buzzwords’, but now CNN even takes comments — and in some cases breaking news — from Twitter.

Strangest Nuance in a City I’ve Traveled To

This one is a tough one to call. I’ve been a number of places this year including Seattle, The Bahamas, New Orleans, Key West, North Carolina, Georgia and Utah. In those various places I’ve seen a fair share of strange things, like the odd traffic lights on the highway in Seattle, but by far the Strangest Nuance in a City I’ve Traveled To goes to Utah. Why Utah? Their numbering of streets is absolutely ridiculous. Everything is laid out in a grid, which makes sense, but that grid is far too large. For instance, we had to turn from S 700 E onto E 10600 S. Does that make any sense? Then, thrown into the middle of that was State St which does make sense. I don’t get it. Way to earn that Justie, Utah.

Coolest Thing of the Year

Despite all the crappy things that happened, 2008 had it’s share of some pretty cool things. Myron Rolle won a Rhodes Scholarship and I read Snow Crash, both pretty cool. The Dark Knight made a ton of money while the Devil Rays won the American League without any. Tiger Woods had the comeback of his career and Bill Gates ended his. All of these things are pretty cool, but only one can win the Award. The 2008 Justie for the Coolest Thing of the Year goes to The Olympics.

It was going to be pretty hard to beat the summer games. They began with the coolest Opening Ceremony ever performed (no video links available, stupid NBC) and included some unforgettable moments, a lot of which occurred in the pool. Michael Phelps won a record setting 8 gold medals, which will probably never happen again. Countless records were broken, smaller countries shined and for a few weeks in August the world actually came together and enjoyed each others company. You can’t really get much cooler than that.

All the Justies have been handed out and I’ve got nothing left for 2008. The ball will soon drop and bring in 2009. Let’s see what happens.

It’s been a great two weeks and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve watched more events then I can possibly remember — everything from fencing to track and field to badminton to handball. As evidenced by the number of world records set, the competition has been at the highest caliber of any Olympics in history. It really has been a joy to watch.

I can’t try to recount all the amazing feats that have been accomplished during the games: there was Michael Phelps and his eight golds, the sheer dominance of the Jamaican sprinters, the owning of the diving platform by the Chinese team, and just how awesome US beach volleyball is. It’s been a great Olympics and, while it’s going to be a long wait until the 2010 Winter Games, it’ll give me some time to catch up on all the sleep I’ve lost over the last two weeks.

Four safety pins. Just doesn't seem right.

I mean, they talk almost nightly about how much the technology has advanced since the last Olympic games. Swim suits are streamlined, running suits are designed to be aerodynamic, that crazy tape all the athletes are wearing just looks high tech, and the women’s beach volleyball bathing suits are… well I’m sure they serve a purpose. But for some reason the numbers are still pinned to these suits. In gymnastics it looks funny and in track I’m sure it can’t help the whole wind resistance thing. With all the advancement of technology for the games, there has to be a better solution is available.

What impresses me most, however, are the close victories. Of course there is the relay final where Jason Lezak made up a seemingly impossible distance, swam the fastest 100m relay split in history, and pulled a gold medal out of a hat for the US team. Then, while I was away this weekend, Michael Phelps won the 100m butterfly by a mind boggling .01 of a second. I’m sorry I missed this one live, but have seen it replayed enough to really enjoy it. Then Sports Illustrated posted an awesome frame-by-frame of Phelps’ final meter of the race. He literally won by a finger tip.

It’s pretty cool. Go world!

I happen to love the Olympics and all that they stand for. When they come around I can’t get enough of the various story lines, match ups, and all that awesome track and field. Some of these stories are already being set up: Michael Phelps is going for eight gold medals, the US basketball team is trying to win a gold for the first time since 2000, it’s the last year for baseball and softball competition, etc.

This year NBC is pulling out all the stops with over 3,600 hours of coverage which is more than all the prior Olympic coverage (in the US) combined! Granted, half that will be streaming video on NBC’s Olympic website, but the rest will be on TV split up among NBC’s wide range of networks. Regardless, there will be more than enough Olympic coverage for any sane person to enjoy.

At the time of this posting the Opening Ceremonies are being televised. The games are officially open. Medals are ready to be won. Go world!

Before these Olympic Games I thought Curling was just a weird sport that was easy to make fun of. I mean they take this 42 pound rock and slide it across a sheet of ice trying to hit a target. At the same time some other people use a broom and sweep the ice trying to effect the movement of the rock. But after watching a few rounds, some of them even live thanks to CNBC and a day off, I pretty much understand the sport. There are some detailed rules that I don’t know, but I understand the basics — just enough to make it fascinating.

It’s all about the large target area on the other side of the ice, it’s called the House. At the end of the End, the team with the closest rock (shot rock) to the center (button) gets a point for ever stone they have inside the house that is closer than the other team’s closest rock. The strategy comes in when one team puts up a guard rock trying to make the shot to the house more difficult. The question then becomes “do you peel away the guard or curl around it and aim for the house?”

As I mentioned above, the US Women’s Team is lead by the beautiful Cassie Johnson and her older sister Jamie. This, of course, is part of the reason that I became hooked on the sport. Though, they have been eliminated from the Olympic tournament. They finished a sad 2 and 8, but you can’t win them all and the US has never won a Curling medal anyway. However, the US Men’s Team has made it to the Medal Round. They play Canada today and if they win, they play in the gold medal game. If they loose, they can play for bronze.

Curling is exciting and if you don’t believe me, just turn on CNBC at 5pm and check it out.

UPDATE (2/24/06):

Today, February 24th, the US Men’s Team won the first American curling medal ever! They beat Great Britain 8-6 today to pick up the bronze medal!

Yeah, I love the Olympics and everything they stand for. For two weeks the entire world — the Virgin Islands even have an Olympic team — comes together in the spirit of competition. China and Taiwan, Israel and Iran, Lebanon and the Netherlands — everyone puts away their differences and competes for the pride of their nation, so that they can stand atop the medal stand listening to their national anthem as the whole world recognizes them as a true champion.

Here is to unity, to peace, and to the Olympics.

For a look back at my opinion on comments made before the 2004 Summer Games, check out Let Patriotism Rock.

Evidently “U.S. officials” want the athletes to use restraint when winning an event and appear humble rather then waving the American flag as has been previously done. The idea is that this will help show the rest of the world that America is not a boisterous rebel who likes to make naked Iraqi pyramids. Though telling Olympic athletes not to wave the flag after winning an event is like telling Ted Kennedy he can’t have a bottle of vodka after dinner.

Our country hand selects a group of elite athletes to represent America not because of political beliefs but because of their raw talent. These athletes should be allowed to wear their pride on their sleeve, right next to their American flag. If I had the seemingly once-in-a-lifetime chance to participate in an Olympic event and I happened to medal there would be only one thing running through my head: pride. I wouldn’t care what the current American policy was, all I would be thinking about is how I just became one of the greatest athletes in the world.

The Olympics are supposed to be a seventeen day break from the rest of the world. A place where politics and disputes are set aside and people of every nation can come together as equals. The official publicity statement for the 2004 Olympic Games is trying to portray this very message. They are calling it “Celebrate Humanity.” TV spots will run with phrases like “It doesn’t matter where you come from… all that matters is that you give it everything you’ve got” or “…an athlete aspires to be the best their country has to offer and ends up representing the best humanity has to offer.”

When the Olympic Games begin, if of course the Greeks finish the stadiums by August, our athletes should be allowed to show their patriotism and wave their flags in excitement and pride. After all, isn’t denying them that right against everything that our flag represents?