I watched a hell of a lot of Olympics – it is probably sad just how much. But I really enjoyed the two weeks. Despite all the criticism NBC got, overall I thought they did a good job, considering how complex the task was. They had to explain the rules and contexts of often arcane sports, held at scores of different locations, from early in the morning to late in the evening (London time). For the most part the images were wonderful, the play-by-play competent to very good, and the analysis helpful and insightful. When NBC Sports puts its mind to it they are almost always head and shoulders above the sports broadcasting of any other network (God help us if Fox Sports ever gets to produce the Olympics). Probably 90% of the events I watched were presented live or near live, but as I look at the list of my top 15 I see that 6 of them (40%) I was forced to watch on tape delay during the primetime show.
Not than anyone cares, but just to record it for my myself while still fresh, here are my 15 most memorable moments (by which I mean not just brief time intervals, but competitors or events). I actually could have made it a lot longer, but while I enjoyed the many hours of field hockey, water polo, shooting and (especially) handball, I realize those probably will not be truly memorable for me down the road: *1. **Usain Bolt: He won Gold in the 100, 200 and 4X100 Relays. For my money he made a mockery of NBC’s attempt to crown Michael Phelps as the greatest Olympian of all time (props to Al Michaels for finally pushing back on Bob Costas during the Closing Ceremonies on this). Bolt’s doubling up on these three Golds in two consecutive Olympics was stunning, and he is the kind of athlete that you just can’t take your eyes off of. The moment just before the 200M final when he interacted with the young volunteer behind his block and made him smile despite his best efforts to remain professional was priceless.*** 2. US Women’s Soccer Team: I am not a real soccer fan, and resisted the hype during and after the last World Cup, but they got me this summer. The Gold Medal game was good, but that semi-finals vs Canada was really just great sports. As much as I have grown to dislike Misty May, I have grown to really like and respect Amy Wambach, Megan Rapinoe and others. 3. Oscar Pistorius: I also try to resist sentimental, feel-good TV moments, but this went beyond the usual made for TV hype, and got to a little bit of the hypothetical Olympic spirit. Pistorius himself does a great job of just being an athlete, and also being a para-Olympian, and carries it with grace and dignity. The images of him in the starting blocks of the 400M, and then swopping badges with the Grenadian who went on to win the Gold, were great moments. 4. USA Men’s Basketball Team: Gold medal. I am a big NBA fan, but after the original Dream Team I have been hostile to lukewarm on pros in the Olympics. I watched every USA game this summer (and a lot of the other men’s BB as well) but did not really get excited until this morning, watching what really was a great gold medal game. And the long hug between my two favorite NBA players (Laker teammates Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol) after the game was priceless. 5. Allyson Felix: Gold in 200M, and both relays. Felix was my favorite US track athlete going into these games, and I was happy to see her do so well. 6. Mohamed Farah: Gold in 10,000M and 5,000M. Homeboy favorite, and just two great athletic performances. 7. David Rudisha: Kenyan Maasai tribesman who dominated the 800M. This was a great example of Ebersol’s story telling approach to the Olympics done right; this was someone I had never heard of until I watched the race, and their short backgrounder just before it really made the race more interesting. 8. Gabby Douglas: All-around Women’s Gymnastics Gold, Team Gold. NBC does such a horrid job of covering this event that I almost always wind up hating whoever wins just from the spilled over bile I build up. But not evenAl Trautwig, Tim Daggett and Elfi Schlegel good ruin Douglas’ great performance. She also was the subject of one of the best photographs to come out of the Olympics, soaring over the balance beam, and the crowd, and the entire sport. 9. *Jessica Ennis:** **Gold in* Heptathlon. So much pressure, handled with so much grace. And she makes being in great athletic shape sexy – much sexier than almost anything I saw in the bikini-ball tournament (there was that one tall Spaniard…). 10. Men’s Soccer Final: Mexico vs Brazil. Again, I am not a big soccer fan, but since my daughter went to one of the early Brazil games, I followed them through most of the Olympics, and living in California I usually root for Mexico (sometimes instead of the US). Great Final game. 11. Lorig Khatuna, Women’s Archery: I really enjoyed the individual archery competitions, and the structure of the event allows you to get to know and follow several of the competitors in some depth. Khatuna was an obvious athlete to focus on, as she was the technical advisor for The Hunger Games. Following her to the brink of the Medal rounds was great, then she lost both the semi-finals and the Bronze medal match. Even after that, the match between two Mexican women, and then between the winner of that and the Korean who had beaten Khatuna, was great. 12. Women’s triathlon: Wow! This was really interesting, especially the photo finish for Gold between Switzerland's Nicola Spirig Sweden's Lisa Norden. I have watched a little triathalon outside of the Olympics (Escape >From Alcatraz), but I did not expect it to be this riveting. 13. Bradley Wiggins wins Time Trial: This was particularly interesting of course given the Tour de France, and the local support he was getting. Plus that wild throne the leader gets to sit in. 14. Brownlee Brothers win the Men’s triathlon: Not as close as the women’s, but the storyline of the two British brothers, and one of them having to go to the penalty box for a while, made it interesting. *15. *David Boudia wins Men’s Platform Diving: I am probably just putting this here to get to the round number of 15, and I could easily put 4 or 5 other moments here instead. I am not a big diving fan, and get irritated by NBC’s primetime Ebersolization of it. But Ted Robinson and Cynthia Potter are not nearly as obnoxious as their Gymnastics counterparts, and this event played out with what looked like genuine drama and competition.** -- TV or Not TV .... 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