I don’t know about you but for me certain events of the Olympic Games can have me riveted. Last night it was both swimming and gymnastics. While I love the whole fascination with Ryan Lochte (although I would much rather watch Cullen Jones) it’s Gabby Douglas’ gymnastic routines that nearly drove me to tears each time–and it’s just the preliminaries. I think it’s because the announcers just wouldn’t shut up. All of this made me root harder for Gabby because the announcers seemed to be looking for her to fail in every event. They kept saying stuff like “will Gabby’s nerves get the better of her?” and when she stepped out of bounds on the floor exercise it was something like “well there’s no way she’ll make the all around now”. But they were wrong, she did. This girl is playing to win. She’s confident and excited. She is so ready for this moment and she is there for team and country.
But we are going to have to root harder for Gabby as she moves forward because these commentators don’t know how to do anything else but speculate. I think I read on Twitter that someone likened the commentary from the Olympics to them trying to bring reality show elements to the games. I couldn’t agree more. The announcers seem more self-conscious than usual. It’s like they’re trying to fill every moment with idle chatter. And it all became clear when Aly Raisman beat Jordyn Wieber for a spot in the all-around. I thought it was awful that the camera wanted to capture disappointment before joy. In a word, it was shameless. And in that moment Gabby wasn’t even part of the story–even though she too had won a place in the all arounds. When they finally got around to interviewing Gabby, they asked about her nerves once again. I loved her response. She said she wasn’t nervous and that she conquered them by doing repeated sets in the gym and that meditating on scriptures and the Bible had helped her greatly. While I want her to medal of course I just love seeing this young woman so secure in who she is and what she came to do. And there is something about seeing how her mother sacrificed that makes this all the more rewarding. So go Gabby go!
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