From Maine to Japan

I always feel vaguely guilty enjoying the Olympics: the glitz, the jingoistic subtexts, the nationalism. And yet... At their best (which they're often not, I grant) the Olympics really do have some transcendent moments. Somehow I always enjoy watching the medals ceremonies and the different ways people respond to the moment--the ones who just grin all the way through, the ones who suddenly look like they've been hit between the eyes, astonished to find themselves there, the ones who cry.

Watching in Japan is always odd. I'd never realized how much one relies on the announcers to make sense of what's going on. I have no way of understanding judo without a helpful announcer. Two guys stand there and hold each others' gi for a while, then there's a flurry of motion and the announcers start screaming--and I can't even tell who just won a point. :) And there are none of those soft-focus athlete profiles. I always kind of disliked them in theory, but watching an Olympics without them makes me realize how helpful they are in framing what's going on, personalizing it.

On the plus side, there are three channels running the Olympics here, all of them absolutely commercial-free. Envy me, muahahaha! I've watched badminton and air pistol and women's weightlifting. And I've already watched a lot of very grim judo wrestlers (in judo for Japan, it's gold or you might as well have stayed home. Like American basketball times about a million). I can't understand any of it, but it's really fun to watch. :)