Carrying The Flag

Ah, the Olympics. 

TigerBlog will miss them when they're gone. He won't miss the "marquee" events. Did he miss anything in the men's basketball competition yesterday?

For him, the Olympics are way better when you focus on the more unsung athletes and competitions. 

In fact, TB has watched exactly zero of NBC's coverage. What he has done is watch pretty much everything and anything on Peacock, including with the great announcers, mostly British, who have been on the broadcasts. 

Take, for instance, the women's pole vault from Wednesday.

There was Roberta Bruni, an Italian pole vaulter. She's also a police officer. That's what the British announcer said just before one of her vaults in Wednesday's final. Then, when she missed, he said this: "put the cuffs on her."

Ah, the British announcers never let you down.

Also from the women's pole vault, there was Eliza McCartney from New Zealand. She was all smiles, at all moments, even when she was vaulting, or even when she was eliminated. One of the replays of her in super slo-mo showed her as she clipped the bar, and even then she was ear-to-ear.

TigerBlog was watching the cycling the other day as well. To be precise, it was the men's team pursuit track cycling. 

As he watched, two things were apparent to him: 1) he didn't understand the strategy at all and 2) he couldn't figure out how this was a team event, since it certainly looked like a head-to-head race. Eventually, he realized two other things: 1) there is a lot of strategy in team pursuit and 2) he was actually watching individual sprint at the time.

In the end, the Australians defeated Great Britain to win team pursuit. For the record, TB did learn that the team's time is determined by when the front wheel of its third rider touches the finish line. And since each team has four riders, that leads to all kinds of jockeying, moving up and down the track and ultimately an all out sprint to the finish.

The field hockey semifinal between China and the Netherlands was tremendous. The Dutch team scored in the final minute to tie it and force a shootout, which China won — but not before one of the Dutch women dribbled into the circle and then lifted it over the Chinese goalie into the cage. It was something TB had never seen before. 

As he's been saying, his favorite things about the Olympics are 1) the events he never gets a chance to see and 2) the Princeton athletes.

The women's water polo semifinals were yesterday, and the United States saw its run of three-straight gold medals come to an end with a loss to Australia. It was a brutal way to lose, in a penalty shootout. 

Ashleigh Johnson was again extraordinary in goal, as she always is. Someone more knowledgeable than TigerBlog needs to tell him if she's the greatest women's water polo player ever. 

Princeton's other Olympic women's water polo player, Jovana Sekulic, had a goal in the game. The Americans will now play for bronze tomorrow at 4:35 am Eastern time against the Netherlands, who lost 18-17 to Spain in the other semifinal.

By the time TigerBlog comes to you again, these Games will be over. 

For Princeton, the women's water polo match is a chance for two more medals, to go with the three golds and one silver already won. One of those gold medalists was Nick Mead, who won in men's fours rowing.

Mead was named yesterday as one of the Americans to carry the flag at the Closing Ceremonies Sunday. He was chosen in a vote of the American athletes, and he will share the honor with swimmer Katie Ledecky (whom TB believes looks exactly like Lady Edith from "Downton Abbey"). 

That's a really, really huge honor. Here's what Mead had to say about it:

"It is an incredible honor to be selected as the flag bearer, and to represent the United States and the sport of rowing, which has never had an American flag bearer in the history of the Olympics. To share this privilege with Katie makes it all the more special. My experience at the Paris Games has been the dream of a lifetime and I'm filled with immense pride, gratitude and joy. I also wish to thank the city of Paris, and the entire country of France, for hosting an incredible Games. I'll cherish these memories forever."

That's what the Olympic are about. The experience. The memories. The athletes who train their lives to get there. 

It's what TB loves about it. 

Enjoy the end of the Games. It's bittersweet, but they're always special.