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There were times today — several times, in fact — when I didn’t know if I was awake or asleep. I thought I was one, but I might have been the other. I knew which one I wanted to be, but I didn’t have enough awareness to control the situation. It was kind of freaky, and not nearly as pleasant as it sounds.
This was the culmination of the first ten days of the Olympics, for one thing. I’ve spent way too much time paying attention to sports I don’t even care about. Sometimes even if I do sort of care, it doesn’t make them all that compelling to watch. Why NBC spent two and a half hours showing us the women’s marathon Saturday night I’m not sure. Why I spent any time watching people run through the streets of Beijing is even more of a mystery.
Here’s the part of all this Olympic stuff that fries me the most. While the marathon was going on, Michael Phelps and Dara Torres were swimming for medals in the Water Cube, in the most riveting events of the Games so far. They were being shown live on the East Coast, but I wouldn’t see them for three hours. And, thanks to accidents of the information age, I already knew the results by that time.
I don’t blame NBC for my being so tired today I didn’t know if I was coming or going, sleep wise. I totally blame myself for being sucked into watching rowing last night, though. I realize these athletes have dedicated their lives to the half hour or so they would be on the center of the world’s stage, but I knew nothing more about them or their sport after I watched than I did before, and I couldn’t tell you now, a few hours later, the names of the winners (or losers, for that matter). And I’m pretty sure all that was on tape when NBC showed it anyway. |
