For the next two and a half weeks, I am suspending the normal reviews posted here (I know it's been spotty lately), in order to cover what I'm calling the "Quadrennial International Sporting Event" (QISE) to avoid copyright issues or angry letters from the QISE Committee.
I'm not a huge sports fan--I'll watch the S***r Bowl for the commercials, and I do enjoy seeing a baseball game in person once in a while, but for the most part, I couldn't care less. That changes when the QISE comes around. I'm glued to the TV set (even more than usual), and have been since I was a child. I even have a small connection to QISE--my mother was a nurse, and gave Dave Wottle, winner of the 800m run in Munich in 1972, his inoculations before the trip. In 1984, SF Productions taped a video of a fake QISE in North Canton, OH. I need to get around to editing that at some point...
Even more than the actual events, I love the coverage--the overblown pageantry, the breathless announcers, the ridiculous graphics. So, I broke down and got cable again (I've been a "cord cutter" for a few years) just so I could get all the coverage from the NBC galaxy of networks. It also allows me to review the online coverage (you have to have cable or satellite to get access). I have a Tivo with a 1TB disk expander hooked up, so I can record all the channels at will.
That's what I will be doing for the next 19 days (there are soccer matches starting today, BTW)--covering the coverage, both on air and online. I might mention major wins and losses along the way, as well as complain about bad QISE decisions (how are NBA players "amateur" athletes?).
We'll start tomorrow--I hope you enjoy it.