A funny thing happened on the road to Rio

I won’t make bones about the fact that I’ve long believed that sport is the essence of understanding life. I’m biased. I’m a long-time athlete, many times over. I’ve won much and lost more. I’ve tried to impart wisdom and experience as a player, coach and referee. I’m a willing spectator. But, even I sometimes have to blink at what sports throw at us. Take the little sideshow going on in Brazil. 

I thought I’d seen everything till I saw the US women line up for a relay rerun…alone, with just the clock against them. What!? They had to beat a measly time to qualify and bump the innocent Chinese ladies out of the final. Surprise! They clocked the fastest time. I had joked that the US ladies could have screwed up by false starting, running out of their lane, or dropping the baton again. Mercifully, with the lack of pressure that comes from having no one else around, the sashayed to an easy ‘win’. Hope they won’t have to run the final alone. Are the Chinese happy? They were unavailable for comment, but word reached me that they were rethinking funding the US budget deficit. See whose suey gets chopped! 

The crowd didnt know how to react to a race of one team

They’d protested being bumped and impeded in the semis, by Brazil (hosts). So, Brazil got disqualified. As if relationships between the countries weren’t sour enough as a result of #Lochtegate. 

Did she get impeded? Smart enough to pick up baton and finish the race, though.

We’d seen that diving for gold is legitimate on the track but can get you zero points when done in the pool. The world has gone off its collective rocker?

Jamaicans say ‘Donkey thinks the world isnt level’. He’s right?

Shaunae Miller has inspired meal deals in Nassau, while Zakharov is looking forward to years in a Gulag. 

We had David Katoatau, from Kiribati, dancing-while-weightlifting, for climate change issues, as his Pacific island sinks. 

Move it to the right🎶🎶🎶🎶

Sadly, he got no style points. 😊

We have the attention grab attempt by a bunch of US swimmers, who concocted a story about being robbed at gunpoint, when they were too silly to fess up about a wild night out. They can tweet, Snapchat and post onFacebook, but can’t understand that CCTV is everywhere and your life is under constant surveillance. 

“Gee, is this what it’s like being on reality TV, Ryan?”

Instead, they create shame and scandal for themselves and their country. The cost will be many times what paying fully for their damage would ever have been. Maybe, Loctite is looking for a new ambassador. 🙂

But such idiocy seemed slight compared to those people who tried to run onto the women’s Marathon course. 😳🙄 Sadly, a few races have been plagued by such actions. 

Wrong time and place…London Marathon

We still have a few days to go and craziness isn’t in short supply.

Amidst the joy and blood and sweat and tears, we have utter foolishness. I suspect that won’t change, soon.