I do not watch sports. More accurately, I do not watch
athletes. I like watching sports, but I can't follow teams. I go to colleges sports games, but I don't know the athletes' names even though they go to my own university. I haven't ever really felt like I want to watch something
just to see someone play. I'll watch football or basketball or golf or diving, but I couldn't name any athletes. (Well, that's not exactly true. Kobe. Shaq. Tiger. Football players have names?)
Until now.
A couple of weeks ago, my boyfriend and I were idly flipping through channels at his place (where there is no Tivo, for shame) and we came across the Winter X Games. To be honest, I'd never heard of Winter X Games before. But then again, I never let my channel-surfing stop on ESPN on purpose, and usually when I do it's because someone else wants to "check the score."
However, while watching these so-called Winter X Games, I found my new favorite athlete. More accurately, my first favorite athlete.
Shaun White. The Flying Tomato. He won his 4th consecutive gold medal at the X Games, making him a "fourpeat" champion - meaning he has won gold 4 times. Get it? Repeat, Threepeat, Fourpeat? The X Games are positively Seussian. It is only fitting that this strange San Diego kid with Farah Fawcett hair is their champion.
It is nothing unusual to be fascinated with Shaun White. Coming into the Olympics, "Il Pomodoro Volante" was the big star of the US snowboarders, and snowboarding, unlike, say, the biathlon, is a sport that US stars dominate
anyway. Then, the Tomato went and won gold in the halfpipe, after falling in the qualifying round. He has since flown home in glory. He told NBC that the stewardesses on his flight home were plying him with drinks ("I'm talkin' bout Mountain Dew, baby"), a testament to the post-Olympic fame-fest, and now he's sure to be on the talk show circuit.
Sadly, the reason why I was initially drawn to him is not so much his athletic ability as the fact that his personality has that irresistable Seth Cohen quality - he's full of self-deprecation and self-mocking, but really he's cocky as hell. Shaun White reminds me of that guy in my high school who was funny and cool and seemed approachable until I initiated conversation first - at which point he would an awkward joke and move on quickly. And I have always been a sucker for that guy.
However, The Flying Tomato got me watching sports. Once I stopped thinking about That Guy, I realized - this kid is
good! Watching the X Games, he did 1080s effortlessly (that's 3 turns in the air, beotch) when everyone else was screwing up 900s. That, combined with his by-now-famous grin and his good humor, really made me pay attention to the screen. And it was the first step towards paying more attention to the athletes I've previously ignored. I have never watched the winter Olympics more than I have this year - and more importantly, I've never enjoyed watching the Olympics more, period. The difference is, of course the level of engagement. Before now, I could be mildly impressed with the athletic ability exhibited in the Olympics - it is the Olympics after all, and even non-sports fans like me can be impressed without knowing the subtleties of the sports. However, my newfound interest in the athletes playing the sports has drawn be into the events like never before. I read an article about Apolo Ohno the other day, and actually I don't believe I've missed one of his events yet. I
can't stand the Korean guys who keep beating him (by Korean guys, I mean Ahn Hyun-Soo and Lee Ho-Suk, because I actualy know their names, even though I had to look up how to spell them). I actually get tense watching the skaters almost-skid around the rink. Watching skiing (aerials specifically), I find myself with my hands in fists, willing the athletes not to have "too much compression" in their landing.
What the hell happened to me?
The truth is that once I got hooked on one athlete I was going to get hooked on all of them (or at least the ones that NBC handily makes video profiles of and who are living up to expectations... er, Join Bode anyone? Didn't think so). My TV watching began with soapy, overdramatic, half-self-aware plots and characters who drew me in despite my better judgment. Now, watching the Olympics this year, I have been drawn in in a similar way. These are like reality TV stars, except with less editing and less confessionals!
It's almost better than reality TV in some way, because it is purer. Eventual winners in the Olympics are competing with other people, sure, but their main struggle is with the sport itself, and with trying to master it, and they aren't concerned (unless they are Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick) with petty quarrels over who is better. Winning proves it. And I'm hooked on watching people prove themselves now. As a result, I have finally started to see the nuances, the hairline wins, the hairline fractures - the little things that have kept normal people watching sports while I sat around with my My So Called Life DVDs. I think I may be close to joining their ranks.
I want to be fair to the Flying Tomato. He is not a character, even though you could argue that he is forced to be one with TV cameras on him all the time these days. As I watched him, his appeal for me shifted, and I began to see him less as the Seth Cohen of the Olympics and more as what he is - a normal guy who happens to be really, really good at snowboarding (and skateboarding, but since I grew up in southern California and think skaters are annoying, I'm ignoring that for the moment) and has been shoved under an Olympic spotlight as a result of natural ability and a sense of adventure. That's his appeal - he is a guy who found himself in the limelight, is living it up for now, taking his free swag. It makes me a little bit envious. I want to hang out with him and see what it's like to win gold. And I have this feeling I'll want to catch up with him later. Is there such a thing as a five-peat?
For more information on Shaun White, including some oh-so-hilarious interviews (and I love how dedicated he is to the fam! I bet they are a blast):
Athlete Info Home Page on NBCOlympics.comObligatory Heartwarming Family StoryInterview
