I love the Olympics! (and slingbox)

On Monday I will post the answer re: the mystery city and share the adventures we had there!

This past weekend we stayed in London, but it was a very USA weekend. Saturday afternoon we went to a birthday party for one of my girlfriends that was overflowing with expats. It was really nice and among the American company was lots of American food. Yum. Then we went to see the movie Dark Knight. Pat loved the movie and we both loved seeing all the beautiful scenes of Chicago. I am sure the people behind us were annoyed with all the "That's my office! That's near your office!" but we loved it! And Sunday we hit a pub that we have walked past a millions times but never actually walked through the door . . . the menu boasts the "Sears Tower" and "Board of Trade" appetizer platters as well as a burger recipe that is over 20 years old from, where else, Chicago. The verdict: A for effort and B (maybe C+) for food.

I am not sure what prompted this surge of American pride. Perhaps I caught Olympic-mania? Slingbox has definitely been my best friend lately (it is hard for me to admit this, but it is definitely our most used wedding gift. Click here to read about this great gadget). I love the Olympics! Always have, always will. And I would be completely distraught if I couldn't catch all the action. Especially the gymnastics. Bet you didn’t know that I should have been Olympic gymnast . . . yep, little 7 year-old Becky loved to bounce around the gym! I was even asked to join the training team after rocking the competition and sticking my landing at the end of an amazing routine on the uneven bars. First place baby!!! My parents response to the awesome opportunity (and awesome time & financial commitment)? No dice: “We are having another baby.” I guess I could be bitter, but I’m not . . . well, not anymore anyway. I just look at Danny like my own gold medal. Buddy, you are worth a million gold medals!

Everyone obviously knows the Phelps story (he rocks and seems like such a great guy!) and you have probably heard about Nastia Liukin & Shawn Johnson and Kerri Walsh & Misty May-Treanor. They all have stolen the headlines as well as our hearts with their dominance and their smiles. And they make us proud to be American, no matter where we live!

But have you heard of table tennis? Even if you know that it is a sport in the Olympics, you might not be aware of these interesting (weird) tid-bits:

*the Chinese are CRAZY for it

*the most intense professional league in the world is in China, and for the year leading up to the Olympics all foreigners were kicked out of the league to ensure that China dominated in Beijing

*one of their favorite foreigners is a German by the name of Timo Boll. They voted him sexiest foreign athlete, above David Beckham! Decide for yourself:

Boll:


Beckham:


*in 2005, the members of Chinese National Table Tennis Team put together a rap that has been compared to the 1984 Chicago Bears Super Bowl Shuffle! Check it out:



Ok, I admit I am a Chicago girl and still know every word to the Super Bowl Shuffle. I admit that I don’t speak Chinese (but talk to me in a year), so I have no idea what they are saying. But still. Really? Does this even compare to the Super Bowl Shuffle? I am not convinced. Are you?



The table tennis final rounds will take place this weekend and I will be sure to update you on how the medals shake out. Click here to learn more about table tennis.

I have to give a shout out to my awesome in-laws for hosting our slingbox and making my Olympic obsession possible! Merci beaucoup for allowing the (hidden) dish on your roof and mucho gracias for tweaking it when we have technical difficulties. No rest for the weary slingbox though. Just as the Olympics are winding down, it is on to another obsession and the conventions!