Faster, Higher, Stronger…..Lesser

The London 2012 Summer Olympics is well underway. Like the 3-4 billion people around the world that watch it, I am enthused to follow these games.

People have different favorite events to watch, like swimming, gymnastics, track and field, cycling, basketball, soccer, or synchronised swimming. Synchronised swimming? Yes, that is a sport. And a popular event to watch too!

One of my favorite events of the summer games is beach volleyball where “Faster, Higher, Stronger and Lesser” is the olympic motto. Lesser? The players’ uniforms that is! It’s hard to deny the fact that some may be watching this sport just because of what the athletes are wearing.

Beach volleyball is a recent addition to the olympic games. It became an official event only in 1996 which was held in Atlanta. While most are waiting to see an amazing skillful play, or a great forceful spike, or an awesome diving save, some may be waiting for a disastrous wardrobe malfunction.

Kidding and ogling aside, I do like volleyball. I played volleyball in high school.  Of course I prefer basketball, but we had no choice at that time. The “higher” authorities in our academy deemed that basketball was the root of evil and the cause of many fights among students, so in an epic act, they sawed down our school’s basketball posts. I was a sophomore then. Thus, volleyball became the prescribed team sports in our high school. I learned that a few years after we graduated, they erected back the basketball goals.

Because I was lanky and almost a stick figure when I was in high school, my physique may be better fit for volleyball than the more rugged and full contact game of basketball. I learned to toss, spike, and dive for the ball. My more than 2 feet-vertical leap also came in handy in volleyball. I became skilled in the sports that I even made it to our school’s team that competed with other schools.

I have not played volleyball for many years, and I don’t know if I still have the skills. My vertical jump is probably reduced to 2 inches too! I am now just content in watching it.

When they showed the women’s beach volley game yesterday between the US and Czech Republic, it was at night and the temperature was a bit cold where the event was held. So instead of the usual bikini uniforms, the players wore something more. Much more. I know many were disappointed.

But I still watched and finished it. Just for the love of the game.

(*photo from here)