On Second Thought …

I watched the group synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics competitions at the London Olympics this year for an extended period, the first time I’ve ever done so, and have come away with a changed attitude – some questions, perhaps, but at least acceptance.

The first time I saw synchronized swimming, my first thought was, “Jeez, look at their hair and eyes! That’s kind of spooky!” because their expressions never changed, their smiles frozen on their faces, their eyes wide open even though I knew they must be smarting for being open in the water all the time.

The first time I saw the rhythmic ribbon twirling gymnastics, my first thought was, “Jeez, is THAT a sport? It’s just ribbons on a stick!” and then when they segued into playing around with hula hoops and volleyballs, it just hammered home the “fact” to me that they were just fooling around.

Well … no more. I’ll admit that the synchronized swimming is truly athletic, thanks to the “split” camera work during the coverage. I mean, they toss their teammate up in the air with their feet never touching the bottom of the pool. And to maintain their position with arms in the air and legs pumping madly underwater? Holy mackerel.

Rhythmic gymnastics is another story. What really caught my eye was the beauty of the participants. Most of the top teams appear to be Eastern Europeans, and wow oh wow, are they made up beautifully. Plus, they demonstrated such grace and form. Athletes? I think it’s quite borderline, myself. They breathe hard afterwards, but then so do ballet dancers.

Whatever … I have new respect for them all. Just goes to show, one has to really watch a sport for a long time to appreciate what they do.

I did, and now I do.