Obsessed Much?

So, the Summer Olympics are here....and I LOVE it! I'm all for country, patriotism, gold medals and Michael Phelps' abs. I get a thrill watching our men and women kick other countries' butts. It makes me dream of the days when I was a little girl watching Mary Lou Retton win gold while I flipped and did headstands thinking that one day, that would be me! I just knew I would be an Olympic gymnast, but alas, I didn't have the grit.

Now Michael Phelps....that's grit! It has been so much fun watching him swim his way to world records and Olympic glory. Let's not fail to mention our men and women's sand volleyball teams! If you had asked me a week ago if I would watch the Olympics I would have said, "Probably a little". If you had asked me, "Will you watch sand volleyball and cycling?" I would have laughed in your face. But what did I watch last night? OH....sand volleyball and cycling. I digress...

Here are a few incredible photos from the opening ceremony. You can find more pictures at this website.

With all of the Olympic hype it made me say to myself: "Self, what are the top 5 moments in Olympic history?" So after thought and a little googling, here is what I have come up with:

5. Derek Redmond (Barcelona 1992)- We've all seen the highlight reel...he tore his right hamstring in the semi-final of the 400m and fell to the ground. When he saw the medics with the stretcher running towards him he began to hobble on one leg to finish himself, at which point his dad rush to the track and helped him to the finishing line.

4. Mark Spitz (Munich 1972)- Seven events, seven gold medals, seven world records, and a killer moustache. You had me at hello. (Now Phelps is trying to beat him with 8!)

3. U.S. Men's 400 meter Freestyle Relay (Beijing 2008)- Jason Lezak pulls off the unbelievable, making up a half-body deficit to win by a few tenths of a second.

2. Nadia Comaneci (Montreal 1976)- Scored a perfect 10 on the uneven bars. No one had EVER done this. The scoreboard couldn't even go to 10, so it read 1.0- Amazing!

1. Kerri Strug (Atlanta 1996)- girlfriend broke her ankle (actually a severe sprain and tendon damage) on her first vault and went back to the runway to do her second! It is so amazing to me that she did that for her team....and her country. Here I go getting all sappy! She landed her vault, Team USA (The "Magnificent Seven") won the gold, and Bela Karolyi carried her (crying in pain) off the mat and onto the medal podium.

Good luck Team USA. Bring home the Gold(s)!