Rich Creason
As I write this column, the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympics is beginning. Of course, Susie is watching it, as she did all of the opening ceremonies. I am not interested at all. And, I wasn’t interested in watching any of the events, but she was watching, so I sat in my chair and watched also.
While I wasn’t interested at all in some of the events, like gymnastics, fencing and a few others, I did enjoy some of the contests. I liked the women’s mountain biking event. Seven laps of 2.7 miles each over rugged terrain was fun to watch. Biking over logs and boulders, through drainage tiles, and up and down hills kept my attention to the end.
Since I used to do a lot of canoeing and kayaking in my younger days, I did watch the canoeing events. Granted, when I got out of the fast water, I would get out my pole and do a little fishing before continuing down the river. They didn’t do that in the Olympic events.
I watch some college basketball (Big 10, and now the conference in which Butler plays), but I don’t like professional basketball at all. Susie watched all of the Olympic basketball, so I was forced to watch it or go to the other room. I kinda enjoyed the women’s basketball.
Our daughter, Angi, ran track and cross country while in high school and college. Of course, I watched it then, but now I can’t handle watching a bunch of athletes just running in circles for a long time. (Same with the street bicycling races.)
I made the swimming team in high school. Unfortunately, when I went to the doctor to get my physical, he wouldn’t let me on the team because I had severe asthma back then. My coach was really upset because I was the best swimmer he had in the butterfly and the breast stroke. But again, on TV, I just didn’t enjoy watching the swimmers. Ditto with the diving.
I kept watching for some professional football on the Olympics, but I guess that’s not a sport for them. Fortunately, pro football started back Sunday on TV. Of course, the Colts lost, but I think they always lose all of their preseason games.
I raised horses in my younger days, participated in rodeo, broke horses, drove harness horses, and was a blacksmith when I was 14, making the shoes and putting them on the horses. I didn’t see any of that on TV, but I did watch some of the equestrian events. It was slow and not very exciting, but it did involve horses.
Most nights, while I was watching the Olympics with Susie, I had the Fort Wayne Tincaps minor league baseball on my phone. Our grandson, Benjamin, is a batboy for the Tincaps and we have been driving 100 miles to watch the games a couple times a month for several years. Again, no baseball on the Olympics.
So, while they weren’t very high on my choices of TV shows, the Games were on, and I watched them instead of doing all of the other things I should have been doing. I had projects in the garage making sawdust, which I neglected. I had weeds growing in the garden, which should not have been allowed to be there. I had deadlines for several publications, which I pushed to the last minute before writing.
But, finally, the Olympics are over. I will get back to the things I should be doing instead of sitting in my recliner in front of the TV. The big question is, why did I spend so much time watching these events if I did not enjoy them? Good question.
I wonder if they will be running reruns for the next few weeks.
Rich Creason is an award-winning outdoors and travel writer whose work has appeared in local, regional, national and international publications for 40 years. Born in Anderson, he is a graduate of Markleville High School. He lives in South Madison County with his wife, Susie. He may be contacted at [email protected].
