More Olympic Rambling

The Olympics are rife with sports for your viewing pleasure. Unfortunately, unless you are actually there or get cable, you can only watch whatever event NBC decides to show in their 8-hour block. So you will most likely see tons of gymnastics, track and field, swimming, diving, and perhaps some martial arts. What you are less likely to see are the air rifle finals, badminton or handball. Oh sure, you might get highlights like the game winning slam in table tennis or the calculated bullseye shot in any of the shooting competitions, but never the lead up and stories behind the competitors.

However… some “sports” just beg for media attention. They are either so fun or “neat” to watch that the network can’t possibly deny airtime. One such event is Trampoline. OK — who hasn’t jumped on a tramp and loved it (no pun intended)? Trampolines are seen in several backyards, these days, and I am soon to get one of my very own. I’ve always wanted one and it looks like I might be able to finally bounce my way to euphoria and health soon enough. Anyway, this event is only in its second Olympics but it has proven to be a tough sport indeed. Remember those games of Add-On you used to play? Someone would do a trick and then the next up had to do that trick followed immediately by another trick (often times a bit more difficult than the first to weed out the lesser jumpers). Well, imagine being the 10th person to go after 9 other gymnasts/divers/insane people. That is trampoline in the Olympics. You have to perform 10 consecutive tricks (10 “bounces”) and your first one sets the height to which all others must reach lest you be deducted for the loss of altitude. You are also deducted for traveling across the rectangular shaped trampoline. You are also deducted for obvious things such as form breaks. Control is king in this sport and any lack of it could result in your hurling body some 50 feet -away- from the mats. Oh, and a deduction. I think this could be called a sport just as much as diving is a sport. I mean, in diving, you fall off a platform and twist and flip before piercing the cooling waters of potential victory. In trampoline, you are doing the same thing, except you are going the opposite direction and you have to do it ten times in a row. It is an amazing thing to watch, these men and women who literally jump at the chance for gold. Bounce!

Watching some other sport in which Chile was participating, I couldn’t help but notice their flag. Anyone been to Texas? Chile’s current national flag was established in 1817. Texas’ 2nd (and current) design was established in 1839. Charles B. Stewart of Montgomery County is credited for the “Lone Star State’s” flag design. Perhaps Mr. Stewart took a trip to Chile, no?

The first flag, approved by the President of the Republic of Texas (Sam Houston) in 1836, was a golden five pointed star centered on an azure background. I love our state’s flag. It’s strong and there is no denying what state it belongs to. However, I think I would have preferred the original “National Standard of Texas”. We’re bigger than most countries in the world and a good many Texans would like to see Texas return to being its own nation (fantasy such as it is). If that were to happen, perhaps the old flag would be hoisted once more. Imagine -that- at the Olympics.