The Olympics void

It's Day One of one of the biggest voids I've ever known in my life. The Olympics are over, finished, kaput and I am left with this severe feeling of emptiness. Since I've somehow managed to capture a few aimless readers I'll share with you the things I won't and will miss about the Olympics.

The things I won't miss:

• Scrunchies- Somewhere Carrie Bradshaw is stamping one of her stilettos in agony over images of little gymnasts securing their hair with heinous scrunchies. I'm afraid my own sister is going to use these Olympic games as a reason why she can still rock a scrunchie. Then, I'll have to sit her down for a serious discussion and explain to her that any rationale that is reliant on teenagers clad in sparkly spandex is null and invalid.
  
• Any commentary by Cris Collinsworth- Ugh, I loathe that man. His voice drives me absolutely insane. To the point where I would rather watch an NFL game on mute rather than hear some of the idiotic remarks he comes up with.
  
• Gymnastic judging/controversies - I'm done with the whole "how old are the Chinese gymnasts controversy?" If it turns out that these participants (I want to call them girls, but that is insulting to anyone over the age of 14) are underage, well them shame on the Chinese team officials and the IOC for not preventing this BEFORE the games. I really don't want to hear anymore from Bela and Marta Karolyi and how they "believe" anything in terms of scores or Chinese team activities.
  
• Team USA only referring to Men's Basketball- I absolutely hated seeing on ESPN headlines with "Team USA" and the only topic that would be discussed was how the so-called "Redeem Team" was doing. I found it disrespectful to the rest of the athletic teams that they were called "Team USA (insert sport here)." Really, they are all Team USA and all teams should be called by the same title.
  
• Previously recorded broadcastings- I know, I could just control myself and not look up the final outcomes on the internet, but realistically that isn't going to happen. This mainly pertained to the track & field events, as I would read online what happened and then watch the coverage later in the day. Part of me wishes that ESPN wouldn't discuss any of the events until they were televised, but I know how impractical that would be.
  

Things I will certainly miss:

• The sheer pleasure of watching the games. My inner athletic nature came roaring out when the games were on. Thankfully, my husband loves that crazy nature about me and he's the same way (well, only quieter).
  
• Soccer, soccer, soccer and more soccer. I'm sorry, but I've actually fallen asleep during a MLS game before. Call me a soccer snob, but the games don't move fast enough for me. Thankfully, national teams are usually pretty top notch and the games reflected that talent. I really enjoyed watching as many of the women's games as I could. Total confession here, but my husband and I woke up early after our anniversary celebration so we could watch Team USA play New Zealand. I will surely miss all of the wonderful soccer games.
  
• Sports discussions with non-sports fans. That's one of the great things about the Olympics- suddenly people who normally don't pay any mind to sports are now true fanatics. That's a wonderful thing. Baltimore became alive with people fixated on Michael Phelps' every move. Thousands of people stayed late after a Raven's pre-season game to watch Phelps swim. That's incredible! Everywhere I went people had the games on and were cheering. I ran to Starbucks one night for coffee and the entire place shut down while a swimming final came on.
  
• The countless inspiration to work out more. Seriously, every single time I watched a women's event I felt compelled to do a few sit-ups and push-ups during the commercial breaks. Hopefully, this is just what I need in order to shape up for a half-marathon I'm running in October.
  

All in all, I'm going to miss the Olympics like crazy. As hurtful as this sounds, I don't think the current MLB season is going to help me get out of my post-Olympic funk. Hopefully, the white chocolate chip cookies my husband is baking will help. He feels sorry for me because my right knee and ankle are severely swollen due to yesterday's sunburn. I must admit, I get a fantastic sense of pride watching him use our stand mixer. This is the same guy who argued that no one would spend that much money on a silly mixer. Oh well, I'm off to eat fresh baked cookies.