Women's Softball... oh yeah!
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2008
1
25
46
Trip End
Sep 04, 2008
Beijing,
China
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Anyway, he was meeting someone to sell a couple of beach volleyball tickets. We were of course intrigued but still not really trying to open up negotiations with the guy. Out of curiosity we started chatting him up, and since he never stops selling, he began to tell us which tickets he had available. Any daytime events on weekdays are out of the question because of teaching, but the least expensive tickets were for a 5 p.m. event. Women's softball semi-finals. The guy had four tickets, and there were four of us friends standing there. For 225 RMB/each, we could not argue with the price, and decided it was our destiny to attend this match.
What do we know about softball? Very little. What will we know by the time we go to our Olympics game on August 20? A lot more. We want to become experts so that when some beefy girl walks up to the plate, we will know her history, her stats, her astrological sign. AND of course the USA team will be playing in this semi-finals game. That is part of the destiny we perceived.
I did learn today that this is the last Olympics in which softball and baseball will be officially included. This means we will play an important role in helping to say goodbye to a tradition.
Anyway, I feel like I got my anxiety of seeing something-anything!-Olympics out of the way. However, softball doesn't seem special to the Olympics. Not like certain athletic events that only compete on the world stage once every four years. Now, I want to get tickets to something I actually want to see. Even just to go to the Bird's Nest or Water Cube would be pretty awesome. But, the point is, no matter what, I will not leave Beijing in the summer of 2008 without witnessing an Olympics event.
In the more immediate future, we have to decide where to go to watch the Opening Cermonies this Friday. In my idealistic mind, I'd like to find somewhere in the public space where I can feel like I am celebrating among the Chinese people. Around town, there will be a couple places showing the CCTV broadcasts on jumbo trons. However, the more I read the ex-pat magazines, the more attractive an American sportsbar with 65 plasma screen TVs sounds. We shall see. Either way, it's hard to say that the hype has truly escalated now that we are T- 3 days...
Where are all the wai guo ren, or foreigners??? Actually, today in Starbucks (I'm not ashamed), I saw a massive woman wearing Brasil athletics clothes. She's obviously some competitor, and I wished I could speak Portuguese to ask her which sport she plays. Actually, considering she was in Starbucks, she almost certainly speaks English, but she was twice my size so I was shy about talking to her. I really just wanted to touch her, a real-live Olympics contendor, and wish her good luck. One World, One Dream, baby.
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*True fact: 4,104 Chinese children have been named Aoyun ("Olympics") as of June, 2008. 90 percent of whom are boys.
*For a most ridiculous blog post from my favorite boyfriend, click here: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amrosen/2/1217941320/tpod.html
