Thoughts While Running #023
super fans.
Like most of the world, I have been spending all of my time consuming as much Olympic content as humanly possible. We also just finished watching Sprint, which I highly recommend although if you’re watching it post Olympics, spoiler alert you’ll already know what happens. As a road runner, my knowledge of track + field is limited at best and I thoroughly enjoyed the behind the scenes of it all. Since watching, I’ve been channeling my inner Gabby Thomas and Sha’Carri Richardson while cruising down the Embarcadero, much to the dismay of all the jet lagged tourists stumbling out of Starbucks clutching their lattes. Sorry not sorry.
I could go into great detail about all my favorite events (the mens 10,000, the women’s 200, the men’s 1500, all the gymnastics) or all the times I’ve cried (the men’s 10,000, the women’s 200, the men’s 1500, all the gymnastics). I often complain to my husband that he can be the most annoying person to watch sports with because he takes it all so seriously, doing this fast clap thing with his hands while yelling at the screen and to my own embarrassment, these past two weeks that has been me. My apologies to our neighbors for all the screaming…no one was getting murdered, I was just watching Cole Hocker win gold.
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I normally watch the Olympics to some degree, but this time it hits different. Perhaps it’s the social media aspect (I’m too millenial for TikTok but I’ve gotten sucked into it just want to be BFF’s with Ilona Maher). It helps I don’t have a ‘real’ job right now so I have no issue giving my undivided attention to whatever events happen to occur between the hours of 10am and 1pm every day. I’ve also been listening to ‘Nobody Asked Us’, Des Linden + Kara Goucher’s pod on my runs, which they’ve been recording daily while in Paris, providing a thorough recap of all the track + field events from the day prior. It’s super conversational and I’d like to be BFF’s with them too. (I’d love for them to record the pod live from the store, if anyone knows anyone who can help make that happen).
It feels like there’s a different energy to the games this year; the weird, crowdless covidy 2021 Olympics a distant memory that seems so foreign and strange it’s hard to remember that’s even what the world was once like. The energy of the fans, the packed stadiums, the romance of Paris. The city is magical and there’s an undeniable chicness to the games - whether it be boats on the Seine during the opening ceremonies (controversial flex, but I loved it), the purple track (also a love) or the LVMH sponsorship that keeps a current of luxury coursing through it all. I am having incredible FOMO and since I’m here and not there, I’m vicariously living through everyone else via Instagram, particularly @lowaks, one of the cofounders of Left on Friday who is doing the Olympics right while supporting the Canadian beach volleyball team they’ve outfitted (speaking of chic). If you too would like to dress like an Olympian, you can buy a version of the suits they’re competing in.
As someone who admittedly forgot about the Olympic trials, this time around I have become an absolute superfan and it feels like the world is right there with me. It’s like we all needed the distraction of the Olympics, with the tumultuous US election looming, inflation, global warming etc. We needed this moment to unite + connect us, give us something to rally behind where the rivalries feel a little safer, where we can set our differences aside and cheer for the best athletes in the world no matter what country they are from.
I have a core memory of running cross country in high school, where the majority of the courses weren’t overly fan friendly, traversing golf courses or single track trails through the forest, until the final 100 or 200 meters; the finish line in sight and coaches, teammates and parents forming a literal human tunnel. My mom would usually be the person I saw first, yelling at me to kick it in and give it all I got as I attempted to simultaneously dig deep and also not throw up. It’s a memory that comes back no matter what race I run: my mom there at the finish screaming at the top of her lungs. It has been pure joy watching not only the athletes, but their moms (+ dads) cheering them on from the stands. NBC has even outfitted some of them with heart rate monitors and it’s been fun to watch Simone Biles’s mom’s heart rate elevate (along with my own) as she watches her daughter perform.
I didn’t watch any of the rowing events, but I wish I had based on Justin Best’s brother reacting to his gold medal win :
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…or how about Jordan Chile’s parents reacting to her bronze medal in the floor routine, after Chiles nearly missed out :
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…or one of my personal favorites to watch, Noah Lyles’ mom who is as animated and energized as her son (you can see where he gets it from!) :
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…who also watched her son advance to the 200m finals next to Snoop Dogg:
God bless Snoop Dogg, who has become the unofficial mascot of the Olympic games. Whatever intern made the suggestion NBC pay Snoop an insane amount of money to literally superfan it up, thank you and how amazing would it be to have him calling the election alongside Steve Kornacki? What a brilliant way to make an otherwise nerve wracking and stressful experience a little…lighter?
There is something truly endearing about watching famous people geek out over other famous people, and I’m not referring to Pharrell looking chic in LV at the gymnastics final. I’m talking all-in-wear-someone’s-face-on-a-t-shirt super fan, like Jason Kelce (who apparently also wants to be BFF’s with Ilona Maher) cheering on the US women’s rugby team :
Or practicing with the US women’s water polo team like Flava Flav, who is now an official sponsor (and official super fan). It has been pure joy watching his enthusiasm for the team and his commitment to helping these women succeed. He recently told the NY Times “They know deep down in their hearts and they know way in the back of their mind that Flav is right there for us.”
He also helped pay the rent of US discus thrower Veronica Fraley, along with Alexis Ohanian, after she tweeted about not having enough money despite being an Olympian.
I’m not sure what I’ll do with all my free time once the Olympics are over. Luckily we’re taking a family trip to Hawaii next week due to daycare being closed and SF entering into the month we fondly refer to as ‘Fogust’ so I’ll have a diversion, but I fully intend on bringing my super fan momentum into the Paralympics and I hope others do too.
The Olympics has also been a welcome diversion from the stress and anxiety that comes with opening a retail store, which feels a bit like an olympic fete in itself. I finally got around to posting on the store’s instagram so it looks real and not like a bot account and I think it looks pretty good? I’ve got some signage to put up in the windows of the store too as soon as the city gives us their blessing, which we’re still in limbo and waiting for. Being an entrepreneur is sort of like being on a roller coaster; there are ups and downs but you got in the car, strapped on your seat belt and whether you like it or not you’re along for the ride. It’s been a tough couple of days/weeks and last night seemed to crescendo. Everything is fine now and I think it’s actually better than it was 48 hours ago and had I not had that moment where it felt like the floor fell out we wouldn’t have gotten to where we are now. There were a lot of tears (from me) and had I not strapped myself into the car I probably would have attempted to get off the ride.
But I didn’t, and we’re here and next week we’ll be in Hawaii and it’s all good. If you or someone you know wants to do a coffee pop up in SF, give me a shout.
‘till then, go Team USA.
*k
I loved watching you run and cheering you on. I miss those days. So much fun!🏃♀️❤️