Aperçus of This Sporting Life

Fourteenth: The start, the recap, the flashback, the spotted witness

Ethan Switch - Sunday, 15 August, 2004 - 23:55:06 - print it raw

Acid trips and the world falls down laughing with the pill. The Games of the XXXVIII Olympiad have started proper with two points of solid exclamation and buckets spewing paranoia and political laterals.

Choreographed to the leading events of the bloodstream, the organisers of the opening ceremony weaved loaded drops of hedonism and hallucinations into scenes artistic. Wild images, strange floating bodies dangling blue from the wired skies, and the nakedness of Greek myth spread-eagled for the buji multi-million viewing global audience. Performance enhancing for some, recreational for others, the candies here are the lollies from the street corners and dancefloors. Take two and plan things in the morning, running faster than you ought to be.

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Five rings and they call this one bigger than the circus

Ethan Switch - Thursday, 12 August, 2004 - 18:03:19 - print it raw

On again for another Olympiad, athletes from around the world and their cashed up relatives, have dug in their heels to partake in the global sporting marvel with a motto adopted by many an illegal backyard pharmacy: Citius. Altius. Fortius. (Faster. Higher. Stronger.)

There is no sense of mystery as to what these muscle wrapped poster children eat for their breakfast. Drugs and dope and a nice sluice of diuretics line their guts like the abusive cattle forking and beefing their meaty hides.

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Pittman rises from knees, pits

Ethan Switch - Monday, 9 August, 2004 - 17:42:11 - print it raw

Urine drenched cyclists pumped with the blood of horses; paranoid weightlifters hopped up on crazy and security forces walking around holding onto themselves. These were the Australians given most attention leading up to the coverage of the Olympic games in Athens, Greece. Now, thanks to an overnight operation, the focus is back on the soul event, track and field. All due in no small part to Jana Pittman and her buckled, then unbuckled, knee.

Slamming its way across the myriad of spans for the attentive and vegetative, Pittman's woes and excruciating facial expressions were cast following the international travels of her knee. While stationed in Germany the focused joint was blown. A Swiss orthopaedic surgeon cast the first glance and deemed it wasted. Running over to London, Pittman scored a second opinion from Dr Fares Haddad with much better hopes of taking the knee and indeed, the rest of her body, onto the tracks in Greece. Within a 24-hour turnaround, well short of holding a stolen baby, her chances of competing went from 1% to 60% at the switch of nationalities.

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Kick it to Me! Kick it to Me!

Ethan Switch - Friday, 25 June, 2004 - 23:52:09 - print it raw

Firmly in the spotlight for the first half of the week, the football game proper, Soccer, scaled mind games and foot falls to bring about the awareness of their folly. The lacklustre Euro 2004 performances on the part of Italy shoveled their early exit and fuelled cries to hidden backdoors and intricate rigging techniques leading to their departure. Soon this was quickly dashed with the local football codes vying for attention.

Leading the charge, Andrew Johns' inability to make his mind up about his twilight playing career. The Newcastle Knights halfback was toying with the idea of jumping codes to the buoyancy of Rugby Union. Deals and shaking hands were passed all around in cloaked scenes as his mind raced toward the glittering prizes of dollar signs and the re-affirmation of his stellar hold in the rugby codes.

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Fingers Might Be Waving But Blood Ain't Running Here Today

Ethan Switch - Thursday, 27 May, 2004 - 21:29:56 - print it raw

Sunday saw the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder in Bulldog's Willie Mason released along with mentions many of adult respite, ritalin. Publicity commentators saw the news as an attempt to excuse his recent bad behaviour with police proceedings regarding the rape allegations. Children and parents across the country hoping to pin their hopes on blaming their bad behaviour took heed to the reaction of the blame-all on the relatively trend-worthy affliction. Others saw it as a way to boost the mental hold of the NSW State of Origin side against Queensland. Certainly nobody would challenge a man with any sort of medical condition or handicap.

Wednesday then opened up a can of spoils in the AFL. Hawthorn's Nathan Thompson revealed that he had been duelling with the demon of depression for years. Quick to stamp out the chiding fires of fault, Thompson said that it was not excusing his poor form for the season. Driving the openness of the illness is the hope that it will help others better cope and deal with their depression. However, no mention of a specific drug was dropped.

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Three Bombs, Two Committees, One City Under the Gun

Ethan Switch - Wednesday, 5 May, 2004 - 21:03:50 - print it raw

Premature explosions near a police station in Kalithea (south of Athens, Greece) pointed some to the rampant escalation of deadlines Greek construction companies are facing in the led up to the Athens Olympics. Others were concerned that the celebrations for the mark of 100 days until the start of the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad would rob the spotlight from security and terrorism surrounding the games and athletes.

Pouncing to conclusions, security and intelligence forces started drawing lines and pointed fingers toward terrorists as the source of the uproar. Clearly working to full effect, two committees have so far gone under the radar in relation to the actions of a few dislodged chunks of concrete and cement.

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