It was an interesting experience to watch the Olympics outside the good ol' USA. The Aussies are fanatical about their Sports and the Olympics were no exception. What they covered on TV was different; hours of rowing and bicycle racing; swimming of course but very little gymnastics. Of course we cheered for the Americans but it was hard not to yell for the Australian women's powerhouse swim team since most of them were native Queenlanders - Stephanie Rice is a local Brisbane girl! Did you know the national anthem of Australia is: Advance Australia Fair, not Waltzing Matilda which was a close second when they voted on it in 1977.
We have learned there is an intense rivalry between the Pommies (Brits) and the Aussies in sports dating back to a cricket match between the two in 1882! The Aussie won and since then the Pommies hate to lose to the Aussies especially on the Cricket field, rugby and the Olympics. In the 2004 gold medal count, the Aussie stomped the Pommies and apparently bragged a lot. In Beijing the Pommies beat the Aussies and drove a moving billboard around Sydney and London that read: "where the Bloody Hell were you?" over a British Union Jack flag showing the medal count. great sportsmanship?!!! wow!!
We did not miss NBC's Bob Costas!
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