Monday, August 11, 2008

What caused me to visit the ESPN website

I'm not sure if you knew it or not, but the 2008 Summer Olympics are underway.

They began on 8.8.08. The person who thought of having the Olympics every 4 years, along with the person who chose the precise year to begin these monumental games are nothing short of advertising pioneers. The fact that so many years later, in the 8th month of the 2008th year, the dates would fall perfectly in line with the traditional beginning of the Summer Games so that we could begin them on the 8th day is just pure marketing genius.

Details like that are either the result of happy coincidence or obsessive-compulsive planning. Either way, the forefathers are to be commended. Because I'm willing to bet that no one in the world forgot which day the Olympics were scheduled to begin. With "8.8.08" splashed across every flat surface holding still long enough to let it stick, there's a slim chance that anyone missed the fact that this is an Olympic year.

NBC, I hope you pay homage to the person or persons responsible for dropping the perfect marketing scheme right in your lap, whether those persons knew what they were doing or not.

And the symbolism of Michael going for 8 gold medals in this 8th month of the 2008th year is not lost on me.

We were at a surprise birthday party last night when the US men's 4x100 free relay swim team made Olympic history. Sadly, I missed the live event. Well, I saw the very end, like the last 25 m or so. But, I didn't see enough of the first part of the race to know the significance of what I was watching . . . the biggest comeback of the Olympics.

So this morning, when I realized what I'd missed, I ventured in to no-woman's land and visited the ESPN website. I found this article there. I had to share it. In case you missed the televised event, just like I did. Since I braved the testosterone-filled site, I thought I'd save all you other girls the trouble of having to go there yourselves.

You're welcome.

2 comments:

Larissa said...

That's a funny post. I read the story though, and that was really good. Thanks for taking one for the team! :)

Shelly@Sweet Journey said...

I saw it live...WOW!! It was the best race I have ever seen! You can watch the whole race over on www.nbcolympics.com. I just watched it with the kids and it was amazing, again! And I knew how it ended!