The London Games beach volleyball tournament at Horse Guards Parade is
"already proving to be the Olympics hottest ticket,” according to Damien
Gayle of the London DAILY MAIL. LOCOG organizers have “done their best
to encourage a sea-side postcard atmosphere to the proceedings, with the
Benny Hill theme tune playing during every break in play and an
over-excited announcer doing his best to stir up an already electrified
audience.” Cheerleaders in “Fifties style swept onto the court for
provocative dance routines” (DAILY MAIL, 7/29).
REUTERS’ Estelle Shirbon wrote the beach volleyball event “got off to a
foot-stomping start on Saturday,” as spectators “enjoyed stunning
views, not just of the sandy court but also of some of the British
capital's most-visited attractions such as the Big Ben clock tower and
the London Eye, a giant riverside Ferris wheel.” The athletes
“unanimously praised the venue, which is the largest in Olympic beach
volleyball history, and the atmosphere.” Buckingham Palace is just on
the other side of St James's Park, and the announcer told the crowd
after a “particularly loud” cheer Saturday, "I think the Queen heard
you" (REUTERS, 7/28).
SI.com's Luke Winn wrote the "best party for those here in London is at
beach volleyball." Even U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron "couldn’t
resist stopping by on the opening day" (SI.com, 7/29).
In N.Y., Mike Vaccaro wrote the atmosphere was English decorum
“colliding with the dude-where’s-my-board-wax? vibe of beach volleyball,
right there in the air high above Whitehall Road.” It should seem “an
odd juxtaposition,” but it is “instead, perfect” (N.Y. POST, 7/29).
In Jacksonville, Joe Daraskevich wrote beach volleyball should work in
London “about as well as ice fishing works in Miami, but the Olympics
have a special way of bringing cultures together and London has done a
fine job of providing its own beach atmosphere” (JACKSONVILLE.com, 7/29).
ITSY BITSY, TEENY WEENY...: In Chicago, David Haugh
asked, “How were baseball and softball eliminated as Olympic sports
before the 2012 Games while beach volleyball was bumped into a
prime-time television slot back home? Why do you think the pretty,
ponytailed U.S. team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings
didn't start its match until the ridiculous hour of 11 p.m. locally?
Everybody knows the answer to both questions is money.” Haugh: “Feel
free to divvy up blame between NBC and the International Olympic
Committee for the ratings monster they have created since beach
volleyball became an Olympic sport in 1996 -- or credit them if you
enjoy a recreational sport loosening up the Olympics. Indeed, it can be
enjoyable to watch, and this was a fun, frolicking way to spend a
Saturday night abroad.” The emphasis on “bikinis and prime-time TV
perhaps benefits the popularity of the game but not the integrity of the
sport.” Haugh: “To objectify female Olympians diminishes their athletic
ability” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/29).
IMAGE IS EVERYTHING: London Mayor Boris Johnson in a
special to the London TELEGRAPH wrote a list of the 20 things
Londoners can be proud about of the Olympics so far. He wrote, "As I
write these words there are semi-naked women playing beach volleyball in
the middle of the Horse Guards Parade immortalised by Canaletto. They
are glistening like wet otters and the water is plashing off the brims
of the spectators’ sou’westers. The whole thing is magnificent and
bonkers" (TELEGRAPH, 7/30).
TAKE COVER?: In N.Y., Frank Isola noted the “frigid weather even
forced the participants in the day’s final match to alter their
outfits” Saturday. All four players in the U.S.-Australia match “wore
sports tops with sleeves to stay warm.” The Australian team “wore tights
while May-Treanor and Walsh-Jennings kept to their California roots by
wearing bikini bottoms.” May-Treanor said, “We warmed up with pants, but
Kerri said she was getting hot so we took off our pants” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/29).
The AP’s Jimmy Golen noted two-piece swimsuits have “long been the
standard attire in the sport.” Players say the “skimpy clothes allow
less room for sand to get underneath and chafe.” But int'l rules
have “long allowed women to wear warmer clothes when the temperature
drops" (AP, 7/28).
