Watching

I can't stop watching the Olympics. They're fucken addictive. If I'm home, I'm watching NBC. Period. Except for when Pardon the Interruption is on, because Kornheiser is god.

I can't stop watching the Olympics. I'm a sucker for the underdog. I revel every time Rulon Gardner comes on TV. This man lost a frostbitten toe. Then he broke his arm in a motorcycle accident. He is currently wrestling with pins in his dislocated wrist. It's inspiring. It truly is.

When he lost today, it's almost like hearing news that a friend lost something that important. You relate to these athletes.

The silver-medal winner in the men's 100m reportedly lived in a shipping container with drug feens and prostitutes. He worked construction and used his first paycheck to buy clothes for his brothers. And now he is recognized as the second fastest man in the world.

Now that's a story. That's love of sport.

I play basketball because I love it. I know I'll never get paid for it. I know I even run the risk of injury. But I play it because I get the itch. I feel it coming up and I need to dribble a ball. I want to do a reverse and nail a three to win it all.

The Olympics are a great way to forget the ways in which commercialized sports work in this country. It's true love of sport and nation. Representing your colors, hearing your national anthem play. No money; despite future endorsements, it's a love of sport.

Not that American athletes in the NFL and NBA don't love what they do, but it's different here because it's all about selling jerseys. Unfortunately, that comes first in that business.

So when I watch the Olympics, I watch the guys I play ball with at the gym. I see gym rats who spend entire days at the park playing pick-up games.

I love the Olympics because it reminds me of all the things I love and do for free.