We’re pretty sure you’ve heard that the Olympics begin this week. With all of the media coverage and talk about Zika, Team Russia and less than ideal living conditions for athletes we decided to take the road less traveled and bring you five things you might not know about the Olympics in Rio.
Going for gold,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Five things you might not know about the Olympics
- Rio is the first city in South America to host the Olympics, which began in 776 B.C.
- The five Olympic rings on the flag symbolize each of the five continents (they represent America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania. Yes, now there are seven continents). The ring colors also represent every country in the world as every country’s flag has at least one of those colors: yellow, green, red, black, and blue.
- You may know that the Opening Ceremony’s parade of nations is in alphabetical order but did you know that this year’s will take place in the home country’s language? That means you don’t have to wait until the end to see Team U.S.A as they will be introduced in Portuguese as Estados Unidos. As in tradition, Team Greece will be announced first and the delegation from the home country, Brazil, will go last.
- For the first time since 1998, you can also bet on the Olympics in the Vegas sports books. The U.S. is projected to bring home the most medals, followed by China.
- Some sports start before the Olympics officially kickoff on Friday. Women’s soccer begins today with Team U.S.A taking on New Zealand at 6 pm EST. Other notable sport start dates are: gymnastics and swimming (August 6th), track and field (August 12th), synchronized swimming (August 14th) and basketball (August 20th).
SUMMER OLYMPICS
- Do us the honor. Swimmer Michael Phelps has been selected as the flag bearer for the U.S. team in the parade of nations during Friday night’s Opening Ceremony. Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals, was selected by a vote of U.S. athletes. Rio is Phelps’ fifth and final Olympics.
- Carpool karaoke. Team U.S.A. men’s basketball players showed off their singing skills (or lack there of) on their flight to Rio, appropriately singing Vanessa Carlton’s song, A Thousand Miles. According to the video, veteran Carmelo Anthony was not impressed. He later said, it’s not you - it’s me, and apologized for not looking amused during video, blaming the early morning and not Vanessa Carlton’s music.
NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)
- Put me in coach. Jeff Gordon will continue to fill in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. (concussion-like symptoms) for two additional races. Gordon has filled in for Earnhardt during the last two races and maintained in the middle of the pack.
Overtime
- Monday’s Bachelorette finale came down to two men, Jordan Rodgers (former NFL quarterback and estranged brother of Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers) and some guy who wasn’t a professional athlete. Surprisingly the Bachelorette JoJo chose the former professional athlete. Who would have guessed? Rodgers then proposed and she said yes. Wonder what the Vegas odds are on this marriage?
Sideline stat
- NBCUniversal will present 6,755 hours of Olympic programming in 19 days. That’s over 356 hours of footage per day.
Coaches’ Corner
- The Associated Press has been ranking the best college sports teams for 80 years. In honor of its 80th birthday, they released a list of the all-time Top 100 College Football programs. Where does your school rank?
