I just finished watching Georgia defeat Russia in Women’s Beach Volleyball on MSNBC’s late night Olympic coverage. It was an absolutely thrilling game, as Russia trounced Georgia 21-10 the first set, only for Georgia to come back to steal the second set 22-20 before ultimately winning the third set and the entire game.
I’ve been looking forward to this since the Olympics began. My obsession over television has damaged my thinking process to the point where I seek interesting dramatic narratives that could provide memorable TV moments from real life tragedies, so once I noticed the timing of the Russian/Georgian conflict matched up with the Olympics, I ultimately envisioned that timeless moment that was bound to take place if Georgia could pick up a W over the Russians.
Well not only did the Georgians win, but they did so in spectacular fashion. Russia versus Georgia at the Olympics with the Georgians coming from behind to defeat the Russians—what a moment!
Except… it really wasn’t.
In the grand spirit of the 2004 Greek Baseball Team (which I believe actually had more players whose first language was English on it than the team fielded by the Americans) the Georgians were not actually Georgians at all but Brazilians.
A quick Google reveals that not only have the “Georgians” only enjoyed their dual citizenship status for two years, but they’ve only actually been to the country twice. Twice! If standards are really this low, I could be well on my way to representing France AND Mexico!
So much for my timeless television moment! The moment was supposed to be so great because it was a hero triumphing over their arch nemesis, in the vein of Batman defeating the Joker. Instead Batman got some Brazilians to fight for him and didn’t even bother to move them into the freaking Bat Cave! At least I can take comfort in the following: If Russia ever invades Brazil, the moment may regain a bit of its magic.
Posts
