Badminton

What no volleyball?  No, we didn't end up going to volleyball after all.  A couple members of the Mulley family were under the weather and we made an executive decision to take a pass on volleyball for the well-being of the family.

Wembley Stadium

Wembley Arena

On to badminton! Dave and I made our way to the other side of the world Wembley Arena to take part in some badminton semi-finals (women's) and the bronze medal match (mixed doubles).  Once again, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I got into the sport.  I remember my days in elementary and middle school when we would play badminton in gym class. Well, I was certainly done a disservice!  This sport is way more fun that it ever was when I was in school.  We used to just knock the birdie around and try to keep it going, well the Olympians played with passion, strength, skill and speed.  There was a bit of controversy earlier in the week when a couple of badminton teams were disqualified from the Olympics due to the fact that they weren't trying.  I can tell you that the players we watched were definitely trying their hardest.

Setting up for the next game

matches of the day

China vs. China (a lot of people would randomly shout, "Let's go China")

Mixed Doubles:  Denmark vs. Indonesia

The Danes were INTENSE!

We had so much fun and I enjoyed doing my running commentary throughout the event.  I'm fairly certain that the man on Team Denmark beats his female teammate if she doesn't perform to his liking.   I also noticed that the "wingspan" of Team Denmark easily covered the entire field of play.  It's no wonder they spanked Indonesia to badly!

Next up:  Field Hockey on Monday