The Games have reached the halfway point in Madison and the excitement from the first day has multiplied. We had three no, four events for our individual competitors with a late evening announcement on the floor from Dave Castro to bring out the bikes and a Games history lesson with the banger. What a day!
The Most Competitive Field We’ve Ever Seen
The most competitive women’s field that is. I mentioned this in my Games preview but day two proved my point even more. Before the chipper event started, I was discussing possible winners from this field with some coaches and athletes. I’m pretty sure at some point about half of the women were mentioned as potential winner. The men’s race is all but over when it come to the top spot but the race to make the podium is still very alive.
Commentary, Fan Communication, CBS, and Fan Communication
The commentators just aren’t very good. I’m sure it’s quite a difficult task knowing you have a very broad audience. On one side of the spectrum they have to cater to well versed CrossFitters, on the other side to people who just turned on the TV (It is on TV this year, right? We’ll get to that in a moment).
However, I feel like they are missing the mark with the biggest audience. Watching the max snatch event, I found myself wondering if there was a Spanish broadcast. Apparently 75% of the elite level CrossFitters just need to sit in the bottom longer to hit extremely high percentages on their lifts (insert eye roll emoji). The bullet points for the obstacle course were literally be aggressive and be smart. Ok, off my soap box.
The CBS relationship and the fan communication just isn’t on par with what we’ve come accustom to. I have people messaging me all day with either “What time are the events?”, “How do I watch?”, and “Why aren’t they on YouTube?”. Hopefully CrossFit can right the ship on this going into the weekend.
Touch & Go
- Sam Briggs recored her 10th Games event win joining Rich Froning and Annie Thorisdottir in that exclusive double-digit win club. That’s quite an accomplishment.
- It’s great to see the Men’s leaderboard add so many international flags. It is a testament to the growth of the sport.
- Kara Webb is on a war path. Her last three events went 1st, 1st, 2nd. That’s how you make a podium.
- Being smaller athletes, the Power and Grace Athletes had a tough time with some of the Saturday events but both continue to be in the mix. Logan Collins sits in 11th with a very good time on the chipper event. Kristi Eramo holds down the 10th spot after a good O-Course showing.