Geeter: Going for Gold!

What up? A lot has happened here in Beijing since the last time we got down to blogging. Phil/Todd and Misty/Kerri are playing for gold!

EY, Nicole, Jake, and Sean lost but represented us well. It was hard to see those teams lose, they had tough draws and the games were closer than it looked …nice job guys and thanks for all you did for team USA!

Well not to name drop but I did get to hang after Kerri and Misty gave the Brazis a beat down in the semis with…are you ready? Kobe, LeBron, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, and Tayshaun while we watched China play each other. It was surreal, and very cool. They were awesome and into it, and loved the kerri and misty. When the girls came into meet them after and thank them for coming, the NBA stars were the ones loving it. The only question i had, was how in the world did I get in here and who do I think i am…god it was beauty. Had to send out a couple of texts to my homies just to let them know how i was rollin!

I went with Julian Prosser who is a 3x Aussie Olympian and god, Greg Noyes, Casey Jennings, and a few friends to Hou Hai district which is a bar district yesterday after the girls won the semi to hang out and caught magic in a bottle. This place is unreal…it has bars all around this lake, or glorified pond. We rented a little boat, loaded up beers, and took this young chinese dude with a guitar after we paid him a little cash and cruised around all day as we sang Hotel California and some other made up songs for hours on end. We called the kid “Beijing Lambo” because of the guitar, but he sang actually like William Hung. Anyway, beijing Lambo was awesome, and we had one of the most classic days ever.

Today, Phil and Todd dominated the Brazillians….i mean georgians and they will be playing for gold…

I saw Tianeman Square,the Forbidden city, and the Summer palace all today …that ruled, so much history and really glad we did it. i actually feel like i’ve learned something and saw some things…still have to the Great Wall.

Bottom line, the trip is almost over, soon i’ll be hugging the wife and baby and chilling in the south bay, but first…we gotta win gold.

Kerri and Misty, then Phil and Todd. I can’t wait to be announcing and witnessing history. I don’t want to jinx anything so i’ll hit you up after we crush it.

By the way, I ate a scorpian today…glorified dorito really. Cool to say I did it, but they didn’t need to bring 10 to the table, we all only needed one.

USA JI YO
lets do this

geeter

Geeter: Phil and Todd are amazing!

Down 6-love in the 3rd to the Swiss!!!! That was riiiidiculous, I never ever would have thought that could ever happen to Phil and Todd….It did, and I didn’t think anyone could ever come back from
that….and they did. What a match for the ages, and who knows, maybe a defining moment in their careers…it all depend on where it goes from here.

Jake and Rosie were unreal last night, Beijing loves these guys…and why not, they are fun to watch, they play hard and have great chemisty…

Emanuel and Ricardo showed last night why they are champions. I’m telling you, the Russians had 4 match points against them and 2 swings for match and Ricardo stuffed them all. The amazing thing was Emanuel’s poise throught the whole thing. The guy looked unfazed and confident even when faced with elimination. The mens quarters with rosie/gibb vs emanuel/ricardo is going to be one for the ages. I’m picking the “Son of Jo-rel” and “The Big Nasty” 15-12 in the 3rd.

Tonight is gonna be nuts here in Beijing. Nicole and EY play China 2 and this place will be going nuts. There will 11,000 chineese and probably the rest will be red, white, and blue…I’m gonna do my part and take down the Chinese announcer and I feel the girls are ready.

I’mm having a great time here. There is so much pressure to these matches and if you are a volly fanatic, or just love sports in general, then the olympics is good times. I love calling these matches and being a part of it. I have had some people back home ask if I’m subdued here or held back a little. The answer is no, not subdued…I think. I’ve been out on the court and dancing and all that stuff, but it definitely is different. The protocal and rules make it a challenge for me. I have between 7 minutes and 3 minutes on the clock to get things going, then its ref announcements and player intros. During the match, the sound system is not to great, but the place definitely rocks. There are so many people raging that it really doesnt matter how you announce…The people are fired up. one thing ive learned is that olympics are all about the athletes and the matches. the beach volleyball venue is the place to be and it seems like everyone leaves loving it…the only bummer is having to explain everything each day because it’s mostly all new people. The best part is announcing to our players and fans and dropping in “AVP” dialogue…nobody in China gets it…or cares cause they are just yelling “ji yo” but our players love it so i will keep doing it.

On a little tast of beijing, its pretty amazing driving in a bus or taxi here. People on bikes and pedestrians walking are like 3rd class citizens at best. Cars ignore them and i’ve seen almost 500 people hit daily, but somehow they dont get hit. They are like those little birds in the road that nobody really cares about (sorry PITA)…you know the ones…they are tiny and in the street and you just drive. If you hit em, who cares, but somehow you always look back and they escaped…people on bikes and pedestrians walking are like that…amazing

Saw the Birds Nest and the Cube and some temples yesterday. Those were the local sites i saw with NBC cameraman Greg and husband of avp player Sarah Straton. It was unreal seeing some of these temples and having a coldie while chilling at the birds nest…all worth it.

Riding the train/subway is an experience (see youtube of guy shoving people into train by hitting with stick) and you will know what i mean. You really have to act like a fullback and lower your shoulder just to gain a few yards and get that first down. Getting off the train was a workout. I was crushing people with my huge AVP Crocs backpack…it just has to be done or you miss your stop.

Miss you kids, see you later, I’m off to announce Nic/EY vs china USA JI YO!
Geeter

Geeter: Bonding time with Kobe

What up??  great day today, women won first round and the men get ready for their round of 16 matches tomorrow morning…Im freaking nervous out here in Beijing.  I mean Belgium up 20-17 in game 1, I almost dropped the mic and had a heart attack.  However, as usual, the ladies found a way to climb back and crush them.  You have to give belgium some credit…I know that isn’t easy but they played great in game 1 and didnt make any mistakes…until 20-17, but it’s the olympics and im finding out that anything can happen.   EY and nicole gave cuba a complete meeching and that was good to see.  They played their game and were just flat out better than cuba.  Both China teams won and so did Brazil so it’s on in 2 days for the women.  We got ey/nicole taken on China’s number 2 team and kerri/misty taking on larissa ana-paula from brazil…if they win those, it’s medal time for both US teams.

The rest of the day ruled too.  I went with mike dodd, rosie, gibb, casey and his cousin, avp’s jackie, 8th street meet, raider ethan, chris schneider from hermosa and his gal jamie carrol, and PT kelly to “silk town” to buy suits.   What a site this was, all of us hacks bartering and dialoging with the chinese….absolutely classic.  It was a war, and in the end, they made some money, we think we got a great deal, and Meat got his first suit of his life at 28 years old…it was a banner day!

One of the coolest things to happen for me at the Games was hanging with Kobe the other day at the venue.  He was in a room watching a match after watching EY and Nicole play and I was in there with Kobe and his Nike buddy.  It was awesome, he was engaging and cool and into the volleyball.  We chatted lake show, the six man, and I name dropped Luke Walton and a couple of other guys to help my street cred.  I told him I always covered the visitors sideline during the laker games and that one day I was going to move up to the big time and get the lakers locker room…he said let him know what he can do to help…I don’t think he meant it but it would be funny to ask him for his help next season.  I was kind of glad he didn’t realize that I was the weirdo in the laker locker room before and after games that always listens to his press conference but never asks a question…kind of like a stalker.  I do the same thing with Phil, I just watch…kind of creepy, but you never know when im gonna get called from the visitor side to the home team.

Anyway, it’s 1 am, just skyped the wife and baby and now its off to bed and get ready for USA Men to meech some foools down.

Peace,
Geeter

Special from Chris “Geeter” McGee

Gomar Nhi Hao!  or as we say Whats up bud!  hanging in Beijing going on day…i have no idea what day who are we kidding.  I went to the airport straight from the AVP Crocs San Diego tourney, kissed the wife and baby, and now I am all dialed in Beijing style.

Here’s the deal-so far its been a lot of work…and not much play.
The first 5 days were boring and repetitive as we sat in meetings, tried to understand each other, sat in meetings, announced fake matches, and prepared 96 player bios with the Austrian announcer Tom for the Chinese announcers so we would all be on the same page.

Then something happened…the Olympics, and i remembered why i was here and how awesome this job can be.  Finally, a dream of mine fulfilled…I thought i would win a gold medal one day as an athlete…but who are we kidding, at least I’m here now in some capacity.  My job here is the English speaking MC for beach volleyball.  I don’t get to do any NBC interviews but i do get to hang in the NBC tents on my breaks…and if you saw the box lunch provided for me you would see that the NBC tent is like the Four Seasons Maui.

I’ve also been able to spend time with the AVP peops and players at the Hilton.  The Hilton is unreal in Beijing…world-class food and VIP lounge is chill.  I usually go there or the Oakley safehouse whenever i get a free moment, but those moments are rare.

The matches have been awesome! It is an absolute blast doing matches with so many people really invested in the game and showing pride for their colors.  NBC requested I do all the USA matches, and i can tell you there is nothing in my professional field like announcing for our AVP players at the Olympics.  The energy is phenomenal, the pressure is thick, and our athletes are loved over here.  I’m surprised how many people know us from avp.com, Crocs Lounge, and the DiG Show.  I have had to do the worm and many other of my favorite 80’s breakdance moves more times in 5 days of competition then in the last 5 years because people from other countries are requesting them.  It’s pretty cool to know they follow and love the AVP and even more cool that I get to the stuff that you and i…and my loved ones are sick of seeing…

It has dumped rain on us a few times and it makes Dallas ‘08 look like a SoCal drizzle. I miss the sun by the way (it looks like a raisin that rears its head on occasion). The crowds have been really strong and there are a few matches that stick out.

1) Latvia upsetting Phil and Todd. I was shocked, sad, and amazed all in one.  As friends, I was pulling for them, as an announcer it was crazy to see it happen…i knew they would be fine..and now they are looking great.  The “Beijing Beast” is catching fire…people love him! The Professor has been flawless the last 2 matches.

2) EY and Nicole look strong and physical and had a battle with Cuba that had the place going crazy. They were so pumped after!  It was cool to be a part of it.

3) Jake and Rosie giving Germany #1 a complete Beijing hazy meeching was the best.  Those guys are playing awesome and are living in the moment and really enjoying themselves.  The Raiders have landed and the Chinese are learning why we call Rosie “Superman”.

4) As for Kerri and Misty…well they are so huge and so well known, it still amazes me.  They look like the rest of our USA squad…on a mission to make America proud and bring home the gold!

Any match china plays, rain or shine, there are 12, 000 people here going crazy.  I can scream anything and they yell back at me “JI-YO”, which means “lets goooooo”.  It’s really something else.  i have learned a few key phrases and they seem to appreciate my effort at learning their language.  I see it like this- I am like their Long Duck Dong in Sixteen Candles or Sim Young in Girls Next Door to them…kind of like their mascot and someone they can laugh at…I mean with…

Anyway, hopefully I can bring you something more exciting next time.
I hope you are all well and hope that beach volleyball continues to get the national love I hear it’s getting back on the home-front. Feel free to write your comments and questions!  I would love to hear your thoughts and keep you updated best I can from my perspective.

Bye Bye…that’s goodbye in chinese homies