TV Shows About Sports: The Good, The Bad, The Nonsensical! [Why I’m not really blogging tonight]

Praise the heavens! You can’t tell but Megan’s really upset I couldn’t find our matching leotards.

The Super Bowl, the World Series, the Olympics: When most people talk about watching sports on TV they mean they’re “catching the game.” But I am not most people (in this case I am both dumber and more juvenile than most people) and so when I tell people I have to rush home to watch sports, I’m talking about watching dramas loosely based around people who are supposedly playing a sport but in reality are just terrible actors. I freaking love these shows! Friday Night Lights! Miracle! Power Rangers!! Remember Center Stageย where Jodie twirls for two minutes on one leg and then magically has an entire costume, hair and makeup change in mid-air? Booyah! Better than any sports center.

So tonight was the season finale of Make It or Break It, a soap opera (-ish, it’s ABC Family after all) show about 4 plucky gymnasts trying to make it to the 2012 Olympics. (Although really it’s about 3 since one of the actresses went and got preggo and they booted her off the show.) Being a former gymnast myself, albeit nowhere close to Olympic caliber, I was hooked from the instant Gym Buddy Allison told me about it. Over time we sucked in all the other Gym Buddies as well and now that the Olympics are finally here (in real life too!) ABC decided to cancel the series mid-season. Wha…? Hence the bizarre, premature and utterly unsatisfying season finale. But of course I had to watch it and since I don’t have TV (which doesn’t stop me from watching it, apparently) I headed over to Gym Buddy Megan’s house for a little MIOBI par-tay.

This is how we party:

Sexy laundry time! Guys totally do this while they watch soccer, right?

The finale was every bit as campy, poorly acted and dramatic as I expected but sadly did not show much gymnastics which is the main reason I love watching it. Loved. Right, it’s over.

This is Austin, the world’s least convincing love interest.

It took us all the way through the show to realize that we have the exact same pedi:

Zombie: Totes the hottest color for summer!

Spoiler alert: (as if anyone watches this show but us) THEY DON’T SHOW THE OLYMPICS!!! You find out who makes the team (which is no surprise) but it ends there. Four seasons of leo butt-wedgies and forcing myself to put up with so many teenagers losing their virginity that I feel like a maidenhood expert and I don’t even get to see any Olympic caliber gymnastics? Maybe that’s because the stunt doubles for the show had to train for the Olympics? I don’t know. In any case, Megan and I recreate the winning “stick it” pose for you, since you’ll never get to see it on the show.

Reason #425 why people shouldn’t let me have a camera with a self-timer on it.

Most unsatisfying finale ever. (Although I never saw the Seinfeld finale and I hear that one was really bad.)

Completely unrelated but this is what I did during nap time today since my Internet went down and I couldn’t work. Found this vintage purse at a garage sale and, depending on your taste, either ruined it or made it awesome by adding chevrons! Easiest DIY ever: painter’s tape and silver nail polish.

Do you like TV shows or movies about sports? Do you have a guilty pleasure show you watch? Anyone else have jade green toenails rightthisveryminute??

11 Comments

  1. Oooh, Friday Night Lights!! How I loved, LOVED that show. Coach Taylor and Tammi, and little Matty Sarensen and Big Tim Riggins. . . I heard the people involved are in “talks” to make a film version with a lot of the original cast. Squee!!!

    I’ve seen Make It or Break It a few times. Not horrible, but never got into it. ABC Fam can get a little too “preachy” at times, too high school drama-ish. I watched it cuz I liked The Secret Life of the American Teenager that was one before it (quit watching that, too).

    I love Olympic gymnastics, even though I never could stand on my head or do a cartwheel. Fun fact – I live *JUST DOWN THE STREET* from Chow’s Gymnastics where Olympian Shawn Johnson trains! ๐Ÿ™‚ Haven’t had a “celebrity sighting” yet. Although I did look into getting my son into classes there, just to say he trained at the same facility, hahaha! (Didn’t end up enrolling him though.)

  2. Hahahaha. I freaking love that show! I was so sad to hear it was cancelled! I can’t believe they don’t show the Olympics. The gymnastics was clearly the best part! Lame. Also, FNLs is awesome in a real way ๐Ÿ™‚ Though I’m still working my way through it. And yeah, I’m so excited about the real Olympics! Also, have you seen the previews for Breaking Pointe? I’m thinking Center Stage in tv form!

  3. I LOVE Make it or Break it! I have watched every campy, badly acted episode online and am so sad they cancelled it. Love your stick it pose ๐Ÿ™‚

    If you like dance shows, check out Dance Academy. It’s an Aussie series and I am halfway through the first season but I love it. Kind of like Center Stage but with slightly better acting and dancing.

  4. Im so so hardcore bravo trash tv.
    I dont love househunting (actually I never think much about it) but Im more million dollar listing LA/NYC than sports shows ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Friday Night Lights forever has my heart. That show was PERFECTION. And, I was secretly in love with bad boy Tim Riggins. ohmy! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  6. If I ever make it to Minnesota, I’m coming to hang out with the Gym Buddies and do laundry. I NEVER have that much fun doing laundry.

    Also, I totally have a nail polish obsession. Right now I have on Fast Track from China Glaze’s Hunger Games collection. And my toesies have on Dosh from butter London, which is more of a….bright sparkly green.

    I love the Olympics, they’re my favourite. I prefer Winter (mostly because Canada does a lot better in the winter, and because luge is the best sport ever), but Summer is good too (mostly for the gymnastics and track)

  7. Alyssa (azusmom)

    Alas, my nails are bare. I also don’t watch a lot of sports-related TV, but I LOVE the cheesiness of “Center Stage!”
    I DID watch the season finale of “Smash,” however. Which brings the episodes I’ve seen to a grand total of 2 (the other was the premiere). I like watching the performances, but the backstage drama is just a bit much for me. When I was acting we didn’t fight over boyfriends or try to poison each other with peanuts smoothies! We bi***ed about how itchy our costumes were, how little sleep we had, and the fact that we could play the lead WAAAAAAY better than the person who was actually cast.
    And Meghan Hilty TOTALLY should have gotten the part over Katherine McPhee!

  8. While I agree that it’s totally asinine that they didn’t show us the Olympics, I am so glad that MIOBI is over. It was not a good show, but I felt compelled to watch every episode for the gymnastics, and now I am free.

    I second the recommendation for Dance Academy – the acting’s not terrific, but the show is quite charming. I watched the whole thing on Netflix, but I think I heard that Nick is airing the first season (not that that helps since you don’t have TV . . .).

    You’ve seen the movie Stick It, right? If not, it’s a must watch. Lots of gymnastics. The whole thing is available on YouTube, last I checked.

  9. I have kind of a military green look going on the toes, but I’m thinking I need to tone things down a little now that summer is here with a nice pastel color. Oh how I would LOVE a pedi – it’s been way too long. Anyway, how did I not know about Make It or Break It b/c I love gymnastics. Well, I know why – I don’t watch much TV, and when I do watch it, it’s something we’ve DVR’d. So, I never watch commercials. I have no idea what movies are out right now, and I know nothing about any new television series. Kind of bummed I missed it despite the disappointing ending.

  10. The chevrons totally make the purse more awesome.

    I never really watched MIOBI, but I absolutely loved the movie “Stick It.” I also own all of the “Bring It On” movies on DVD. Not so much on other sports movies or TV shows, although I do love the episode of Rugrats where the father are watching the football game on TV and the kids are playing football with a bottle of chocolate milk trying to keep it away from Angelica.