The 2012 London Olympics swung back to China Sunday, after a few days of US Olympic rule, and I, for one, am blaming badminton. Did you know no American has ever medaled in badminton? Did you know badminton was a sport in the Olympics? In any case, China won five gold medals in it, which is really probably two or three more than should even be offered in the Olympics for a sport that is best played on lawns with your little cousins and your Great Aunt Agnes.
(Please don't kill me, badminton fans. High-level badminton is fascinating and I am letting off a little nationalistic steam, is all. Though, mixed doubles, really?) Team China now has 61 medals, including 30 gold, to the United States's 60 (28/14/18.) Great Britain is next with 37, including 16 gold; the Russians are in fourth with 35 but just four gold, while the Japanese are in fifth with a bottom-heavy 2/12/13 27.
None of this would be happening if I had just paid more attention to that badminton lesson Great Aunt Agnes tried to give me. Alas—I ran back inside, and much later on they rejected my proposal to allow Sega Genesis mixed doubles as a demonstration sport.