Table tennis deserves more respect
Of all the Olympic sports that NBC is showing in prime-time television coverage, there's one that most people have at least some experience with that is totally ignored.
Unlike sports such as synchronized platform diving, which I would guess only the tiniest percent of the population has attempted in their lifetimes, table tennis (or ping pong as it is known in the basement rec-room world) gets no respect and no airtime.
Who cares if the best players are predominantly Chinese? Some of us would still like to see the speed and finesse of the world's best playing a popular recreational sport. The simultaneous speed and control of the master players is amazing to watch.
And as of Friday, the American women had reached the Elite Eight of table tennis in the Olympics and were contending for a bronze medal. It was the best performance by an American team in the sport, ever.
True, the American squad are all natives of China and one of the women now lives in Shanghai because she can't find anyone competitive enough to practice with here in the United States.
I'm doing my best to catch up, but it might be a bit late in life for table tennis stardom. I hadn't played too consistently until my husband found a perfectly good table in the local green boxes quite a few years ago and brought it home, where it sat in the garage, unassembled, for a long time.
I finally realized what a waste this was, and though the stand could not be salvaged, I was able to rig a system where the table top sits on an unused air-hockey table and the legs are propped up with exactly four Hardy Boys books each. The table is not regulation height, but we're not always regulation players.
Few of us are in this country. With some Internet research and through watching numerous Youtube videos, we have found that the typical recreational player's habits, especially on the serve, are just not kosher.
The ball is supposed to be thrown at least 16 centimeters into the air before it is struck on the serve. The serve must be delivered behind the plane of the table. The ball must be visible at all times during the serve.
Other rules to remember: you are only allowed to towel off after every six points (though players with glasses can clean the glasses if sweat gets on the lenses at any time), you may not wear a tracksuit during a match and if you insist on wearing spandex shorts beneath your regular shorts, they have to be the same color. (I am not making any of these up.)
We rarely get to towel-off stage in the garage venue, though we have played a lot this summer. My parents visited in July and I forced my father out there almost every night of their week-long visit. We played every combination of singles and doubles with everyone but my mother, who tries, but doesn't quite have the competitive instinct of the rest of us.
A family reunion last summer in New Mexico was held at the house of one uncle who has a table. At least 20 of us spent a lot of time at the table, and we set up brackets and attempted to finish a tournament. My uncle Bruce, who has a wicked spin serve, was out there for almost every point, advising the rest of us or dominating players much younger with his skill and smarts.
It's too bad table tennis isn't more of a sport than a hobby in this country. So many people grew up with tables, it requires little in the way of expensive equipment and maybe only at the elite level does age really matter, making it a great intergenerational bonding game.
Though one middle-aged mom is having more trouble notching wins against her oldest son than she'd like. For this, I blame NBC.
If I had some Olympic table tennis coverage to watch, I'm sure I could learn how to remedy this situation.
Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com