Bill King: When the Olympics Games finally came to Alabama – Sand Mountain Reporter

This is an opinion column.

For about as long as I can remember, I have loved watching the Olympic Games. I have dreamed of competing in them, but to my knowledge, shooting marbles was never one of the events. I was never good enough to compete in any of the other events. I probably wasnt good enough to compete in marbles either, but since that isnt an event, we may never know.

My family and I did have the pleasure of attending the Mens Gymnastics events at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, back in 1996. I have never done gymnastics a day in my life. In elementary school, the swings were about as daring as I got. I could barely climb the monkey bars on the playground without falling off! Our daughter did gymnastics for several years as a child, so we knew she would enjoy going.

I never imagined that one day I would finally get the opportunity to compete in the Olympics. I certainly didnt think I would be this old when my chance would finally come. If you had told me that my team partner and I would win silver medals, I might have asked, Have you been drinking? I have not been drinking, but for about a year now, I have been dinking. A dink is a pickleball shot that barely clears the net and lands just on the other side. Pickleball has become the fastest growing sport in America. No, it is not played with a pickle. It has now become an Olympic event, and the Olympic Games have come to Opelika.

Okay, I do need to tell you the whole truth. You probably didnt see any of these matches on television, unless a friend of family member of yours videoed them for you. Thats because this was not the regular Olympics, but the Alabama Senior Olympics. The regular Olympic games are mostly for young people. Once an athlete reaches their 30s, many of them may be too old to compete. In the Senior Olympics, those athletes are too young to compete. The Senior Olympics are for those 50-years-old and older. Now, if you are a young whipper snapper, first of all, thank you for reading the newspaper. Secondly, I do realize that younguns are probably wondering what a bunch of 50-plussers can compete in. Well, todays senior adults are not our grandparents senior adults. We do far more than rock in rocking chairs on the front porch, sipping iced tea, and playing checkers. We sit in the swing on the back porch and play Wordle! No, really, we play golf, racquetball, walk, run, swim, and other things, now including pickleball.

The Sportsplex, in Opelika, hosted this years Alabama Senior Olympics Pickleball Tournament. In October, they will also host the racquetball tournament and cornhole tournament. The Sportsplex is the home courts of the Opelika Pickleball Club. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I play there with a group called The Dinkers. We dont always dink, but we try. Of the 211 players who competed in the tournament, 27 of them were Dinkers. Im not sure how many total medals The Opelika Pickleball Club won, but those 27 Dinkers won a total of 35. The youngest player was 50, 11 were over 75, and 3 were over 80. I dont mean to brag, but for a bunch of Been around the blockers, we are not over the hill yet.

Just because you are old enough to receive free coffee at certain restaurants, that doesnt mean you should stay home and sit down. Keep moving, keep doing, keep going, keep praying, and keep playing!

Bill King is an author, musician and native of Rainsville. Visit brobillybob.com for more.

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Bill King: When the Olympics Games finally came to Alabama - Sand Mountain Reporter