It's that time of the year (decated?!) again — Olympic games! Waiting four years for the Olympic games is a lot more exciting than the boring soccer world cup. We get to see a bunch of awesome sports that are often living under the shadows of the mainstream media. At least, here in Brazil, we're flooded with soccer crap all day / year-long.
What's your favorite sport?
Waiting to watch the time-trial cycling, road cycling, BMX and mountain-bike xco. Any doubt? {laughs}. To be honest, I keep the tv on and watch whatever is going on. Swimming, volley-ball, and artistic gymnastics. Beach volleyball is one of Brazil's strongest sports, I believe. We're also back to basketball this year, but already lost the first game. Skate street is gonna bomb! Waiting for that too.
I attended the Olympic games in Rio (2016). We watched basketball, handball, athletics (missed Usain Bolt sprinting that day, unfortunately) and BMX. It was bloody awesome despite my rants about the Government spending (alot) of money to hold such event amidst an economic crisis. Anyways.
So, you might remember my previous #hivecollectors post about a collection of old Brazillian coins. Well... there were more, but I've been patiently waiting for the right moment xD
The Brazillian Central Bank issued a collection of 1 Real coins to celebrate the Olympic / Paralympic games in Rio. There were gold and silver limited editions and regular coins (the ones I have). My collection is not complete because some coins are super rare to come by — the flag, for example. The fun lays in finding them in circulation instead of buying each one individually.
Lucky me to have found both mascots. Vinícius, the olympic mascot; and Tom, the paralympic mascot. Don't ask me where the hell the names como from.
Vinícius and Tom
I figured it's quite difficult to photograph coins.. one slight movement and hoooooooooah crazy reflections. Hopefully they are visible (?!) Also, have just figured out that one of those acrylic protections would be cool to help preserve the coins.
Only mentioning that because the next three coins are a bit worn out. They are Judo, Golf, and Swimming.
Judo, Golf and Swimming
Next three are ball games. Except rugby... rugby is an egg game. Makes me wonder why Americans call football, soccer; and American football, football. It's not played with the foot and the ball is not a ball. {mind blow}.
Rugby, Soccer and Basketball
Last two representing the Olympic games are Sailing and Athletics. I personally like those crazy athletics sports like Javelin Throw, though they don't get much coverage on tv. Can you imagine how useful a javelin thrower was back in middle ages? Or how useful that skill would be in case of a zombie apocalypse. Nobody needs soccer in that case, but being able to throw something a hella far... that's something else.
Sailing and athletics
The real deal is the Paralympic games. I mean, high performance athletes are awesome. No doubt. But have you ever seen what parathlete do? Whenever I try to swim without and aid of four limbs I almost drown. Yet, there we have high-performing athletes doing all sorts of sports in various body conditions. Unfortunately, I only have two coins from the Rio Paralympic sports: running and paratriathlon.
paralympics
Did they create any commemorative Euro coins for the Olympics in France?
Most fiat currencies will be useless in the future, but collecting special coins is always a fun way of keeping these fake money coins.
Because I'm showcasing a bunch of 1 Real Brazillian coins, I decided to throw the last three commemorative coins in my collection — that are not sports-related. From left to right: 40 years of our Central Bank, 50 Years, and Centenary of ex-president Juscelino Kubitschek.
commemorative Brazilian coins
That was it. You've seen my old coins and my commemorative coins. The rest of my collection is composed of international coins, but those are totally disorganized for a post atm.
One last message: We should use the moment to unplug from this crazy world of ours and take the moment to appreciate the sports. Despite all the problems (wars, political and economical crisis, tensions, elections, shootings, etc) there are humans giving their sweat to be the best in their disciplines. Those shall be valued, instead of empty influencers, politicians, etc.
I hope you've enjoyed this post, and also invite you to share your Olympics-inspired collection. Are there any others?
Peace.
Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.
