From now until the closing ceremonies WHAS will be highlighting various U.S. Olympic athletes in all their unabashed glory. This way when watching the exciting kayaking finals in your mom's basement, you'll be able to tell your D&D buddies, "Hey did you know Scott Parsons loves The Simpsons?" That ought to add a few points to your night elf's intelligence level. So without further ado I present to you: The U.S. Olympic Trampoliners
The Members: (Left to Right and Upside Down) Erin Blanchard and Chris Estrada
- 2008 marks the first time that the United States will enter a man and a woman into the competition. The U.S. has never won a medal in any event, which is sad since an American, George Nissen, is credited with inventing the first modern trampoline. Rest easy LeBron, basketball isn't the only sport we invented and can't win.
- Chris Estrada was a shy six-year-old growing up in Lousiana. While this isn't groundbreaking news, it did prompt his mom into signing him up for tumbling. Which according to the article was, "the only thing to do in his small town." The mental picture of flocks of cajun children rolling around in the streets will forever make me laugh.
- Erin Blanchard pulled a Brett Favre. The '06 U.S. Champion, Blanchard decided to finally put an end to her long and fruitful career at the age of 18. But the sweet smog of Beijing lured her out of the Sunshine State Elderly Care Center and into the gym, when the U.S. was awarded a wildcard spot in the women's trampoline event.
- In what must be a fun coffee time topic between the two, Chris Estrada also briefly walked away from the sport in 2001. The reason? A mental block that prevented him from twisting on forward flipping skills. I feel you Chris, can't tell you how many times that's happened to me.
- The final act in any routine is the out-bounce. This is accomplished with a straight jump at 3/4 height. When Chris Estrada sticks the landing, you'll be able to comment on the technical superiority of his out-bounce, while everyone else is trying to figure out if he's related to the guy from "CHiPs."
- Erin Blanchard made the team by beating her neighbor. Alaina Herbert, who finished second to Erin in the U.S. Olympic trials, grew up a few miles away from Blanchard in the aforementioned hotbed of tumbling, Lousiana. Allegedly, this isn't the first time she beat out a neighbor for trampoline glory. Growing up in Lousiana, where tumbling reigns supreme, she beat out local bully Trina Trumbad for neighborhood bragging rights. WHAS has obtained a picture of Trina in training for the historical event:
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