Most fans have no idea how difficult the game of

beach volleyball is after seeing Misty and Kerry make it look easy. The physical aspect requires

excellent hand-eye coordination, quickness, balance and jumping ability.

There is a mental game too. Concentration and keen anticipation are absolutely essential.

Hats off to two great athletes...and two very nice people.

I watched the match, yet was still thoroughly engaged & captivated by your recount...great fun! Indeed a bit of drama the ladies gave us (and I only recall a single shot of JKidd, on his cellie yet), but yup - The Machine surely fired true, and we are so lucky to have these most excellent Olympic Champions representing (back-to-back Gold medals, undefeated in a single set!) the Ewe Ess of Ay.

I could see it all over again just by your description.

Great write!

OK, I'm not a huge fan of beach volleyball--I prefer indoors. In fact, most nights I was simply bearing with it until gymnastics was finally aired. Surprisingly, though, I did find a couple of their matches reasonably compelling. That said, I remain totally disturbed/perplexed by Kerri Wash's shout out to Bush after their gold medal victory--does the worst president ever somehow merit the same consideration as May's deceased mother? What the f*ck was up with that?!? Has this girl even read a newspaper in the past 8 years???

I recognize that beach volleyball takes talent and athleticism, but it's just not an interesting sport to watch.

Indoor, six-on-six volleyball is fantastic: fast-paced, powerful, exciting, and featuring much better play from far better players.

Plus, to be perfectly honest, I find many of the women to be hotter. I like a little something to be left to the imagination -- sorry, skimpy bikinis aren't my thing. (I know, I'm in the minority on this.)

Well said.

All hail indeed. I've always found (recreational) volleyball to be a huge pleasure Friday evenings 'cause one hand makes the dig while the other held a cold one, and the team interaction is a group satisfaction the Lone Hero never experiences (e.g. Rand's sad little Howard Roark). But not on the sand lot -that's a fulltime job these two never appear not to enjoy. The unbelievable digs that produced picture perfect sets for the recovered digger constantly reminded me of Magic Johnson's sublime assists as his teammates racked up points - this is the heart of zen, a selfless outpouring of effort to propel others to maximum achievement - all witnessed clearly in their faces. Misty and Kerri beamed and glowed with that real smile that engages the face, not just the mouth, like a drink of cool refreshing water after the white heat of growling chestpounding congratulations other champions are wont to express. These guys have class like *no* other champs in the games.

Sorry, I watched the beach volleyball for the volleyball, despite being an ass man, because frankly skinny, skinny athlete butts aren't my favorite kind. Nothing wrong with them, but I like curves.

I also like watching a volley ball player dig a ball out of the sand and then springing up and spiking a ball over the net. The athleticism is takes to dive into the sand and then, in an instant, leap to the maximum of your vertical capacity is awe inspiring.

I also like the women's game more than the men's because none of the women is so tall that spiking a volleyball requires the barest of hops. No. These women run and jump and scramble around in the sand in a way that, given my experience of playing anything in sand, is really more impressive.

It was a great match, they are great athletes, but Walsh's insistence on giving props to Shitfuck was a weird non sequiter that squandered the victory. What did he do to help them win? Nothing. So why give him that national TV type credit? It was weird and frankly I could care less about them after that. I will buy the U.S. women's fencing saber team Wheaties box instead. Now THERE are some ATHLETES.

... but it's unfortunate that, according to Jennifer Sey, they have peaked in life and are doomed to spend the rest of their lives counting down the seconds till they die so someone can write that they were Olympic gold medalists in their obituaries.

Oh, please. The camera guy did everything he/she? could to not look like he was exploiting the duo as their nipples stood straight up as the down-pouring rain soaked their little white skimpy bikinis.

I have yet to hear an honest explanation - or even a good lie as far as that goes - as to why they have to play barely nude. Maybe if the sport was interesting enough the women wouldn't have to undress to play it.

Contrast their little uniforms to the same men's event. The men are not in thongs with their dicks bunched up.

Oh yeah I can see that. Damn you people are dense.

Thanks, Gary! I loved re-living that match and its emotions through your article. There have been lots of snarky comments about all the coverage of women's beach volleyball, but what NBC obviously understood is that Misty and Kerri are a total blast to watch. Their athleticism, their beauty, their fierce competitiveness, their rollicking sense of fun, their seamless teamwork, their obvious affection for one another and love for the sport -- all made for enthralling, unforgettable television. They cheered me right up, which in this economy isn't easy to do. All hail, indeed.

Misty and Kerri were so fun to watch during the Games, and so much fun to watch after their victory. After the intensity of the gold medal match, they switched modes from business-as-usual to party-all-night and never lacked in grace or sportsmanship. They seemed as if they'd done a couple tequila shots in the few minutes between winning and being interviewed.

The little bit about babies (Interviewer: So ladies, what's next? Kerri: I'm gonna have a baby!! Misty: Me too!! They'll be the next generation of beach volleyballers!) was priceless, sidesplitting and sweet.

As far as their shout-out to Bush, well, he DID go to the court and take a couple volleys with the girls in the beginning of the Games. Terrible president? Sure. Pretty amiable sports fan? Sure. Must be kind of cool to pass the ball around with the POTUS, regardless of how you feel about the guy.

And, Rambling Rose 22, do you really NEED an explanation as to why they wear what they wear? "...their nipples stood straight up as the down-pouring rain soaked their little white skimpy bikinis."

This is a bad thing?