Nothing against the guy (actually I kinda like him), but he used that catch-phrase so often, my wife and I considered making it a drinking game. Luckily, we decided against it because we would've been soused for two weeks straight.
The first time he said it, it was infectious. The next time provoked a grin. The following four hundred times was akin to having drill-work done on your teeth.
Now, let's just break that slogan down a bit... It's my understanding that "101" is used as a sort of catch-all for beginners, such as a English 101 class. You know, where you learn the basics. Tim, buddy, there's nothing "basic" about what those Olympic gymnasts were doing, flying like Dumbo and contorting like Tommy Tune having a seizure. I'd say we're well out of the "101" category...baby.
Digging even deeper, what's with "baby?" Surely, Tim's not referring to his co-commentator, Nastia Liukin, in such a sexist manner. No, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt on that one. Which leads to another troubling theory: Tim's referring to us, the viewers, as "baby." I'm taking umbrage with that if it's true, because nobody puts baby in a corner, labeling me as such. But the most likely explanation is that Tim's so endearingly old-school, he still thinks "baby" is cool lingo, daddy-o. Probably while wearing his Sinatra-hipster captain's hat, ring-a-ding-ding.
When Tim wasn't shouting his slogan, he was prone to showing off. "It looks like she's going straight from a Bread-Basket into a Salto and then an upside-down, backward triple Yurchenko vault, followed by a Major Kipling and then finishing with a beautiful Dorian Gray Portrait!"
You know, it's hard enough being an armchair Olympics expert (a position my wife and I find ourselves in every two years or so), without having to learn all of the new terminology and moves named after famous mailmen or whatever. Just when we thought we had it down ("Her score definitely should have been higher" and "Planted it!" and "Tremendous bread-basket" we'd shout at the screen), more terms were thrown at us faster than a baseball pitching machine run amok.
Honestly, though, the nicest thing about this year's Olympics? The camaraderie, congratulations, and kudos displayed between countries for their fellow competitors. If only our politicians (and the crazed followers on both sides) would take a cue from this respectable and civil behavior.
Speaking of impossible to understand stuff, have a go at my character Zach in my book, Bad Day in a Banana Hammock. You see, he's...ah, just read the book.
Maybe he was specifically directing his comments at babies?
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