There's something about cheering for national pride when it comes to physical competition. Yeah, there are great stories from other countries and I suppose it's fun to cheer for the underdog, but it's much more fun seeing the U.S. smash the competition.
My favorite American storylines:
Michael Phelps going for eight gold medalsThe kid's a beast. I don't see him losing any of his individual matches. It's up to his teammates to keep this dream alive — just follow Jason Lezak's lead.
U.S. Men's Basketball reclaiming their top spot in the world
For years, the U.S. dominated the game of basketball. But the world finally caught up over the past 10 years — this was particularly evident in the last Olympics where the U.S. lost three games and finished 3rd. But can they really lose with Melo, Kobe and LeBron?
Who will be the next U.S. boxing star to come out of these Olympics?
I miss the days when winning gold medals meant a springboard into professional boxing for U.S. amateur athletes. Will there be another Oscar De La Hoya or Roy Jones Jr.? (he should've won that final match). The last gold medalist, middleweight Andre Ward, has been under-the-radar when it comes to the pro game.
Can Tyson Gay bring back the sprinting trophy to the U.S.?
He ran the fastest time anyone has ever run during the trials, but will he be fast enough to take down Usain Bolt?
I bleed red, white and blue, but there is one other country I root for: Vietnam. I still have my ethnic pride and, to be honest, Vietnam doesn't have much of a chance to compete for anything, so I root for them.
And sometimes they surprise me. Vietnamese weightlifter Anh Tuan Hoang, left, took the silver medal in the 56kg division this weekend. It was Vietnam's second medal in any Olympics.
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