Olympic thoughts
February 26, 2006
22 posts
17 users
3k+ views
Here is a couple of mine..what are yours?......Bode Talks better than he can ski..he has lost it!....X-country is 1 bad ass sport..those guys are the true energizer bunnies...What kind of trees grow up there in Italy?..they look like spruceless Spruces...True skiing is done on groomed fast surfaces....I'm a downhiller at heart...Curling??? give me a break...why not play golf on the snow & call that a winter sport!....I like events that are trully won by who'es 1st or who'es clocked faster....not judged.....Hockeys great...but USA isn't this year...or canada....Bummer....Why is there not SkiersX like BoarderX?...There are some winter sports that should be added like Car bumper riding...remember that? Or sledding like we did as kids...ect...Oh & 1 other thing..what causes that strange way the men skiers walk after the G/S??...anybody catch that??
How HUGE are those skis used for ski jumping!?! Biathalon has got to be the hardest sport of all the winter events. Belbin is hot. When does the bobsledding start? Davis vs Hedrick tonight should be fun to watch if I don't catch the spoiler first.
Bode IS kind of a fool, but he has proved his mettle on the World Cup circuit over the past couple years (and in SLC 2002). He is a winner. People in this country think that only the Olympics count. It bugs me big time to listen to sports radio (for instance) and hear these moronic sports writers jabber on about what losers our ski team members are. And these guys have never even heard of World Cup.
I do agree that he is choking though due IMO to all the publicity brought on by him.
Curling: I am starting to dig it. It IS NOT a sport but a pretty righteous contest of strategy.
Ice Dancing: Lose it. This is such a joke right up there with synchronized swimming.
Snowboarding: Why all the hype? Freestyle skiing is way better to watch (half-pipe & moguls not the jumping).
2 words: Ted Ligety
We think too much of the USA superiority.
It's an ego thing which sickens me to death. I'm an alpine skier, however, the real athletes are those who do nordic. I mean, WOW! I might even go see Chip at Whitegrass to get a few lessons. Those guys rock.
I LOVE THE WINTER OLYMPICS!!!!!!! I like them so much more than the summer games. I guess because in the summer games, we are always the favorites to win. With the winter games, we are the favorites in a few things, but not across the board. GOTTA LOVE THE UNDERDOG. Yes I agree, Bode has choked. But its not just him, we havent had a great olympics so far. Women's Hockey team, choked to a bronze. Ohno only won one medal, and lets not forget our favorite womens snowboarder who blew the gold.. WHAT WAS SHE THIINKING? Anyways, just my two cents.
And by the way, whats up with the medals this year? Are they being sponsored by Krisy Kreme???
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Curling: I am starting to dig it. It IS NOT a sport but a pretty righteous contest of strategy.
It is quite mesmerizing after awhile. I found myself cheering when the US team knocked two of the Swiss stones out of the target.
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Ice Dancing: Lose it. This is such a joke right up there with synchronized swimming.
I was having this same discussion over the weekend, aside from the comparison to synchronized swimming. I just don't get it as an olymoic sport. I compare this with making ballroom dance a sport in the Summer Games.
Regarding the snowboarding. I did find watching the snowboard cross fun. Especially the commentators who liked to talk about how people were "face planting".
I generally love the Winter Olympics. It seems that much attention has been paid to Bode and his failure to medal thus far. I do think he has a bit of a problem in that he wants (or at least wanted) corporate dollars but his soul is (or at least was) pretty much anti-corporate. That kind of internal conflict can mess with anyone's psyche and performance after a while.
That being said I still love watching the guy race. I love the fact that he goes after the fast line. That he's out to ski the fastest possible with the realization that if (and that's a BIG "IF") he actually finishes the race that he'll be in a good position to win. Watching Bode ski is liking watching old film of Prefontain run; an odd mixture of excitement and anxiety hoping that the guy holds on to finish strong.
I'm pushing for inclusion of the Texas Biathlon.
Don't they use a shotgun for that?
Everyone was really dogging on Lindsey Jacobellis' showboat-y wipe-out at the end of Women's Boarder-Cross. Come on... that's what snowboarding is about... having fun, taking risks, STYLE.
I don't care that she blew the gold medal... she blew it with style... the tweaked method was amazing, and I g uarentee you'll never see another one thrown in the olympics as long as any of you live. Snowboarding isn't about the Olympics... it's about fun.
I just got back from ITaly Sunday.
The Olympics are so much fun. We were on a guerilla style trip, because didn't make plans until last minute and couldn't afford to stay in Turin.
Went to 2 hockey games and downhill practice in Sestriere.
We saw Bode Miller, Herman Maier (sp??) and all the others do their practice runs. I've never seen anyone move that fast without a motor or jet involved. IT was frigging incredible. Sestriere is REALLY cool.
When they came ripping around the final turn airborned and then zoomed down across finish line, they looked like rockets, with a trail of smoke (actually snow).
The hockey games were amazing. Saw Latvia and U-S mens. I've been to a bunch of Stanley Cup playoff games (first and second rounders) and the sound level and intensity of fans at the Olympics was even higher. The Latvians were totally insane.
I'm already dreaming of Vancouver.
Have to agree about ice dancing. Gotta go.
mm
I remember before Nagano there was such a rift among snowboarders whether or not we wanted to be part of the Olympics. On one hand we wanted to be taken seriously as a sport but on the other hand we didn't want the confinement that comes with the Olympics. Glad to see boarder x made it though. Now we need slopestyle and big mountain freeriding and I'll be set.
1.Once I learned some of the rules, especially how curling is scored, I began to really enjoy it.
2.I enjoyed the BoarderXCross, even though it reminded me of roller derby on snow. I can understand the exhilaration the young women felt when she looked back and realized she was way ahead, and I think this directly relates to her "hot dogging" the final jump. Had she not fallen and gone on to win the hot dogging would have been long forgoten, unfortunately.... I expect she and any future US Team member got a valuable lesson.
3. Actually the Ice Dance finals and semis were interesting, especially with all the falls in the semis.
4. Bodie has an attitude problem that he needs to get straight. Why does he think that corporations and to a small extent US taxes pay for his training and competition, and that of all his teammates? No we don't expect each to win gold, and I do worry about the preocupation with this aspect of the competition, but we do expect the maximum effort, both in preparation and in the race itself. I worry that his musings that winning is not all that important could deminish those that pay the freight now to "contribute" less is the future.
GO USA!!!!
My how those skiers fly! Bodie might not have medaled last night, but he should have won the "style contest" for the way he maintained being upright during the race, when one ski literally turned 180 degrees from the other.
The Colonel
Here's what I think of each and every athlete: Brave; Talented; Strong; Graceful; Committed; Competitive and Proud. I stay up way too late watching everything, including Ice Dancing.
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Here's what I think of each and every athlete: Brave; Talented; Strong; Graceful; Committed; Competitive and Proud. I stay up way too late watching everything, including Ice Dancing.
Same here, and yes, I even enjoyed the womens figure skating that was on tonight. Pretty sweet that USA did take silver in the bobsledding. Also, incredible effort in the 1500 meter speed skating, but just could not squeak out that last 0.16 second needed to take gold. Still a silver and bronze for team USA is not shabby at all.
Ahh - the Olympics - in full High-Def on 55 inch screen and full surround sound!
Could even see the freckles on the young ladies' faces during the figure skating!
The olympics are pretty simple for me - Boarding is a joke, simply put in for ratings.
Lindsey Jacobellis - Retarded
Lindsey Kildow - Tough girl
Sasha Cohen - Hot
Tanith Belbin -Hot
Ben Agosto - Possibly the only gay man I am jealous of
Julia Mancuso - Very Attractive
Resi Stiegler - Hot
Cassie Johnson -Hot
Gretchen Bleiler - Hot
Johnny Weir - WTF?
Kimmie Meissner - Did not know she was a fellow Marylander.
Bryant Gumble - Racist A**hole
Shani Davis - Submitted for Bryant Gumble's approval
Oh yeah and selfish A**hole.
Joey Cheek - I like to call him Joey Butts
Bode Miller - Awesome on one ski.
I like Hockey and I was interested in Curling until they stopped showing Cassie Johnson.
I like the olympics.
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Cassie Johnson -Hot
Sorry dude. Jamie Johnson is hot. Cassie is merely cute. 
MUST BE NICE!! The way you describe the downhillers is awesome! Whats up with Bode Miller? Enlighten me anyone if you can...Does he just ski crazily at top speed & win only if he makes it to the bottom or can he keep his cool & win the conventional way?...PS what did you think of that part of Italy?
Sorry dude. Jamie Johnson is hot. Cassie is merely cute.
Yeah - I have a thing for Cassie - I didnt expect everyone else to share my thoughts on her.
Turin is a pretty enough town. Not the best I've seen in Italy, but I expected a dog, since it's one of the big industrial centers. The main Oly media and office building is the former FIAT plant. It has a test track on the roof. Insane!! Plus there's like this glass globe up there looking like something from Epcot center where the execs would watch test runs.
Sestriere looks pretty new. Many of the buildings in the mtn village nearest the downhill are of the new concrete block design, but nice enough. But the villages around Sestriere are AWESOME. VERY pretty. and many are linked by gondola. Looks to be a lot of pretty decent skiing around there.
I'm definitely considering going back in next year or two, while they're trying to fill all the new buildings. I bet it's going to have deals o' plenty.
The arenas for the hockey games were pretty cool. We had tix right on center ice for USA-Latvia game. About 12 rows back. They served budweiser,
which is a bit silly in Italy.
Anyhoo, gotta go to work.
mm
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Yeah - I have a thing for Cassie - I didnt expect everyone else to share my thoughts on her.
That's how I figured out that curling had strategy. I watched it for the Johnson girls.
TV coverage has sucked. First, there is not enough skiing and second, there is not enough live events.
On Bode, he's a young man finding his way in life. Life journeyed way beyond his upbrining and he's dealing with it. He has made comments that the Olympics has become too commercial (Anyone really disagree with that?) and no one compete's for the spirit of the games as intended (BTW, Apollo Ono made the same "Spirit of the Games" comment that Bode has.).
And back to TV Coverage and reporters not knowing anything, I think Benjamin Raich is the biggest story for skiing. He has been trying to get out from under the shadow of Herman Maierr and he has had an exceptional Olympics. I know he's not American and that's probably why there is not coverage. But then again, NBC doesn't have commentators who really seem to know about skiing.
Well, another Winter Olympics have come and gone. Wow, what a ride it was the past two weeks. I've certainly enjoyed watching them. In fact, it was after watching the salolom skiing last night that got me jonesing to lay down some turns of my own (thus the trip down to Wintergreen as a change of pace from the usual Massanutten forays). It was actually kinda sad to see the games end. A lot of "wow - that was awesome" moments as well as a lot of "What the hell was he/she thinking?" moments. I was certainly excited for many of those atheletes. Everything from a goofy looking 19 year-old kid (Shaun White) taking the Gold in an awesome display of snowboarding right down to being amazed at Lindsey Kildow's deterimination to try, despite that horrific wipeout during a downhill practice run. I was also thrilled to see Anton Apollo Ohno to get a gold in the men's short-track speedskating 500 meter event, as well as bronze with the rest of his team in the 5000 meter relay event. It was almost painful to watch Lindsy Jacabella (sp) to wipeout on the second to last jump in the women's boarder cross to lose what I thought was a sure gold, but at the same time, I was truly elated to see Seth Tompson grap it on the men's boarder cross. That was a friggan close finish. If there was maybe 10 more feet of course, the other guy probably would've caught up. Also, the Canadian's were very impressive in the women's 5000 meter speedskating event. I could go on and on, but of all the football and baseball games and so forth, somehow I find the Olympics to show the true spirit of competition and sports. As hard as one may find it to believe, but the Olympics are actually considered to be an amature competition. We can whine on and on how Bode did not get any medals, how the media was hyping up everything and so forth, but over all, I was impressed with what I saw in these games.
Also, I actually sat and watched the closing credits tonight after the closing ceremony. Those shots of the mountain flybys and so forth were just so breathtakingly beautiful, especially in high-def! Sad to see the games end - well, 4 years until Vancouver.
