re: Winter Olympics 2010

[ejm]

I saw this headline on "USA Today" in my "top news stories" on Google news.
Eye-opener: With Vonn down is interest in Games gone?

This is top news?!

I had to look at the article to find out who or what "Vonn" was. Surely it wasn't "Victorian order of northern nurses"....

It turns out that she is a skier

The woman already proclaimed "the face" of the Vancouver Games and the one labeled "America's best woman skier ever" by Sports Illustrated

Oh dear. I had no idea that there even WAS a face of the Vancouver Games!! But then, I don't really know a whole lot about the Vancouver games except that they have been having ship snow in from the interior of BC because there's no snow on the coast.

Further down in the article, there was this poll:

What's your level of interest in the Olympics even if Lindsey Vonn doesn't compete?

[_] Very interested – Games bigger than one person
[_] Limited interest – Love Vonn but will watch others
[_] No interest – It's Lindsey or nothing for me
[_] The Olympics? - Can't wait for NCAA tournament

But I couldn't fill it out because it didn't have the following option to check

[X] Lindsey Vonn?? Olympics???

So far, the only thing I've really paid attention to about the upcoming Winter Olympics is that the Winter Olympians don't seem to know how to dress properly for sub-zero temperatures. Case in point:
breitbart.tv: UK Olympian suffers major wardrobe malfunction on Bobsled Track

Here's what one of my facebook friend's friend's had to say about the video (please watch the video first before reading the spoiler...):

Spoiler (highlight to read):

I'm new to the winter Olympics...is that where you're supposed to swipe your credit card to pay for the tickets?

[David]

a.k.a. The Wealthy European and North American Caucasians Games.

[CAM]

breitbart.tv: UK Olympian suffers major wardrobe malfunction on Bobsled Track

Here's what one of my facebook friend's friend's had to say about the video (please watch the video first before reading the spoiler...):

Spoiler (highlight to read):

I'm new to the winter Olympics...is that where you're supposed to swipe your credit card to pay for the tickets?

I can't stop laughing.

[David]

Schadenfreude.

[ejm]

I confess that I have been watching some of the winter olympics. I can't help myself. Unless it's hockey. Or curling*. Or ice dancing. Then it's easy to turn off the TV and walk away.

Here in Toronto, we're lucky that we can watch both the Canadian and the American coverage. The American coverage is pre-taped and somewhat UScentric but at least they don't feel compelled to show EVERY curling and hockey match.

Last night (I think it was last night...) on the Canadian channel, it was hockey ad nauseum. On the US channel, it was aerial skiing. Seriously, which one is more interesting?!

And ice dancing?! How on earth is this an olympic sport?

I think all olympic participants who are wearing clothing with loudly coloured checks, flounces, feathers, and/or sparkles should be automatically eliminated from the competition.

* I confess that I did watch curling for about 20 minutes, trying to figure out the rules. Most of the 20 minutes seemed to be spent by the team members standing around consulting with each other about what they were going to do. When they finally started playing, I was very disappointed to see that they don't use real brooms anymore. (Did all the old curling brooms get taken away to be used for Quidditch matches?)

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Dress Like An Olympian: Norwegian Curling Pants And Other Distractions

[MrsBrown]

I have been watching quite a lot of the Olympics. Given that I work in the same city, it's hard to get away from it. I even watch hockey and can carry on a conversation about the games relatively intelligently, given that the extent of my knowledge is that I know it's a game and I know how to spell it.

And ice dancing?! How on earth is this an olympic sport?

I was asking that today at work and you'd think I'd committed a crime! The biggest argument for it being a sport is that the skaters have to be very athletic and strong. No one answered me when I suggested that perhaps Ballroom Dancing be a summer Olympic sport. I'm not disputing their strength or their athleticism but really, what exactly makes it a sport?

I think all Olympic participants who are wearing clothing with loudly coloured checks, flounces, feathers, and/or sparkles should be automatically eliminated from the competition.

Yes, I concur...unless the Olympics wants to change the motto to Higher, Faster, Stronger, Prettier.

[David]

Or the Winter Olympics motto could be "Look at me everybody. Look at me . Look at me!"

[David]

And ice dancing?! How on earth is this an olympic sport?

It's almost as bad as that other olympic "sport" Flouncing About With A Ribbon On A Stick, or whatever it's called.