Posted on 02/20/2006 12:56:56 PM PST by Cecily
In the pantheon of bad ideas as they pertain to newspapers, you will almost always find an editor or nine. It's uncanny how they can ceaselessly come up with something obvious or dull -- hey, let's write about ratings! -- but when applied to the Olympics there's also what they perceive to be a Bigger Picture. Namely, what does it mean for us as a country and a people if the Olympics get trounced by prime-time soap operas or reality series about treacly cats?
While we suspect it has a lot to do with the Nordic combined or the biathlon, it could conceivably have something to do with meritless male divas performing badly on ice skates or an adult's inability to tell a child the difference between the luge and the skeleton -- other than one goes head first, the other feet first and that neither should ever be copied off the roof.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I won't say what happened since this is a spolier free thread.
Wow...no foolin'! These ice ladies are beginning to challenge some of the tennis babes...
no idea curling is very odd, how does someone get interested in that "sport"?
Curling is great. That's a game for me. It's like shuffle board --- but you don't have to worry about your beer getting cold.
A friend of mine once commented when someone said a guy was a good figure skater. He said "If he was such a good skater he would be playing hockey." That kind of says it all.
I have honestly tried to watch the Olympics but the way they are broadcasting it makes it impossible!! I get 10 minutes of speedskating, some hard-luck story and then 20 minutes of some other sport after all of this we finaly get back to event I cared about to find that someone crash and we have to watch the replay of the crash over and over with " in depth analysis".......ARGHHH
I'm no big fan of the Games, Summer or Winter, but every 4 years you're sure to see or hear a complaint that the coverage is too "patriotic" or "One-sided" towards the USA. This IS the USA...what do they expect? Are the Norwegians being "jingoistic" when they focus on their own athletes?
There's not enough blacks in it.
I love the ice skating babes and the sort-of guys and their silly costumes. I love the jumps, the spins and yes, even Dick Button, who is amazing simply because he is still alive. As you watch the up and coming men skaters landing quadruple jumps, consider that he landed the first double axel in the 1948 Winter Olympics back when they held the ice skating events on frozen ponds. That was 58 years ago, for Pete's sake, and he's still going strong. I hope he goes on forever, and maybe he will. He looks pretty good, and he's still as enthusiastic as ever.
I love thinking about how much sports have changed over the years as people have applied all sorts of ingenuity and science, and just plain guts in the quest to win.
I love watching the steely resolve of those who win, like the snowboard cross men's champion, who picked his line and stuck it through. And who could not help applauding when the 3rd place winner of that race, the plucky Frenchman, who had never even made it into a semi-final heat before, slipped by two competitors who had crashed, and took the bronze medal ?
I love seeing the athlete's beautiful, young faces and hearing their stories. When they screw up, like Bode Miller, or Lindsey Jacobellis, does not your heart ache for the life lessons learned the hard way ? I love watching their faces when they hear their national anthems played and get their medals, fulfilling what has likely been a dream of theirs since childhood.
I love the way each country's individuality flavors the opening and closing ceremonies. Who could not have gotten a chuckle out of the mountain skirts worn by the Italians who led each nation in the parade of nations this year ? I love the idea of the world coming together, our differences put aside for a while in the pursuit of excellence. I suppose it's naive, but someday, perhaps, we'll do it more often.
I love seeing falling snow during the events and seeing beautiful mountains and ski areas all over the world.
I've loved every minute of the Winter Olympics, since I first tuned in to watch Peggy Fleming win the gold medal in 1968, and I watch as much of them as I can.
Sorry Timmy but most "sports" bore me to tears.
You go enjoy watching people force their body's to do things that the human body was not designed to do.
I prefer a good book.
PS Except for hockey! Hockey Rocks!
ROFL!!!!
They call the thing they curl a "Rock", but those four guys must call it a "Stone".
That made my evening! That's Hilarious.
I enjoy watching. The curling is a little too slow for me, but I like most of the games.
Holy Moly people.
Lighten up and put the political cynicism away for 2 weeks and enjoy watching something that happens every 4 years.
If you're married you can make wifey happy and stare at some hot women at the same time. You can watch some people express free creatitivy on the moguls and halfpipes with no purpose other than to just have some fun and get some recognition once every 4 years.
You can watch the fastest man on ice Joey
Cheeks fly inthe 500 and some nutty Finns fly thru the air...enjoy something different for a change.
I still root against the evil empire, it's a habit I can't break...and I think these Curling women yelling, "HARD, HARD,
HARDDDDDDDD, HARD...is just way too irrestible.
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