Olympic Observations From the DMZ

Random Blasts about the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

1. A luger from the country of Georgia died after he overshot a turn and flew into a concrete barrier. Yeah. This one hurt. Watching an athlete die in the way this Georgian luger died was about the biggest buzz-kill the Olympics could have experienced. I felt horrible for his family, but I asked myself why there were concrete barriers exposed at that turn? This was Vancouver's first embarrassment, and unfortunately, it cost a precious life for them to erect a safety barrier. Unconscionable.

2. The Opening Ceremonies were fun up until the end when four famous Canadians, including Wayne Gretzky and Steve Nash, stood with separate torches awaiting the emergence of four towers that would comprise the Olympic Cauldron. The only problem was, it didn't happen the way it was planned. One of the towers was unable to raise, so three towers formed the impartial Cauldron. Three of the four Canadians lit their torch, with poor Catriona LeMay Doan standing with nothing to do. Catriona, a Canadian speed-skater of great renown, was left holding a torch that didn't light anything, and Canada was left with a very awkward end to a day that began in sadness.

3. Before the Olympics, Canada promoted an "Own the Podium" campaign to encourage Canadian medal wins. Apparently, in the last two Canadian-hosted Olympic Games, Canada won a whopping ZERO medals. So, Canada spent billions of dollars trying to "Own the Podium." In response, one US athlete remarked, "We'll be renting their podium from them for the month of February, and after that, they can have it." Nice. Don't you just love the neighborly attitudes? I sure do.

4. Let me just get this out of the way. While I do respect the athleticism of figure skating, it's not a sport that I enjoy very much. Figure skating involves a certain physical excellence, but how many legitimate sports require MUSIC as a crucial part of the competition? Figure skating is only one of MANY Olympic sports that are judged by a panel of observers. I make no apologies when I say that I really do not like judged sports. I dislike EVERY judged sport from mogul skiing and olympic diving, to boxing and synchronized swimming. Nothing aggravates me more than watching a sport where an athlete performs a spectacular routine, and then must wait for a panel of snooty experts who knock heads to determine exactly how good that routine was. That's why I like timed events, or team sports with goals, baskets, and clear points being scored that any layman can understand. When the US Men's Hockey team won their game against Canada, no one could argue the fact that the US won the game. However, when Even Lysacek defeated Evegeny Plushenko in Men's Figure Skating, the voices of protest against Lysacek began before the medal ceremony began. Rather than awaiting the judgment of a panel of faceless, nameless, and self-important men and women in suits, divining who should win and who should lose, I prefer to watch the sports that are scored on the field of play. It's ridiculous. Sports should have an inarguable winner and loser.

5. Our local NBC affiliate, KNBC-Channel 4, starts its evening newscast at 11:30pm, and goes through a virtual half-hour of Olympics coverage. To KNBC, no other news is happening than the Olympics. KNBC-TV in Los Angeles apparently does not realize that there is a massive military operation in Afghanistan. That's American news for ya.

6. I love Canada, but I want them to lose the gold in Men's Ice Hockey. I don't even need the Americans to win. As long as the Canadians lose, I'll feel better. Why? Canadians are too freaking cocky about their hockey. Let's bring them down a few notches and make them humble. Let them win the curling gold, and the USA can have the hockey gold medal.

7. NBC's coverage is not live, which comes as no surprise to those of us on the West Coast. To you East-Coasters, you are fortunate to get live events. Those of us on the West Coast need to wait THREE FREAKING HOURS after an event ends to actually see it. For that, I say that NBC should burn in sports broadcasting hell for all eternity. No. Really.

8. NBC's coverage is sickeningly America-centric. Essentially, every American athlete is given preferential treatment, long segments of American athletes. This is patently absurd. Give me stories about the champions regardless of nationality. NBC needs to get its jingoistic head out of his ass.

More later . . .