I love the Olympics.I especially love the winter Olympics because they are inherently more dangerous than the summer ones.
I love seeing obscure athletes in obscure sports get their moment in the sun. I love it that guys like Johnny Weir get fans. I love it that snowboarding chicks get to step into the glare of the worldwide spotlight. I love it that curling and speed skating get noticed every four years.
I love seeing the underdog win. I love it when people from countries not usually thought of as Olympic powerhouses beat the favorites. I love it when there are huge upsets and when people who NBC touts as locks for medals get beat.
I could care less if you like the Olympics or not. Seriously. I mean it. So there's no reason to leave me a comment telling me you don't like the games or that you're boycotting them for whatever reason. If you don't like the games then that's your deal. Mine is that I love the games and I'll push them and write about them and gush about them if I like. And I do like.
But I don't like everything about the games.
I hate the corporate take over of the games. And I'm not really a fan of letting pro athletes take part in them.
I hate Bob Costas and his smarmy jingoistic bullshit commentary. I hate his smug demeanor when he rhapsodizes about how the athletes from the USA are going to kick ass, but I love it when he's proven wrong.
I hate it that NBC cuts away from an event if there is not an American in the medal event. I hate the emphasis on only American athletes. There are many great athletes from other countries and there are a ton of stories about them that are begging to be told.
I like Apollo Ohno, but I'm sick and fucking tired of stories about him. Give it a fucking rest NBC.
I normally don't watch figure skating but I know the people who do it, as well as ice dancing, are some of the strongest most athletic people in the world. And I'll watch both the figure skating and ice dancing in the Olympics but by the end of the two weeks, I've had enough to last me for four years. Same goes for Scott Hamilton. Holy shit guy, how long can you ride that gold medal you won in 1984? Dude, give it a rest and retire already. Go coach. Just get off my TV.
I have a suggestion for all those of you who hate the Olympics, don't watch them. They're only on for two weeks every four years, so I'm sure you can find something else to watch. And to hate on. And feel free to skip telling me how much you hate the games because you're not into sports or because of your political philosophy.
13 comments:
No hater here. I love the Olympics - can't wait to clean up supper every night so I can plop down and watch. Safely wrapped in my blanket while NOT screaming down a mountain of ice at 65 mph.
Re: Apollo Ohno--Thank you. I could go the rest of my life without seeing that dumb little chin-beard again. Even though that short-track speed skating is about the coolest thing I've ever seen.
I love me some skeleton and curling. Seriously. Costas should be forced to do 24 hours suspended upside-down from his scrotum so he has an understanding of what people feel when they watch him.
I love the Olympics, too, but I have to say tha that I like the Summer better than the Winter.
I am a huge Olympics fan, and just did a post about them a couple days ago. I used to ski on a downhill team, and just love watching that event!
I feel the same way. I've been watching a lot of hockey and curling on cnbc that is Costas-free and sans-Button.
I am so glad I have the CTV coverage. Several non-Costas channels that show all the Canadian team games/individual performances but still show full event coverage. I watched the women's downhill today be looking through my fingers with all the wipeouts they had going on. It was very cool. Love you Canada for not only hosting but for your awesome coverage of the games.
Don't you mean Apollo Anton Ohno? [smirk] I was watching last night and I thought the NBC boys were ready to be a Shaun White Apollo Ohno finger-trap. It is closeted homoeroticism that even rivals NASCAR.
As for the danger aspect, the women's downhill was such a bloodbath last night I couldn't turn away. Those women know how to take a hit.
I prefer the winter games as well. Summer is for women's beach volleyball only, and that not just a sexy, tiny shorts thing. ;-)
Dangerous is the truth. Back in my crazy youth, I raced downhill and GS. Unlike my teammates, I had no skill, just a disturbing lack of caution and common sense. Just put on your helmut and aim your tips toward the bottom. Then see how fast you can go and hope that the 746 racers that went before you didn't leave the course an icy, rock-exposed mess. Downhill in rural midwest was insane enough - can't even imagine doing it on actual mountains.
Olympics, Si, NBC's coverage, NO. Having seen Canadian TV coverage of past Olympics, I would watch if I could get a signal from Canada. Being way to far south, my only option is NBC, I won't watch and thereby not be frustrated by their shit coverage.
I love giggling while watching curling. It's a wonderful guilty pleasure.
I wish they'd some of that time they get during curling to explain it a bit. I know it is basically shuffleboard, but there seem to be some odd little bits that don't make sense. The commentators seem like they got stuck covering curling, but they really want to talk about skiing. "No one is watching this shit, Bob, so lets talk about Shaun White."
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