1. The tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili who was only 21 years of age. The question surrounding this horrific event is whether or not this could have been avoided. NBC has done multiple stories since Friday discussing how the course is known as one of the most dangerous in the world producing speeds of up to 95MPH. The day after the accident, there was a segment on how crews had worked overnight to change the course to make it safer including reshaping the turn itself, putting up a protective wall, and covering the steel beams that Kumaritashvili crashed into. It made me wonder why no one thought to do any of this in advance. Numerous lugers have discussed that turn and how many of them were scared of it even during the practice runs, so why did it take a tragedy to look at the safety of the course? And was it really necessary for NBC to show us actual footage of the crash? I was watching when they showed it and it was one of those things I wish I never saw. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and teammates.
2. Judged events. Is there anyone out there who can explain how some of these events are scored? I was watching figure skating the other night (yeah that’s right…I watched figure skating…back off!!!) and I watched the couple from the US perform and they seemed to complete their routine perfectly, drawing rave reviews from the commentators. The next couple took the ice (Russians I think) and, during their routine, the male skater fell. When their scores were given I wanted to scream because they had been given a higher score than the Americans. This has nothing to do with the fact that I am American, but once that happened I turned it off and promised to never watch figure skating again. I understand that the events are judged partially on degree of difficulty and that there are certain moves that are required of each couple, but how can it be that the Russian’s routine was so much more difficult that they could fall during it and still get a better score than the Americans. What a stupid sport.
3. Why is second place ok? Look I get it…if you are an Olympic athlete, you are one of a very small percentage of people in the entire universe that are that good at what you do, so it is an honor to even compete in the Olympics let alone come in the top three. But why is it that some of these athletes are so pumped to win second place? I’m not saying they shouldn’t be proud of themselves and I know it is an amazing accomplishment, but still…they lost. Take for example, Apollo Ohno who needed just one more medal to put him in a tie for most medals by an American athlete in the Winter Olympics. Ohno came in second in his event and as he skated around pumping his fists and holding six fingers in the air to represent all of his medals, the commentators went on to tell everyone what a feat this was and how he had achieved greatness. Then they showed a graphic of all of his medals and this is where I got annoyed. Ohno now has 2 Gold, 2 Silver, and 2 Bronze medals which is impressive and says a lot about Ohno and the longevity of his career. Here’s the thing though, if I trained as hard as these athletes did, and I came in second…I’d be crushed. I would eventually put it in perspective and realize that I should still be proud of my accomplishment, but in the end, I would still be disappointed. Before Ohno won his Silver medal he was tied with Eric Heiden with 5 total medals. Heiden however had 5 Gold Medals to Ohno’s 2. Now you tell me who was more successful? I’m not trying to take anything away from Ohno, but do I have to watch this dope skate around pumping his fists and holding fingers in the air after he just lost his race. Besides, if it wasn’t for the two skaters from South Korea falling, he would’ve finished fourth anyway…talk about a hollow victory. Just be grateful, accept your medal and get ready for your next race. I know what some of your are going to say: How many medals have you won or what are you so good at that you could even think about even competing in the Olympics? My response is I don’t have any medals and no I’m not blessed enough to be that talented to compete with those athletes. But I do know that I wouldn’t be celebrating after a loss. Does anyone think about the Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Braves of the 90’s and think about how great it was that they won all of those Division titles? No, everyone thinks about them as the teams that lost in the big games. I am proud of our athletes and they should be proud of themselves. All I’m asking is to tone down the celebrating after a loss.
Well after all of that, I’d actually like to close on a positive note. While I was watching the countries march into the stadium for the opening ceremony, I can’t tell you how proud I was when the Americans walked in. I just got this overwhelming feeling of pride for my country and it got me pumped up for the events to get started.
Then on Sunday I saw the medal ceremony for the Women’s Moguls in which American Hannah Kearney received her Gold Medal. I can only imagine how she felt when our flag was raised and the National Anthem was playing. I sat there on my couch with goose bumps just wondering if there was any feeling in the world that could be better than that.
U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!!
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