There's always animosity between athletes and coaches. There was animosity between pairs on the ice last night. Not everyone is going to be a big family when the stakes are this high. I dont really care who treats whom "right." Coaches and athletes can always walk away from an agreement. Contracts can always be broken with good reason. Most agreements do break down, until athletes find the one coach that fits. I just hope the judges act a little more fairly during the free-skate tonight. Last night's results were absolutely ridiculous. I'm going to have a really, really difficult time watching FS tonight because I'm so furious. (But everyone knows I'll never be able to tear myself away.) There were some fantastic performances last night, and USA's Denney / Barrett team was one definitely of them. They should not be out of the medals right now --but they are. I hope the judges for the mens' and womens' single skates are different. Oh, and I second hiddennovelist's suggestion. This was a really great dicussion in place, and I'd hate to see the thread closed because there's a difference in opinions.
I felt I was being quite polite in the matter and I felt Madhoca was too. No one wants to cause the thread to get locked and I certainly won't say anything impolite to cause it to be so. If I was inappropriate in calling the coach mean or saying the girl hates him, then I apologize. Guess the thing about being kicked out into the snow too was inappropriate. If so, then I'm sorry. Won't say anything further here as I don't want to cause trouble.
Every Olympics produces stories...some good, some bad. There are ugly accusations about bias in judging (most common in figure skating), conflict between athletes and bad attitudes by some coaches. In some events, athletes are even disqualified for cheating. Anyone remember Tanya Harding attacking fellow figure skated Nancy Kerrigan? How bout Marion Jones...stripped of her gold? To me, the real attraction in the Olympics are the stories about courage, achievement and good fortune, stories that exemplify the spirit of competition. I stopped watching figure skating way back in the Cold War years when the US and Soviet Union judges clearly used their votes to hurt each other...with little of no connection to actual performance. Events that are objectively measured are exciting. Downhill ski runs are thrilling. Luge and bobsled competition are always a thrill. Cross country skiing is one of the greatest of all endurance tests...comparable to the marathon of the summer games. And all these events are completely objective. The winner has the best time or the most bulls eyes in the ski'n shooting event. And, there is that signature event...the ski jump! These are the events that define the Olympics for me.
Moguls was fun to watch, although I imagine most of those athletes will have knee problems later in life.....ouch! Luge is always thrilling to watch, but this year it has sad overtones. Figure skating is always beautiful, but I definitely think the judges are biased toward Russia after watching last night. Ski jump is cool but not my favorite. Cross-country is definitely a stamina and endurance sport. I get tired just watching it!!
For me, figure skating combines impressive athleticism with artistic expression. I stopped paying attention to biased judging long ago. I just enjoy the performances without thinking about the standings. Besides, if figure skaters (or skating couples) get shortchanged by judges, but capture the love of the fans, then they will receive financial rewards long after the Olympics have faded from memory. Nancy Kerrigan never won a gold medal, but signed endorsement contracts worth a reported $10 million dollars...because she gained a lot of fans along the way to her silver medal.
I should probably just pay attention to the performances, and so far they have been gorgeous!!!!! I love the costumes and the elegance and the grace and the athleticism...... I'm very eager to see the snowboarding halfpipe. Hidden may love Ohno, but I love me some Shaun White.
Pay special attention to the mens' competition then. Generally, I prefer mens' over womens' because the men tend to be more athletic and more creative in their performances than women are. Especially keep an eye on American Johnny Weir. I'm not keeping my hopes up that he'll place (his flambouyant nature and interesting direction of his programs has him on the bad side of many skating professionals, and considering the judges' decisions...), but he has a fantastic long program called Fallen Angel. When I saw a few months ago, I almost cried. It was beautiful. I have to pay attention to the standings though. I have a strong feeling that American Jeremy Abbott will place silver or bronze if things go as expected (because like the Russians, Abbott designs his programs solely for the purpose of racking up points), and I wouldnt be surprised if another Russian placed as well. They take their skating very seriously. The standings mean a lot to me, but someone hold me back if I start throwing shoes at the judges' table tonight. I threw a few blankets last night, and my throat is a bit sore.
Talking about athletes having incredible drive, I was just watching a film of Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder, the French ice dance world champions, train. Isabelle had a baby just FOUR MONTHS ago and now she's taking part in the Olympics because they are both around the 30yr old mark and it'll be too late for them next time.
Only the limits of human frailty. The Winter Olympics take place four years apart. The Summer Olympics are also four years apart, interleaved with the Winter Olympics. The nature of the games are such that athletes will perform in one or the other, but not both. So opportunuities are essentially four years apart. The games are so demanding that no one can expect to be in the peak physical shape required to be truly competitive for more than two or three consecutive offerings.
Well, I've just plonked myself down to watch some ice hockey. It may be the women's game, but I'm still hoping for a good fight I will get into these games if it kills me.
The Swiss are playing us pretty well so far. We're up 2-0, but Switzerland will have a PP to start the 2nd. I'm not worried about a Canada loss, but they need to pick up their play the rest of the game. Edit: If you want to see a fight in women's hockey, the only game likely to have one is Canada vs. USA, which probably isn't happening until the gold medal game. Edit 2: Whoa, Switzerland scored- and it was a really good goal too. Congratulations to them, they looked so excited, and really they should be, it's a great sign of things to come for their hockey program- the Canadian women's hockey team doesn't give up many goals. If they weren't so much younger and smaller, they could have really challenged Canada this game. The score is 5-1 now, but I can't imagine the Canadian coaching staff is too pleased.
Yeah, I live in the lower mainland, so the drive to Van isn't that far. I just hope the traffic isn't ridiculous. There is a lot of Olympic "aversion" around. People traveling to get away from the chaos that is the best athletic display in the world. Super excited. Also, what do you guys think about the paralympic games? In Canada, (hockey especially) tickets for Olympic events are going for hundreds or even thousands of dollars, whereas Paralympic events are as cheap as $20. Do you think it would be just as awesome to see a disabled athlete win some medals?! I want to check out the Paralympics, especially sledge hockey!
Does anyone know if you can watch the opening ceremony online? I don't have a television, but still wanted to watch some of the Olympics.
I know that NBC has set up a website dedicated to the 2010 Winter Olympics. I haven't visited it, but I do know the opening ceremony is among the video streams you can view.
I've never seen the paralympics, but I would imagine it would be a really emotional thing to watch. I've never even seen then advertised to know when they take place, though.
Yeah, there was much celebrating. According to the news, the Olympic opening ceremony broke ratings records across the country. I imagine the victory ceremony tonight broke them again. If Canada wins gold in either (or both) of the hockey events, the whole country might shut down. Good thing the women's final is on a Friday.
Well, I hope they do, then. It sounds like that could be a fun little holiday. Ok, I only listened to like half of what the announcer was saying when US figure skaters Denney and Barret performed, and I thought I heard him say that the pair were dating. Then I saw online that Barrett and his girlfriend had been together for five years, so I was really horrified, because Barrett is 25, and Denny is only 16...but he's dating the other female pairs skater from the US, so whew! Things got crazy in the Nelsen house for a second there. On topic, though, their performance was beautiful. Those lifts blow my mind. How do people do that??
They always take place after the olympics. This year, they are from March 12-21. Actually, Canada has a blind x-country skier who is competing in both the able-bodied and paralympics. Exciting. First time it's ever happened. There will probably be some tv coverage, though I'm not sure how much.
Well, I think things have been against the Denney / Barrett team from the start. I know they werent looking for a medal this season, but they dont deserve standings this low. I wasnt expecting Evora / Ladwig to place anyway. My bets on either the elder Chinese team or the Germans to take gold. Whoever doesnt take gold will take silver. And I think the Russian team (the one with the Japanese girl skating for Russia) will take third. *sigh* To be honest though, I'll be excited to see the Russian gold legacy end... No doubt they'll take it back in 2014 though --Sochi, Russia's hosting; home turf.
I think the Germans just lost their chance for gold, which is too bad. I really enjoyed their performance last night. Incredible skate from the Pang/Tong team. When the men's team won gold in 2002, people partied on the streets, and games of hockey spontaneously broke out. With the games being in Canada, it'd be crazy if it happened this year.
