2014 Winter Olympics
I am sure I am not alone when I say that right now the Winter Olympics is what I am paying attention to most. In some ways it is hard not to. Olympic news is everywhere. Medal counts, athlete human interest stories, and competition upsets are all talked about on a regular basis. While I do find all this interesting, especially learning about the athletes, the true excitement lies in watching the events as they play out. When I say watch, I mean truly watching, as in live.
NBC
does a pretty good job with their nightly broadcasts. Everything is taped because of the time
difference between the U.S. and Russia, but they try to cover as many
highlights as possible. However, the
live action I am able to watch during the day is much more thrilling. I am not able to see everything during the
day, which is where I am grateful for the night broadcast. Some events are only online until the night
or are across from something I truly want to watch. Others are on at 3:30 in the morning. I enjoy the Olympics, but this is not the
Australian Open and I am not getting up that early in the morning. Thankfully my favorite Winter Olympic sport,
figure skating, is on later in the day.
There
are a lot of benefits to watching figure skating live. One of the biggest is I get to see a lot of
people compete who I usually would not be able to because of broadcast
editing. I like watching the top
competitors, but I also want to see what the other ones do. A figure skater may place 20th,
but they could have had an incredibly beautiful performance I would never have
the opportunity to see if it were not live.
I want to learn about all the athletes no matter where they fall in the
standings. They have worked hard and
deserve the attention.
Another
thing I like about the live figure skating is the commentators Tara Lipinski,
Johnny Weir, and Terry Gannon. They are
very complimentary about the skaters even when something goes wrong. When a mistake does happen, they are not
overly analytical but instead point out what happened and how it may affect the
skaters’ score. Sometimes Ms. Lipinski
and Mr. Weir do use terms and analysis that sound like insiders would
understand while others would not. I
appreciate that Mr. Gannon asks what they mean.
Even though I have watched figure skating off and on for many years,
there are a lot of things I do not understand.
However, my lack of understanding does not mean I want to be spoken to
as though I do not have any intelligence.
Ms. Lipinski and Mr. Weir do not do this. Both are very good at explaining what they
meant without dumbing it down in any way.
These bits of knowledge make the figure skating competition even more
enjoyable, and it seems as though the three commentators are having a good time
as well.
My
second favorite sport in the Winter Olympics is snowboarding. I watch with a mix of amazement and
terror. All the flips the athletes do
through the air is incredible. I have
zero idea how they do what they do other than with a lot of practice. It looks like a lot of fun, but I think I
would be terribly worried about falling on my head if I tried it myself. Not that I have ever been on a snowboard in
my life. Or even a ski, for that
matter. I think I will stay with
watching others fly through the air for now.
So
far I have not seen a lot of speed skating, but I did see part of a biathlon
competition. I got such a kick out of
the commentators. Unfortunately I do not
know their names, but they themselves were quite memorable. One got so excited it felt as though I was
listening to a soccer game. He was that
involved and thrilled with what was occurring on the course. The other commentator was not as exuberant,
but he was very enthusiastic. It was
really nice to see these two men be so excited about their subject because the
biathlon is an event that gets such little attention.
There is a lot of the Winter Olympics remaining. Many medals have been given out, but there are still a lot to go. The only completed figure skating is the new team event, which I think is a fantastic addition. As for snowboarding, the slopestyle is done but only the men’s half-pipe is completed. A lot of speed skating and skiing remains. Then there is hockey. In many ways hockey is the most talked about and remembered event of the entire Winter Olympics. It is kind of quiet as the Olympics go on, but once the winner is declared, it is one of the biggest things remembered. The question right now is, as it is with every event final yet to come, who will end up on top? All we can do is wait and see.
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