Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Olympic Opines

Figure Skating - Ice Dancing Compulsory Dance:
  • Don't believe I've ever watched the compulsory dance but every team did the exact same dance of tango romantica. A bit redundant but definitely a good way to equally compare the teams. This was the first of three dances each team will perform.
  • Americans got off to a great start placing 3rd, 4th, and 14th so there is definitely a possibility of at least one medal!
  • Dancing with the Stars has made me appreciate ice dancing so much more than I ever have in the past.
Alpine Skiing - Men's Super G:
  • Go Bode! Americans are really starting to dominate the skiing medals picking up 2 more (silver and bronze).
  • The more I watch the skiing events, the more I like them. Wouldn't consider myself a huge fan by any means just yet but I have a healthy respect for their speed and skills.
Skeleton - Women's:
  • Not sure why you would ever do this sport but it's the opposite of luge (laying on the sled with feet first) with head first while laying on your stomach. Oh and your hands are behind you not in front of your head so my protective instincts would be going crazy!
  • An American finished 4th, the worst possible place to finish in my opinion since it's so close to a medal.
Ski Jumping - Men's:
  • This sport looks like more fun to do than to watch. Would love to have that feeling of flying! Not so sure about the speed and heights...
Alpine Skiing - Women's Super G:
  • Lindsey and Julia are back! Probably other Americans competing too but they aren't getting the same media attention so I forget about them.
  • Julia went first and made an unfortunate mistake veering almost off course so lost time and finished 9th.
  • The early competitors were at a disadvantage due to the course being mostly shaded so it's hard to see the texture and other changes in the snow. I can definitely understand this from my minimal experience, it really can make a big difference especially the faster you are going.
  • Lindsey had a great run. Not much emphasis on her shin anymore but I still imagine she's in pain from it. She earned a bronze to go with her gold. I think overall she has to be happy with the outcome of this Olympics especially after not knowing if she would even be able to compete when the Olympics started.
Short Track Speed Skating - Men's 1000m:
  • Glad the judges watch closely the actions of the athletes and disqualify or qualify to the next round athletes as necessary according to what happens. I don't always agree but it's such a volatile sport as Apolo Ohno has mentioned. Guess you have to take the good with the bad. Don't think JR Celski should have been DSQ'd in the quarterfinals but oh well.
  • Apolo Ohno is so intense to watch because he likes to start in the back of the pack and move up near the end and then really make big moves at what seems like the last possible seconds. I don't bite my nails but I might start before the Olympics are over!! A bronze medal for his effort. Think he could have won and I think he thought the same if it weren't for the nudge by a Canadian that made him slip. But, a medal is better than no medal!
  • When the final race started with the 2 Canadians out front, Apolo in the middle, and the 2 South Koreans in the back, I predicted it would finish the complete opposite and I was right! Maybe I should be betting on these races. ;-)
Long Track Speed Skating - Men's 1500m:
  • The leg muscles on these athletes are giant!!
  • I think this sport is most similar to the longer distance track events and short track speed skating is similar to the sprint track events in the Summer Olympics.
  • Go USA for getting another medal!
Figure Skating - Ice Dancing Original Dance:
  • This dance was to be a country or folk dance. Quite a variety danced including Jewish, Moldovian, Aboriginal, and Indian. It was amusing to see not just an American team do a country dance but also a British and French team as well.
  • USA continues to have strong performances. Placing after this dance is 2nd (moved up one), 4th (stayed the same), and 11th (moved up 3).
  • Think the original dance might be my favorite of the 3 dances each team performs. They seem more lively, energetic, and entertaining.
Alpine Skiing - Men's Super Combined:
  • Bode Miller finally gets gold. Nice way to work up to it: first event - bronze, second event - silver, third event - gold! He's also got 2 more races yet!
  • I'm still not sure what I find so engaging about the skiing but each race I watch I like it more and more. I'd never want to ski that fast because it looks so insane not to mention painful when you wipeout!
Freestyle Skiing - Men's Skicross:
  • This sport made it's Olympic debut on the same course as snowboardcross.
  • I was expecting to be as intrigued by this as I am with the snowboarders but I wasn't. Not sure if it is because there were no Americans in the final races or the race just seemed more close and aggressive with the snowboarders than it did with the skiers. I still liked it, just wasn't as enthralled.
Long Track Speed Skating - Women's 1000m:
  • Similar thoughts on this as to the men's 1500m above but no American medal at this event.
Bobsledding - Men's Two-Man:
  • The bobsleds look huge on the track after watching luge and skeleton.
  • The Germans are awesome in any sport on this track. They are dominating it kinda like the Americans are dominating the alpine skiing events.

No comments:

Post a Comment