Thread: Winter Olympics 2018 Board: The Circus / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
They technically started Thursday, which was Wednesday here. Opening ceremonies, as I understand it, have already occurred, but we in the States will be watching them on tape tonight. My absolute dream job would be hosting the opening ceremonies on NBC, as they have to come up with a fun fact about every country as they enter the ring, and nobody does random facts about every country in the world like Og, KOB.

As a lifelong skier, I prefer the winter games to the summer games. Favorite events to watch are freestyle skiing, especially mougles (because I know how hard it is even without the jumps in the middle) and slope-stye, because I knew guys of the generation who pretty much invented the sport 25 years ago. Before it was an Olympic sport, it was a couple of guys who built a kicker on the golf course next to our school on their off period and practiced their aerials over the fence that separated the course from the school soccer field.

Discuss away, and if you feel the need to talk about how you never liked competitive sports, I would prefer that you took it here or here.
 

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Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
I cannot do winter sports to an even greater degree than I can't do summer sports.

But I enjoy watching. If I were to do one, it would be toboggan, and I love watching them - sort of like driving, but without the control.

It is like most sport - when you see it done to the level they achieve, it is impressive.
 

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Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
We've been watching the mixed doubles curling so far. Caught a little of the moguls. The skill gaps between the worst and best is very small in moguls. I don't like wipe outs, which are basically tragic if it boots the competitor out of the competition.

I'm not sure moguls can be placed as starting in any one place. There was "hotdog skiing" craze of the mid-1970s at Sunshine and Lake Louise (Banff, Alberta). I recall seeing my first Warren Miller movie in Whitefish, Montana (The Big Mountain) probably about 1975 about it. I think the equipment had gotten good enough that it was pretty much spontaneous. Ski Ballet was the event that looked like it had a future up to the Calgary Olympics (1980).

The things I really like watch are the downhill and super-G. I raced for a short while in my youth and had ski bum as an alternate (non)career plan. It forms fantasy for me. Kind of in the vein of This really great short film. (winter really is the best season of the year!)
 

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Posted by aliehs (# 18878) on :
 
We had the Opening Ceremony last night (Australia EST). I watched until the speeches started, then went to bed; and there is live coverage of some events on at the moment, after I have torn myself away from the Ship of Fools. I was relieved there was no tension [seemingly] between the North and South Koreans, but did wonder about the North's reaction to the South's national song.
Loved the visuals and the concept of the kids on a great adventure with all the mythical beasts. The skill of those manipulating the puppets was amazing.
What took me aback was the number of African , Pacific and Central/ South American competitors. The poor soul from Tonga looked so out of place, but must have been warmed up by the applause. The saddest contingent was the "Russian" lot, who did not on the whole look delighted to be walking under the Olympic Flag. Loved the little girls belting around with the name bearers in those stunning dresses, but was not sure why they were there, as they were too small to carry the names if one of the ice maidens happened to trip.
Hope it all goes well, I am looking forward to seeing the aerial acrobatics, and the speed skaters with literally one hand tied behind their backs.
 

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Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
Just turned on today and got some ice hockey - any game where you are allowed to body-slam your opponents is good - and curling, which is also far better than it should be.

Of course, I feel old, because the curlers are so young. I feel they should be older than me.
 

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Posted by bib (# 13074) on :
 
I really can't get interested in much of the Winter Olympics - there is such a sameness in many events. However,I do love watching the figure skating although it is difficult to find out when it is being televised. I have never learnt to skate as they obviously don't make the right type of skates that stay upright on my feet. The ice is so hard and cold.
 

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Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :
 
I'm partial to Olympics of any flavour so I'll be battening down the hatches and watching silly amounts of sport for the next fortnight. The opening ceremony was a nice piece of work and moved smoothly with the BBC commentary giving useful information. The Tongan guy looked as though he was enjoying himself though I hope someone gave him a coat once he was in the stands, same for the usual Bermudan in his Bermudan shorts.

Am a bit bleary eyed already from being up at Stupid O'clock to finish watching the mixed curling and team skating the night before.
 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
Women's snowboard slopestyle was kind of an unfair joke last night, with wind delays meaning that each woman only got two (rather than three) runs to get their best score. The wind was still going strong when they actually started the event, and it was a major accomplishment to just make it down the hill without falling. A few women had to make split-second decisions to abort jumps into risky gusts, likely sacrificing a shot at a medal for their own health. The favorite, and defending gold medalist, American Jamie Anderson, still brought home the gold, but she had to go conservative, and her score would have only been good enough for eighth in Sochi.

If that's what they are willing to run that event in, I'd hate to see how windy it is where the alpine events are scheduled, as those races have been completely postponed.
 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
More on the Slopestyle fiasco yesterday.

Apparently freestyle snowboarding is organized by the FIS, which also oversees alpine ski racing. There was pressure from the Olympic Committee and its broadcast partners to get an event in in the American prime-time window, and the FIS decided to go with Slopestyle, even as it canceled other events out of concerns for rider safety. So we ended up seeing a bunch of scared, pissed off athletes doing the best they could to just not get hurt.

I still love the Olympics, but they do have a bad habit of making it hard to love them.
 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
Sean White threw down a monster run in the half-pipe when it counted, to collect his third career gold medal. It was an exciting event to watch- a Japanese rider jumped into first place on his second of three runs, and White fell on his second run, meaning that his third run, the last in the competition, was for gold.

On the replay, he pointed to a moment half way through the run and said, “this is where I took a deep breath and said, ‘finish it.’” And he did. Note that at the time he was having this moment of zen, he was flying at high speed into the next jump. How you even pause in that moment is beyond me. That’s why he’s the greatest that’s ever been in his sport.
 

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Posted by mr cheesy (# 3330) on :
 
I've been watching the ice hockey - well as much as I'm able, the BBC seem to only be showing a limited number of games.

The thing I've discovered is that the women's game is much more enjoyable to watch than the men's. I watched two games today whilst at home feeling miserable.

The nothing women's game between Korea and Japan was edge of the sofa end-to-end stuff. The Koreans lost, but the Korean goalminder was incredible.

Later I was watching the men's USA vs Slovenia, which was mostly a yawnfest and hade about 2 mins of excitement in regular time, then Slovenia were clinical in extra sudden-death time. Given that these are probably teams competing for medals, it wasn't a great game overall.

So I've discovered is rather watch women's Olympic ice hockey. Who'd have predicted that?
 

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Posted by Caissa (# 16710) on :
 
Loved the mixed doubles curling. Traditional curling looks incredibly pedestrian in its wake.
 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
I also loved watching the Women's cross country ski individual sprint final last night. It looks like a bear of an event- 1.5 kilometers, partially up hill, at a blistering pace. My legs and lungs were burning just from watching.

It made American TV because Jessie Diggins made the final, and it's rather rare for Americans to make it that far in Nordic events. She ended up in sixth, with Swede Stina Nilsson (great Nordic Noir name, by the way) taking off from the start and never looking back. Diggins still proved to me that you're never too old for an Olympic crush- there's just something about a woman with a strong telemark stance that gets my heart beating every time.
 

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Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by mr cheesy:


So I've discovered is rather watch women's Olympic ice hockey. Who'd have predicted that?

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Korea v Japan is one of those matches that goes way beyond rivalry.

Has the blood and thunder gone out of the men's game? I can just remember the USSR v Czechoslovakia match in the 1968 Olympics at Grenoble. This was at the beginning of the "Prague Spring" following the election of Alexander Dubcek and the Czechs fought like tigers to beat the Red Machine on the ice, but not on the streets.

 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
Colorado's Mikaela Shiffrin won gold in the giant slalom, but failed to medal in her much stronger event, the (regular) slalom.

You can probably blame this, in part, on the weather delays, which meant that she had to ski back-to-back days. This also forced her out of the Super-G, although she is still scheduled to attempt downhill and the combined.

But also, the Olympics are just one race per season, and it would be nearly impossible to win every week. It's just a shame to have your off week when the entire country is actually watching for once.

My favorite ski area, where a lot of these ladies (including Shiffrin) do their October pre-season training, posted a few pics of her in action on the mountain as a "Throwback Thursday" post. It's fun to be able to claim some small connection to these athletes, especially when that connection is through a ski mountain that is generally off the tourist radar, and mostly a locals scene.
 

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Posted by mr cheesy (# 3330) on :
 
Wow, did you see the snowboard racing? That was incredible.
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
I've been watching the skeleton racing. The UK team (titled team GB for some reason) got a bronze in the men's competition and is looking fair in the women's.

Of course, it is just the old Cresta Run from St Moritz with modern equipment ...
 

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Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by mr cheesy:
Wow, did you see the snowboard racing? That was incredible.

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quote:

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Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:


The skeleton, luge and bobsled in general seem to be quirky fringe sports to me, but then people say this about curling, which is mainstream here. Can't say I have ever like figure skating, unless ballet should be in the summer games. All sports where there are judges bother me to a degree.

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quote:

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Originally posted by L'organist:
The latest is that one of the Russian curling team has tested positive for a banned substance.

I mean, Curling? Is nothing sacred.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
Probably more to do with Russians than curling. If you look in a tomato patch, you find tomatoes.

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Apparently almost everyone in curling believes the substance would give zero advantage.

Which is weird. I don't think sabotage is too far out of the question, but then that could also be a Russian double bluff.
 

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Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
It's in mixed doubles. A version of curling invented for the Olympics. The Canadians who won John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes had only practiced together briefly. Lawes is the third on Homan's rink - Rachel Homan is in the women's. Homan thus has a different third for these games and is doing lousy. John Morris curled in 2010 Olymoics with Kevin Martin winning gold. Curling is a big deal here (and also personally).

Re the coverage of curling and this drug cheat, it is extremely annoying. Ignorant repetition by reporters who don't know anything. The meme is incredulity and bemusement. Things about physical condition being unimportant as well. If they don't understand the game and what attributes are required I wish they would STHU. If we go below international and national levels, there is more. It's everywhere in all sports.
 

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Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
2010 had Denmark and Sweden using banned beta blocker and Canada a steroid masker. 2005 had a Canadian using cocaine. There were prior uses of beta blockers as well as antihistamines. The issues are stamina and and steadiness of focus. (I had family members in international composition and the Olympics in that time period. This is what I simply recall).
 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
I've heard of people (especially hockey players) using sudafed as a performance enhancer. I get that it has at least one of the ingredients found in methamphetamine, but it's still beyond me how that helps. One sudafed and I'm a nervy, shaky mess.

Two-man bobsled last night was exciting, with a German pair claiming the lead and simultaneously wrecking as they crossed the finish line.

NBC showed some old footage of the original bobsled races, which were on winding roads with high snow banks on either side. Fun to watch, even if it had little resemblance to the sport today.
 

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Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :
 
Curling is great! Eve Muirhead's last stone in end 9 against Canada was a thing of beauty.

These have been very good games and the ice skating has been phenomenal.
 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
The US media has been calling it a disaster, with our teams lagging in the medal count. But last night, something amazing happened. The US women won their first ever cross-country ski medal, and a gold one no less!

Jessie Diggins knew she had third locked up, but wanted more. So in the last downhill of the team sprint, she passed the Norwegian, and in the last flat, she found another gear to blow past the Sweed.

Only our second x-country medal, and first since a silver in ‘76.
 

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Posted by Caissa (# 16710) on :
 
No Prophet: Kaitlyn Lawes is the third on the Jennifer Jones rink not Homan.
 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
It took overtime and a six-frame shootout, but the US women’s hockey team beat Canada for the gold!


 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
Perhaps given the silent response to my last post, maybe I shouldn’t mention that the US men also beat Canada in the curling semifinals?

(You guys have us beat in a lot of other areas, sport and non-sport, I know...)
 

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