Meghan on her new skis? Nope, Anchorage 'Lympian Kikkan Randall skiing Powerline Pass Trail(Photo: Mark Meyer)
Not that anyone is counting, but we're 10 days from the solstice, less than a month from celebrating a new year, and two months from tomorrow the Winter Olympics in Vancouver begin. Although there are several reasons to dislike the modern Olympics - it's brazen commercialism, the large-scale amount of waste generated by changing venues each Olympiad, and of course an over-exposure of Bob Costas - we can't help but get excited about this year's Winter Games. Meghan is thrilled that her favorite country, Canada, is hosting this year. We also love to root for hometown athletes - especially in the unique events featured in the Winter Games. This year we are keenly interested in nordic skiing. A fellow Alaskan, Kikkan Randall, is touted as a favorite for the nordic freestyle sprint competition. As reported in The Times Randall can be spotted training on Anchorage trails and eating the occasional doughnut at local eateries. The Olympics also seem to freeze time, marking different stages of life. I can remember with whom and where I watched several Olympics. For instance, Beijing 2008, when not camping on our drive up to Alaska, Meghan and I were able to watch the Summer Games with varying degrees of clear reception on the TV at the occasional motor lodge across western Canada. I remember sitting next to my late grandmother as she clasped her hands, anxiously awaiting Kerri Strug's final vault in Atlanta. For good or bad, the Olympics turn sport into drama and we often can't hep but get caught up in the spectacle. Now, who's gonna supply the flatscreen?
3 comments:
I wouldn't get too excited - they never cover Nordic skiing at the olympics. It's all figure skating, downhill skiing, and athlete bios. I quit watching a few winter games ago.
I think the kicker was at the winter games in Japan when the only cross country skiing they showed (and I REALLY tried to catch the skiing) was a dude from some African nation coming in dead last - big story about how he'd never seen snow etc. Other than that they showed NOTHING! But I think they did show a bit more XC skiing at the Salt Lake city games. Patrick
My best Olympic watching memory is the 2000 Sydney Olympics which I watched with Chris very very shortly after meeting him for the first time. It was the Summer Olympics although it was snowing that day in late September in Steamboat.
My favorite Olympic watching memory is watching the 2000 Sydney Olympics with Chris very shortly after meeting him for the first time. It was the summer olympics that we watched that snowy september day in Steamboat.
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