Olympic Excitement

[Syt]

Just becourse our royalty comes from a long line of krauts, doesn't mean that the rest of us belongs among the sausage munchers...

Sausage munchers? Oddly it's the Danes who are famous for their hot dogs.

[The Brain]

Am I the only one who always reads Olympic Excrement when I see this thread?

[crazy canuck]

The Drought continues.

USA! USA!

It was an awesome run by both Barke & Kearney. As long as the Chinese aren't winning, we can be happy.

I'm mainly trying to temper the Canadian Nationalism of CC.

I didn't know Canadian could be Nationalistic.  I thought it was against their constitution or something.

It is.  Our Prime Minister made a speech in which he said it was ok to show national pride.  He said we can apologize after the games - in the true Canadian spirit.

I watched the free style skiing at a diner party with three other families.  16 of us packed around the TV to watch the last few runs.  After the American came down we all held our breathe.  She skiied very well and we knew it would be an outside chance the judges would place her second.

[crazy canuck]

So what are the handful of protestors against the Olympics actually protesting against? Commercialization of sports? The corruption in the IOC? Prevalent doping in sports?

I am not sure many of them know either.  It is really just a group of people that are anti. 

[crazy canuck]

Here is a good summary of the race.

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centre/newsid=40712.html#womens+moguls+heil+second+after+first

A description of the American battling back from adversity to win:

For Kearney, the gold medal was redemption. She arrived as a 19-year-old in Turin in 2006 as the reigning world champion in women's freestyle moguls and a favorite for gold. She left with a bitterly disappointing 22d-place finish, determined to ditch her old routine of training with soccer and running track and take her sport more seriously.

A good description of the kind of expectations on Heil

Saturday night at Cypress Mountain, the pressure may have won. Heil, who entered as the skier to beat wearing Bib No. 1, hit an incredible run in front of a rain-drenched crowd that included Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Former Prime minister Jean Chretien. But it wasn't enough to defeat Hannah Kearney of the United States, who bounced back from bitter disappointment in Turin to deliver the perhaps the best run of her life. Her teammate, Shannon Bahrke, took the bronze.

And Heil refusing to allow pressure to be an excuse

As much expectations as Heil faced from her country - from the Birks campaign to Celine Dion's videotaped good luck message and the signs in the crowd blaring Go Jenn GO - she has said she both welcomed it and demanded it from herself. "I love pressure," she has said. "Without that pressure it won't be the Olympics."

[Josephus]

So what are the handful of protestors against the Olympics actually protesting against? Commercialization of sports? The corruption in the IOC? Prevalent doping in sports?

I am not sure many of them know either.  It is really just a group of people that are anti.

They're the usual group of protesters who protest anything and everything. They probably get paid for it. Professional protesters.

I was watching a clip on the news yesterday as a bunch of so-called anarchists got into a brief battle with polcie. And they always show one of the protesters at the end showing his/her bruise to the camera. "The police are savages," they yell.

Dudes. You're the ones throwing stuff at them.

[Ed Anger]

Now, that is a stick to beat hippies with. Danish Cops, look at that stick then look at your tiny sticks. NORTH AMERICA ROCKS.

[Neil]

I'm sure, nay convinced, that prior to yesterday, most (the majority of) Canadians hadn't heard of her either.

I would be shocked if that was true.  It is one thing for a denizen of an internet forum from Malta not to have heard of one of our most Iconic sports heroes but quite another for the majority of Canadians to suffer from the same lack of knowledge.

I think you're overrating her a bit.

[Neil]

The fact that you are intellectual is the very reason you are out of touch on this.  Ski schools and ski runs all across the country are named after her.  Most Canadians know something about their winter sports even if they have never skiied in their life.  I would be interested to know how many Canadians have tried skiing.  My bet is that of the people your age or older it would be the majority.

Skiing is a lot less common as you get away from the mountains.

[Grey Fox]

So what are the handful of protestors against the Olympics actually protesting against? Commercialization of sports? The corruption in the IOC? Prevalent doping in sports?

Spening the money on other issues/destroying the environment to make place for it.

[alfred russel]

Are the luge/skeleton/bobsled real sports? If they were dropped from the Olympics would anyone ever build another track?

The first day was fun. I watched the koreans go from 3 guaranteed medals in short track to just 1, and was amused by the Americans being totally unapologetic about it.

[Eddie Teach]

Are the luge/skeleton/bobsled real sports? If they were dropped from the Olympics would anyone ever build another track?

Sure, just like people build roller coasters.

[derspiess]

I first thought the horrible multi-culti opening ceremony was going to be the worst part of the Olympics.  But then I read that Bode Miller would be competing

[Agelastus]

Are the luge/skeleton/bobsled real sports? If they were dropped from the Olympics would anyone ever build another track?

Probably. The original runs were basically built by wealthy tourists for their own enjoyment, IIRC, and the principle itself is only a little different to that of a waterslide at a water amusement park.

[derspiess]

Just watched yesterday's race where Ohno got the silver.  I wonder if they whiny-ass Koreans are concocting some conspiracy theory that it was the US's fault that the 2 Korean skaters bumped into each other & wiped out after the final turn (which would otherwise have been a medal sweep for South Korea in that race).