So, according to msn, the three events "you should follow" in the upcoming Winter Olympics are Ice Hockey (Field Hockey being difficult when it's 10 degrees outside), Bobsledding, and Freestyle Aerial Skiing.
Before getting into the events one should REALLY be watching and why, I'll cover msn's supposedly valid reasons to follow these three specifically.
Bobsledding: With reigning World Champion Steven Holcomb coming back from an eye surgery that saved him from going all but completely blind, and Vonetta Williams attempting to repeat as the still only African American to ever win a Winter Olympic Gold medal, the sport has two inspiring stories.
Aerial Skiing: American Jeret "Speedy" Peterson attempts to find redemption for his disappointing seventh place finish at Turin.
Ice Hockey: It's Hockey. A large, worldwide, very competitive sport whose American roster could very well feature not a single returning Olympian, and has not had a repeat Olympic finalist since the NHL players started playing in 1998.
Now, I agree with Ice Hockey, and yes, the bobsledding story is moving, but Peterson is a jerk. After failing to land his signature move "the hurricane" back in Turin, he was asked to leave the games early, following a bar fight. And this is what he says about attempting his very difficult trick on his last try, when he had yet to land it in the competition: "Could you imagine if I had decided to step down to an easier trick, and I was only giving it 90 percent and I ended up in second? I couldn't live with that. I would definitely have to know that when I'm done, medal around my neck or not, that I gave everything I had. If everything clicks, I'd just beat everyone by a mile, and that's what I'm looking for."
What an arrogant prick! He lost four years ago, and then was asked to exit quietly to avoid embarrassment, and he still has the gall to say shit like that!
Here are my three picks for the three big events to watch, and my reason will be obvious: Ice Hockey, Freestyle Snowboarding, and Figure Skating (yes, Figure Skating). Here's why: these are the three winter events that gain the most attention outside of a connection to the Olympics. This causes a larger audience, more attendance at the live events, more competitors in the sports, and more pressure on the competitors themselves knowing how many people are watching them potentially fail, and how many other people could have potentially been there instead of them.
While Bobsledding and Speedskating and even Curling get a mention during Olympic seasons, in off-years, no one pays attention (unless you watch a lot of VS, and even they're not desperate enough to broadcast Curling on a regular basis).
So, suck it msn, screw "Speedy" Peterson, and go Shaun White!
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While I agree that Jeret Petereson is a complete and utter jackass (he doesn't deserve a nickname until he wins something, and is Speedy really the nickname you want to do through life with? That can't help score with the ladies, if you know what I mean) I think MSN, in two of its three choices anyway, are trying to highlight sports people aren't going to normally watch, even at the Olympics. The ones you choose are probably the big three (throw in regular skiing-downhill, alpine, etc.-and you got the big four) and people are going to watch them regardless so maybe they were trying to highlight lesser known sports that still have an American angle to them? Maybe? That's why they should have gone with something else besides ice hocky, too, because that is a big time sport that a lot of people are going to watch. Maybe highlight an American who actually has a slight chance to medal in either luge or Nordic combined, who knows? But you are correct, the real sports to watch are the bigger ones, since they do have the most competition for not only roles on the team, but also for medals from different people around the world. I hope you meant women's figure skating, by the way, because I can watch that. I simply can not bring myself to watch the men's. Just can't do it. Oh, and I would have highlighted speed skating, too, since there is an off-chance that two members of the U.S. team (one of them is Shanni Davis and I don't remeber the other one) may start beating in each other at any point. Should be great
ReplyDeleteYeah, Shanni Davis is a jackass who refuses to shut-up and voices his a-hole opinions on everything. He even went after Stephen Colbert for his sponsorship of the Ice Skating team, ignoring that the constant plugging Colbert provides has given the sport and team much increased publicity (to say nothing of the money) going into Vancouver.
ReplyDeleteThe main reason I posted this at all is really just because of the B.S. that Peterson is an inspiring story. If msn had mentioned three storylines like the bobsledders I wouldn't have had any problem with it, but for some dumb ass reason they highlighted some jerk who washed out four years back and has since declared bankruptcy. As if that's even rare any more.
Also, (to change the subject) it is odd that men's figure skating tends to get less attention than women's or pair's. Granted, the men tend to seem a little light in the skates, but that seems true of the pair's guys too, and we don't mind them. I suppose we're all just hypocrites.
I'll admit, I am a hypocrite. I can watch pairs because the women are usually pretty hot and I can console myself with that as I still watch ice skating, but I just can't watch men skating. I don't know why, obviously being "light in the skates" as you put it, doesn't bother me, since I did work in theater for many years. The guys are obviously great athletes, with all the jumps and moves they do hard to impossible to do on hard ground, much less on skates on ice, but I just can't watch. Now if Shanni Davis and Evan Lyasek or whoever is the big figure skating dude now got in a fight, not that I would watch. Oh, the slapping we would see
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