Monday, March 1, 2010
Vancouver 2010 Olympics
I have fond memories of watching the Olympics growing up. And after not paying much attention to the last Winter Olympics, I have to say, I really enjoyed this years event. Apparently it was the second most watched Olympics ever which doesn't really surprise me. Besides being engaging I think a combination of the fickle weather, the crumby economy, a desire to see something positive on TV and there really being nothing else new on, were good reasons to tune in. 
There were a lot of great/inspiring stories: Joannie Rochette's gutsy medal-winning performance in the wake of her mother's unexpected death, Alexandre Bilodeau winning Canada's first Gold on home soil with his autistic brother cheering him on, Canada's Gold winning Men's Hockey game capping off Canada's record breaking 14 Gold Metals (the most ever at a games), Apolo Anton Ohno's unprecedented eight medals in three Olympics in the thrilling short track skating, Xue Xue & Hongbo Zhao winning Pair's Figure Skating Gold after so many years of trying, the US team winning the most overall medals for the first time. From bobsled & luge, to skiing and skating, it was just a lot of fun. 
I'd say the only thing I didn't enjoy were the attitudes of a few athletes. One is Shaun White, who if I never saw again I'd be happy. His cocky attitude rubbed me the wrong way every time I was subjected to hearing his voice. He oozes smugness and it's disgusting. Bode Miller seems like a royal cock too. Confidence is one thing but I'm sorry, he seems like an asshole. And Evgeni Plushenko was a sore loser when his clearly more sloppy performance wasn't awarded the Gold just because he did a quad jump. Gloating and whining. Two of sports uglier sides and with so many people competing, I guess a few rotten apples had to be in the mix.
It's over now. But it was a nice respite from the barrage of reality TV and faux celebrity coverage littering the TV landscape.
