Winter Olympics

The Winter Games are about half over, and I must confess I haven’t been watching as much of it as I used to. I like the Summer Games much better. I can understand nearly al the Summer events whereas I either don’t understand or don’t care about too many of the Winter events. Last night the winner in the men’s 1000-meter speed skating was decided by three thousandth of a second. I find that nearly ludicrous. And the American skating team sort of half complains about the new suits they’re wearing, sort of half blaming their poor showing on the suits. Come on, guys and girls, it ain’t the suits that win or lose the skating events. Then there’s the luge and skeletons. I still can’t figure out how much skill goes into those events and how much depends on the sleds. Folks willing to slide down an icy trough at 90 mph with chins only inches above the ice or aiming the damn things with their toes are beyond my understanding. I’d rather watch paint dry than watch all the ski jumping, or any of the curling or bobsledding, or most of the hockey or cross-country skiing or biathlon or Nordic combined. Part of my disinterest is that everything we see is tape-delayed. The excitement of winning or losing has already taken place. And too often we’re made aware of the winners and losers before we get to watch the events. Anyone on the Internet has to look away when that stuff is announced without any spoiler alerts. Even Brian Williams on the Nightly News can spoil a few events for us. I remember how angry I was in watching the Summer Games in Atlanta in 1996.

Kerri Strug did that injured-ankle vault to help the American women gymnasts win the team gold. Our local news station just couldn’t wait to tell us all about it . . . about two hours ahead of the taped coverage. I wrote the station a very angry letter, and I’m sure they got a bunch more than one. So, what exactly do I care about in these games? The figure skating, the snowboarding, the downhill skiing, that strange short track speed skating, and the women’s bobsledding in which Lolo Jones is competing.

I guess that makes me a Summer Soldier and a Sunshine Patriot. Oh, yes, and one last Winter comment that also goes for the Summer: I wish they’d deemphasize the national medal counts. It just sounds too chauvinistic, too much national chest pounding when it should be about the individuals, regardless of nationality.