More Olympic Observations

So now the Olympics are over...sigh...I'm proud of my consumption this year.  I watched so much cross country skiing I know that track by heart.  What a torturous activity in appears to be...especially the uphill parts.  I got kind of bored with the coverage of all of it at the end...it was like "Lindsay Vonn, Lindsay Vonn, commercials about amputees, Lindsay Vonn..."  There were some exciting highlights though.  Such as...Kikkan Randal and Jessie Diggins winning gold in a cross country relay.  Apparently, there wasn't enough activity going on so NBC was able to replay the race about ten times but I watched it every time because I'm a sucker like that.  

It was awesome...they beat a Scandinavian (Sweden in this finish) in a cross country skiing event!  Jessie was the final leg and the one to cross the finish line and she was so full of joy it made everyone in America smile I think.  The big talk was about how Kikkan Randall was the only mother representing team USA although I swear I saw somewhere else there were four.  But either way, if you read any commentary on social media posts about her everyone was like "Blaaaah no one makes a big deal about male Olympians being fathers!  Equality!"  Yes, true, but in the context of being an elite athlete being a mother does kind of matter...Men don't lose at least a year of being in their physical prime to have a child and women inevitably do.  Even the best can't perform the same while pregnant and they almost have to lose the time training during pregnancy.  Nice work, Kikkan, I can't imagine!  

Speaking of Olympian parents, skier David Wise has two little kids.  David Wise won gold in the ski halfpipe event (such a weird event full of almost outlandish falls.  Almost every competitor ended up splayed at the bottom of the pipe at some point with equipment strewn all over the place).  The cameras loved showing his wife and two kids celebrating with him.  

So sweet...but I can't be the only one thinking this...two preschool age kids...one appears to be a toddler...probably who still wears diapers...so fun...bringing two little kids on a three week international trip...to South Korea...on a completely opposite day/night schedule as the US...OK.  Let's acknowledge how terrible this must have been for his wife. It's a once in a lifetime thing to watch one of your parents in the Olympics but that younger child won't even remember. I'm sure some other family members were present and maybe a nanny but probably not a nanny.  Most Olympians aren't rich unless they get to be in commercials.  Definitely not rich enough to fly an extra person to South Korea to babysit their kids.

Speaking of commercials, I almost enjoy Olympics commercials more that Super Bowl commercials.  The previously mentioned theme of amputees and inspirational para-Olympians can bring a tear to anyone's eye.  My favorites include the one about the various people being told they CAN'T and at the end the lady with the new prosthetic leg uses some VR goggles to take her first steps while virtually walking on a beach (I love the Killers song playing in the background), the one where the nurse picks up a baby born with missing limbs and we see her progress to a gold medal winning skier and the old but awesome one where the war Veteran who's lost his leg and has a prosthetic adopts the misfit dog who's also "been through a lot".  I even like the more upbeat and endlessly played commercial where Michaela Shiffrin zooms around charging a bunch of stuff on her credit card.

Another thing that stood out this year...the OAR aka the Olympic Athletes from Russia.  O.A.R. is a band I like so I constantly had their music in my head during this Olympics.  "Love and Memories" anyone?  And even with being banned from representing their own flag because no one can stop using performance enhancing drugs, two athletes STILL got caught using them at the Olympics.  I have to wonder how much drugs those athletes have been using all these years.  At least the OAR figure skaters still dominated while being clean.  I read an article that pointed out that at this Olympics there haven't been world records shattered constantly like in previous years and we may have reached the peak of human performance so I can understand (kind of but not really) how an athlete might turn to drugs to overcome their plateaus even if their plateaus are actually a peak.

A few more of my favorite moments:

When Germany and Canada tied for the gold medal in two man bobsled. It was a real display of unity.  These four were having a real love fest in their interview on TV together and it was cute.  What are the odds of a tie anyway?  They go down to the hundredth of a second!



The USA Women winning gold in hockey.  



You would think having a big love pile would be dangerous in hockey...all those blades!

I watched when Ukranian Oleksandr Abramenko won the first gold medal for Ukraine in aerial skiing.  Some Americans lost to him but I was still really happy for him.  He was delirious with glee and disbelief.



The replay footage this year was really good for all the events.  The skiing and snowboarding especially.  Camera technology has really come a long way.

I tried to watch the Closing Ceremony last night but it just got too weird as usual.  Once the athletes had paraded in I lost interest in the strange performances and music. Happens every Olympics.  After the giant dancing parrots from Rio two years ago nothing can really hold my attention. Watching the athletes letting loose is the best part.  I have to wonder if they get to enjoy a few beverages if they choose beforehand.  I would be all over that although not enough to dull my memory of the experience.  I suppose afterwards they go crazy if they want to.

Now I have to wait two more years for the summer Olympics in Japan.  Oh well, it will be here before we know it.