Ahira's Hangar

Figured it was time we started a thread on this.

I know I am probably strange for it, but I actually greatly prefer the Winter Games to the Summer Games.

A lot of the sports - like downhill skiing and ski jumping and all of the stunt snow boarding and skiing - are a lot more fun (to me) to watch than most of the summer sports. Plus there is ice hockey, both men's and women's!

(This year I will be rooting for Sweden in men's ice hockey, as they have the greatest concentration of Red Wings. )

The games open up in warm snowless Vancouver tomorrow night.

(I am going to temporarily sticky this, just until the Games are over).

I also prefer the winter games, but for me it is all about the figure skating and Ice dancing.
I'm a fan of gymnastics in the summer games.
If there was a way for there to be a partnered sport in gymnastics, then the winter and summer games would probably tie for me.

Yeah, I've heard people pan the idea of ballroom dancing being a medal sport at the Olympics. But there are rules for judging such competitions and I, for one, would enjoy it.

The figure skating does take great athleticism, but I despise the crooked judging. Back when I was a kid the judging was all based on political blocks, now it seems to be based on bribes and money and popularity/reputation of the skaters. I cannot take it seriously as a sport until they do something to clean it all up and make it more objective based on athletic performance rather than subjective and determined by judges of always questionable integrity.

I mean - you know who wins a race based on times. You know who wins a hockey game based on the score (unless the refs are completely incompetent and make rotten calls). Figure skating is a completely different animal...and who is clearly best out on the ice (to everyone but the judges) might not be the winner.

To give them credit, they have been trying to clean it up somewhat, from what I have heard. Have I that heard correctly, Menolly?

I need to add that figure skating takes years and years of hard work and dedication, and takes a ton of athleticism, balance, and strength. And it can be a amazingly beautiful.

I have nothing against the skaters or the sport - just the judging system.

Truthfully, I don't even pay all that much attention to the judging myself. I might momentarily post disgust after what I thought was a terrific example of athleticism, grace and being "spot on," and the judging not giving what I think would be deserved marks. But overall, I simply watch to enjoy the skaters.

I'm mostly glad there are methods in place so they can be featured in game forums like The Olympics.
All sports that are determined by judges are suspect to crooked judging..
I seem to recall problems with diving and gymnastics in the past as well. I don't let that influence my own enjoyment of it.
I watch and choose my own favorites and don't worry all that much about the medals.

Yes, I agree that the judging can also be a problem with gymnastics, diving, what have you. I think though that it is the worst with the figure skating - probably because there are so many millions of dollars involved for the people winning medals (from both future performances and endorsements) - more so than with the other sports (with the possible exception for womens' gymnastics and endorsement opportunities).

Unfortunately, greed is a big part of some peoples' makeups, and there is too much money involved in this particular sport.

Whatever you guys do, do not watch the video of that poor kid crashing. I made the mistake of watching, even though the CNN anchor said it was disturbing. I will probably have nightmares from it. The still pictures are bad enough, but the video is terrible. That poor poor kid. At least it happened so quickly he probably did not have much time to be terrified - and even though they say he passed at the hospital, I cannot imagine anyone not dying instantly from an impact like that to the spine.


The opening ceremonies were very well done. The things they did with light and images were amazing - such as the 3-D whales swimming and spouting on the floor of the stadium.

I had heard the video of the crash was available and purposely avoided searching it out. Glad to know I made the right decision for me.

We finally got a digital converter box, but are still not receiving channels at all. Looks like a pair of rabbit ears or something is in the works for us next. I wonder if the Opening Ceremony is still available online somewhere...

NBC might have it online, but I think you have to register with their website to watch the videos (for free)? Be sure to check out the fiddlers - they were really really fun!

Kind of bummed - just checked the TV schedules, and they will not be showing any events this weekend that I can watch due to my work schedule. At least I can watch a women's hockey game on Monday, which is my next day off. I think that it is Canada vs. the Swiss.

Surely the events will be archived online?
I hope, as it will be the only way I can watch them...

As I said, I think that NBC has something set up...but I have not checked it out to see what they have or how it works.

More on the luge tragedy:


In this case actions speak louder than words. They say it was the fault of the athlete not the track, but their subsequent actions speak volumes.

I hope Canadians can take a deep breath and relax now that they have their first ever "home gold" when one of their skiers won first on the men's moguls last night.

There's no doubt a lot of pressure on the Canadian athletes to win medals on home soil, not just "do their best." It goes without saying that the athletes pressure themselves more than anyone. Me, I don't hold very high medal expectations for our Olympic team. I support and cheer them on, but I'm a realist: you just don't go from a historically underperforming Olympic nation to suddenly hauling in the medals in every event. Canada did very well in Turin 2006, of course - highlighted by the record achievements of our women speedskaters. It just remains to be seen if that was just a fluke for us, or the start of a trend.

The opening ceremony was overall terrific! It was a very imaginative use of light, like you said, duchess.
I managed to watch it online, though the live feed got really jerky and broke up badly at times. Still isn't as good as plain old television.

The death of that Georgian luger made me lose my enthusiasm for the event. I didn't have the heart to watch any of it.
Yes, luge is a riskier sport than most others, but still, no one should have to die for the sake of a sporting event.
I mean, good grief, we're not in ancient Greece or Rome and these athletes aren't gladiators, no matter how hard the media may hype them as such.

As for the dubious integrity of judging in sports...heh, I've ranted on about that before. I now only follow the more objectively measured events, my favorites being speed skating and alpine ski. That said, I heard about the big news in figure skating - that this was the first time since 1960 (!) that a Russian pair didn't win the gold. That's a seriously long streak. Then I thought: hey, what about Torville and Dean back in Sarajevo 1984? But that was "ice dance" - not the more technical pairs figure skating. Anyway, in the men's downhill, I was disappointed by the Canucks' lackluster runs, but was glad to see American veteran Bode Miller back on the podium after his shutout in Turin. It's just always nice to see the "old guy" showing the young pups how it's done.

Yes, the death of that kid in luge has also put a long deep shadow over the games for me. What a harsh lesson and horrible price to pay for the organizers to slow down a track (that other lugers had been complaining about and called themselves "crash test dummies" for going on it before the deadly accident!!!) and put up a protective wall and some padding on steel/concrete posts!

Yes - luge is dangerous. One of my friends used to head over the the west side of the state and go luging at the run at Muskegon State Park. In order to even go on the track you have to provide proof of medical insurance and sign a waiver that you and your heirs will not sue the state in case of death or permanant disability!

But even so no one should die from it - especially a world ranked somewhat experienced athlete.

I think they made simply a track beyond usual human capabilities, and this shows in the actions they have taken since the fatal accident.