Winter Olympics

[Dr. Matt]

Well, I'm sure there's going to be something to talk about over the next few weeks, and I figured the Olympics could use a thread separate to the other one I started.

Being Canadian, the Winter Olympics are usually a pretty big deal for me. Don't know how much I'll get to watch. I'm scheduled to work during pretty much all of the Hockey games, which is shitty, and I'll actually be in NYC on Vacation the day of the Gold Medal Game (and we better fucking be playing in it), so I'll have to find a friendly bar to watch the game in.

My thoughts so far:

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Opening Ceremonies:

WTF was that? Granted, the floor/screen thing was pretty neat, and their was some cool visuals, but, man, so unimpressed. It's sad when what I enjoyed the most was the Slam Poet.

I can't believe they used Ashley MacIssac to represent the East Coast. He hasn't been relevant in over 15 years, and was known more for his behaviour than his musical talent.

k.d. lang singing Hallelujah? What the fuck? But, it could be worse, I read an article this morning where someone wrote, without a hint of irony, "And where were some of Canada's most famous entertainers, Celine Dion, Neil Young, and Shania Twain?" Celine Dion is not fucking respected. She is a fucking punchline. She does not represent my fucking country. She has to work in Vegas to pay off her stupid, cradle-robbing husbands gambling debts. Fuck her. Neil Young would've been nice, though...

Everyone lip synching: boo-urns.

Some of the rights, though: good choice on the Flag Bearers. Hilariously enough, the local news did a poll on who they thought should light the cauldron, and a lot of people said "Anne Murray". Whatever. A lot of people wanted Betty Fox to light the cauldron, but for as much as her son Terry (if you don't know who Terry Fox is, look him up. Probably one of the greatest Canadians ever to live) did for the country and cancer research, he wasn't an Olympian. I think letting her be the first with the flag was a great nod.

And the torch bearers, again, all rights. Too young to remember Nancy Green, but everyone else was a right. Granted, Gretzky's single Olympic Performance gave us Wood Medal (AKA 4th place), but he is credited with putting together our 2002 Gold Medal team. Rick Hansen is another true Canadian Hero, and Catrina Le May Doan is an outstanding example of an Olympian.

But, what the hell with the technical malfunction. Real sour note to end the show. And what was that with Wayne driving the torch outside in an SUV? Weird.

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The Weather: Well, let's be honest, as an East Coaster, I don't associate "Vancouver" with "Winter". I had friends in school from the West Coast who never saw snow out there like we have here.

Stuff is already getting postponed. Hopefully they get colder weather in the next week, but, man, it's fucking Vancouver. Good luck.

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The Events: Well, not much is on yet. But maybe we can start discussions as stuff goes on. CTV is just showing Ski Jumping and Luge trials. Seems like they are padding time since Alpine Skiing was postponed. Or maybe it was Freestyle. Whatever.

Speed skating is about to start, I guess. 5000 m? Man, this is not exciting.

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Not sure if people outside the country know this, but Canada has never won a Gold Medal at Home (In either Montreal or Calgary), so they put a lot of money into supporting athletes so we don't embarrass ourselves again. So, expect the first medal win to be really emotional.

Anyways, I've ranted enough. Is anybody else even watching?

[President Jeff]

I started watching the opening ceremonies last night and switched the channel 15 mins into it. TSN shows the high lights of it this morning. I would have laughed so hard if the Snow boarder at the beginning of the Ceremonie would have fell.

I doubt I'll watch any of the olympics. May have it on as background noise or while channel surfing between commericals. If anything, I'll probably watch the Hockey games once they start playing USA and Russia.

[Dr. Matt]

So, I didn't get to watch last night (work); but my thoughts on Day 1.

Canada's women's hockey team crushed Slovakia 18-0. Canada (and the US) are in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Women's hockey only really exists in North America. It's growing elsewhere. Sweden and Finland are a distant 3 & 4. The Swedish upset over the US last olympics really was huge. That being said, the IOC doesn't like handing out medals. That's why there was a huge controversy trying to get Woman's Ski Jumping included in the games.

People say "The men blow out teams all the time" (just watch the World Juniors), but there is still stiff competition. The podium will consist of some combination of Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, and the US, but medals certainly aren't guarenteed. In the years since the NHL has sent players, Canada has 1 medal, Russia has 2, Sweden 1, Finland 2, the Czechs 2, and the US 1. And, in all reality, 2 upsets in the quarterfinals could lead to a new country winning a medal this year.

But, in their defense, this sucks for women hockey players. One of them pointed out that they only really get to play 5 games every 4 years, so they go out and give it their best. Slovakia has 288 female hockey players. There just wasn't a chance.

In my opinion, less countries should get to play. Narrow the field from 8 teams to 6. That way, you're getting the Canadians and the US, the Finns and Swedes, the Germans or the Russians, and then whoever is hosting that year. Have all the teams play in one 5-game round robin, then drop the bottom two and do your playoffs. Yes, less teams are getting to compete, but teams like Slovakia just can't compete on this level. They still have qualification rounds to play at International Level, but this sport, which is growing, isn't that big yet.

Nodar Kumaritashvili's Georgian luge teammate has dropped out of the Olympics. I know the whole world was hoping this guy would compete in his friend's memory, and maybe if the luge event was in a few more days, he may have. But, from what I read, they were best friends, trained together, lodged together. He's still not over the shock. Don't blame him at all for bowing out.

Speaking of luge, this whole situation is getting weirder and weirder. The men's starting spot has been lowered (thus decreasing speed) to where the women start, and I guess they built a wall where Nodar crashed. On one side, you have Georgian Official's (apparently his dad was the head of Georgian Luging on something) saying the course was always a death trap, while the coaches of the other countries are pissed they changed the course. Another bizarre story I read said that any competitor not in the top 30 was allowed to come and practice earlier on the track, but Nodar never did. I think this story is going to be a source of a lot of controversy, with the Georgian's blaming the officials for making them run a dangerous course and the officials basically blaming Nodar for being unprepared.

In reality, it's most likely a combination of both; but, you know what, knowing who to blame doesn't solve the problem.

Anywho, I've been up for 24 hours and gotta go to work again tonight. Is anybody else even watching the Olympics? Is my desperate attempt to drum up activity around here going to work at all?

[Assassin]

I'm waiting for when they start the Men's hockey and the snowboarding which I hear is suppose to start either tonight or tomorrow. The snowboarding anyway,

[Dr. Matt]

Ugh, having to work is killing me. The only things on before I go are usually highlights, or all the competitors who have no chance of winning.

I watched 45 minutes of Downhill Skiing yesterday where they kept saying "Well, we've had the same top three for some time now, and the hill is so chewed up there's little chance that anyone will change that". I think the best placing I watched was 15th.

I caught the start of boardercross, which seems like an awesome sport. I hope I get to catch the halfpipe contest.

Anywho, Men's Hockey starts tonight, but alas, I work again. But, all three games will probably be one sided. If Alex is going to destroy any team with a flurry of goals, it'll be the Latvians tonight. Also, Canada better put on a fucking spectacle tonight against Norway. We learned in Turin that no games are handed to us, and if they don't make a statement against a team like Norway, they're never going to hear the end of it. Although, on the other hand, it'd almost be better for the team if it was a close game, just so they realize nothing can be taken for granted.

Not really sure of what else is going on today... Curling starts today. Not that curling is my favorite sport to watch, but if you understand the game, the last few frames can be fun to watch. And, it's kinda funny how Simpsons treated curling. They seemed to really stress the facts in some points (like how they had to compete as a demonstration since Mixed Curling isn't an olympic sport yet); but then they did some really off the wall stuff. I'm sure 99% of the audience didn't even care, but oh well.

As for the medal count, at least Canada isn't embarrassing itself yet. US leads the medal count, but half of them are bronze. But, it's still early. Hopefully "Own the Podium" is the one thing VANOC doesn't fuck up.