Shovel Rest
Ok, let me get this off my conscience right off the bat. Yes, I did put the shovel down and watch some of the Olympics over the last two weeks. No, not all of it was 'white noise', while I worked. Here are a few points that registered with me. The Downhill Giant Slalom and the Super-G might be the most exciting of all events. I do not understand why Ice Dancing is in the Olympics. Sport? Curling is comic relief for me! Hockey is still the big draw, but get rid of the professionals and bring back the collegiate skaters. Overuse of the editing button, showing only the 'winners', ruins an event like the 4-Man Bobsled for me. The Two Man Men's Luge looks very wrong!
The NBC broadcast was embarrassing. Jingoism is alive and well and 'living' amongst us. Why, why, why when a US skier comes in 24th is he interviewed first, leaving the winners nowhere to be seen. To be perfectly honest, I want to see the great Olympic athletes compete and win their medals, NOT just the US athletes.
Oh well, with the almighty dollar in control of the Games, this will never change.
Bottomline: what I watched, I enjoyed.
How about you?
BTW, Wikipedia, the god of all truth, says:
ReplyDeleteSports is all forms of usually competitive physical activity which, through casual or organized participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing entertainment to participants, and in some cases, spectators.
So there.
Ya, but really Ice Dancing a sport????????
DeleteHow about the Opening and Closing Ceremonies? Sports? Maybe I'm confused.
DeleteMissed just about the whole event due mostly to a British conspiracy to undermine U.S. athletics, i.e. Doc Martin and Downton Abbey.
ReplyDeletegood post and i agree. we watched mostly the skiing and snow boarding. seems like it just started!
ReplyDeleteOh, it made me crazy, that coverage. . .Crazy!
ReplyDeleteOh, boy! My DH has the same hockey complaints plus so little coverage of the games. My big complaint, speaking of jingoism, was the way the US media posted the medal count and ranking. Friends in Germany who happened to be visiting in the USfor the first few days of the Olympics brought this to my attention. I, too, am interested in ALL the athletes and want better coverage of other countries victories and the ceremony of the medal awards were quite sparsely covered. We need to start writing letters (hones-to-goodness letters) of our concerns and complaints about the coverage.
ReplyDeleteYou tell 'im, Elenka! Mr. B, if you tried ice dancing you would know that it takes great athletic talent. And why can't a little artistry be mixed into sports, I ask? I don't get that TV station, which is probably just as well as there is a lot of noise mixed in to content on commercial stations. IMHO. I hope you won't have to get back to the shovel, spring is on its way...
ReplyDeleteI confess I haven't watched much at all Birdman, but I do agree..winners should be interviewed first up!
ReplyDeleteYou watched a whole lot more than I did. I did watch the "skeleton" competition and pretty much thought that was one crazy way to make a living. I certainly didn't watch enough to say anything about the NBC coverage but, I do agree, they would be more interested in appeasing their sponsors than getting any real news out.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see a lot but I know there was a LOT of coverage on CBC (Canadian) TV. I think sponsors try to show what they think you want to hear, so if they were wrong they need to hear about it.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree with you more. Watched some Olympics, but figure skating and ice dancing dominated prime-time coverage. Had to go to MSNBC-Sports, a cable channel, to see any Hockey at all, and not everyone has that channel. While they covered skiing and other winter sports, it was only in short segments around ice dancing. I'm not a fan of NBC's coverage.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with that snow shoveling. It can be hazardous to your health. Just remember, the snow will be gone by June or July.
We had almost 24 hour Olympic coverage on CBC and we watched hours of it per day - had it on all day at work. I was once in Florida for winter Olympics and almost went crazy with the coverage which was all about the US athletes even if they didn't finish their event.
ReplyDeleteThe whole country here in Canada was up at 7 am (EST) for the gold medal hockey game and the bars were open and selling beer! Crazy
I agree with you. But it's the same everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI figure that people who are far more committed than I pick the sports. So be it.
ReplyDeleteI watched occasionally and sometimes had it on for background noise. Except for hockey, men and women, which I paid more attention to. I thought that inclusion of NHL players gave it a more interesting perspective. The Bruins' goalie played for Finland and was brilliant. The BlueJackets goalie played for Russia and was good most of the time. Bruins players sprinkled across the globe.
I probably cared less about this Olympics than any previous one.
I am happy it's over.
ReplyDeleteLike you I watched some of the time but really had better things to do. Yes I thought the Olympics were for amateurs---remember when some had maybe played summer ball or some sport for money and immediately were deemed ineligible? I could go on but I won't. BYE MB
ReplyDeleteI watched quite a few events. I like the slalom and super G. And I LOVE curling. I tried it a few times when I lived in Canada and it's much harder than it appears on television. My favorite event is the "laying in the snow after crosscountry skiing", I'm pretty sure I could medal in that. :)
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