- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
A thread for random observations throughout the Olympics -- little bits and bobs that don't fit into other threads. I'll start.
1. The streak
The longest winning streak in Olympic history continues, and now stands at 11-and-a-half.
2. Ancient rivalries
NBC tried to play up the Yao / Vasiliev connection from when they competed against each other as athletes, then seemed to say, "Ah, who cares?" and dropped that storyline completely. One of Yao's pairs beat one of Vasiliev's pairs in 2002, but this time, it was a Vasiliev pair beating Yao's entire army.
3. I'm so pathetic
My deepest, humblest apologies, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot remember the names of the two younger Chinese pairs or keep them straight as to which is which. I love Shen & Zhao, but I just can't remember the others.
4. If a nation sweeps a podium, you may insert your own curling joke here
Remove T&M from the equation and China (China!) sweeps the podium. Remove T&M from the equation and one coach sweeps the podium. That's just breathtaking.
5. We just have to be different
The Chinese pairs costumes all had the same theme and similar design (through both the long and short programs), except for the couple who won silver -- they wore white during the long program. Rebels!
6. Pretty
Xue Shen's skirt was beautiful.
7. Should we put Rena on the snowboarding team?
It wasn't just that they did the throw 3A, it was the way they did it. Gorgeous!
8. The other streak
Tamara Moskvina's streak of getting one of her teams on the podium in six straight Olympics came to an end. However, since she used to coach Oleg Vasiliev, can we say that she grandmothered T&M onto the podium?
9. Pick up where you left off
Does any other sport on the planet allow its athletes to continue from the point at which they left off due to an injury or accident? I can't think of any. I'm not sure that even gymnastics does that. (I'm still glad I got to see them skate after their crash, though.)
10. Future looking bright?
I can't remember how many times I watched a performance and thought to myself, "They're young, talented, and need more polish. This couple should be awesome in 2010!" In Torino, I saw an awful lot of young potential waiting to be realized.
11. If ice dancers perform and no one watches, are they still loud and colorful?
My annual science fiction convention is always in the middle of February, which means every 4 years I miss the middle six days of the Winter Olympics. I'll DVR the important stuff (ice dance), but I won't have a chance to view it until after the Olympics are over, and I'd just like to take a moment to whine and cry about that.
12. Would it start a North American war if we did this?
I hereby propose that we kidnap Jamie & David from Canadian television and force them to do commentary for NBC, replacing Bezic/Button/Hammond. (If it's any consolation, I also propose that we do not force the Bezic/Button/Hammond team onto the Canadian audience. I mean, stealing Jamie & David would be bad enough, but really, to take it a step further would be just plain mean.)
ETA: I am mistaken. Jamie & David are not working for the CBC (and yes, I'm aware that they are working with NBC, but not as commentators). So, evidently, we can kidnap them with no international repercussions.
All other random observations welcome.
1. The streak
The longest winning streak in Olympic history continues, and now stands at 11-and-a-half.
2. Ancient rivalries
NBC tried to play up the Yao / Vasiliev connection from when they competed against each other as athletes, then seemed to say, "Ah, who cares?" and dropped that storyline completely. One of Yao's pairs beat one of Vasiliev's pairs in 2002, but this time, it was a Vasiliev pair beating Yao's entire army.
3. I'm so pathetic
My deepest, humblest apologies, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot remember the names of the two younger Chinese pairs or keep them straight as to which is which. I love Shen & Zhao, but I just can't remember the others.
4. If a nation sweeps a podium, you may insert your own curling joke here
Remove T&M from the equation and China (China!) sweeps the podium. Remove T&M from the equation and one coach sweeps the podium. That's just breathtaking.
5. We just have to be different
The Chinese pairs costumes all had the same theme and similar design (through both the long and short programs), except for the couple who won silver -- they wore white during the long program. Rebels!
6. Pretty
Xue Shen's skirt was beautiful.
7. Should we put Rena on the snowboarding team?
It wasn't just that they did the throw 3A, it was the way they did it. Gorgeous!
8. The other streak
Tamara Moskvina's streak of getting one of her teams on the podium in six straight Olympics came to an end. However, since she used to coach Oleg Vasiliev, can we say that she grandmothered T&M onto the podium?
9. Pick up where you left off
Does any other sport on the planet allow its athletes to continue from the point at which they left off due to an injury or accident? I can't think of any. I'm not sure that even gymnastics does that. (I'm still glad I got to see them skate after their crash, though.)
10. Future looking bright?
I can't remember how many times I watched a performance and thought to myself, "They're young, talented, and need more polish. This couple should be awesome in 2010!" In Torino, I saw an awful lot of young potential waiting to be realized.
11. If ice dancers perform and no one watches, are they still loud and colorful?
My annual science fiction convention is always in the middle of February, which means every 4 years I miss the middle six days of the Winter Olympics. I'll DVR the important stuff (ice dance), but I won't have a chance to view it until after the Olympics are over, and I'd just like to take a moment to whine and cry about that.
12. Would it start a North American war if we did this?
I hereby propose that we kidnap Jamie & David from Canadian television and force them to do commentary for NBC, replacing Bezic/Button/Hammond. (If it's any consolation, I also propose that we do not force the Bezic/Button/Hammond team onto the Canadian audience. I mean, stealing Jamie & David would be bad enough, but really, to take it a step further would be just plain mean.)
ETA: I am mistaken. Jamie & David are not working for the CBC (and yes, I'm aware that they are working with NBC, but not as commentators). So, evidently, we can kidnap them with no international repercussions.
All other random observations welcome.
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The perfect Madame Butterfly.
