I Don't Think The Ancient Greeks Were Much Into Speed Skating
So apparently the Olympics are here again, along with their hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of TV coverage. Maybe I'm just getting old, but it seems to me like the Salt Lake Olympics just finished up, even though it was four years ago.
I've always felt kind of conflicted about the Winter Olympics. On one hand, I myself am an avid snowboarder and I dabble in other winter sports, so it's nice to see some world-wide attention paid to sports that I like. Plus, the Winter Olympics are the only time the majority of Americans care about hockey, just like the Summer Games are the only time we care about track and field.
On the other hand, I can't deny that like the sports that they showcase, there's something very elitist about the Winter Olympics. Last time around I remember Jon Stewart calling the Winter games "the preppie kid's Olympics", and he's essentially right. Unlike the Summer version, the Winter Olympics are pretty much a collection of quirky cult sports that are mostly pursued by well-to-do white people from a handful of wealthy countries in North America and Europe. Trust me, little boys in Bangladesh or Brazil or Morocco are not growing up dreaming of winning a gold medal in the luge.
So leave comments: Are the Winter Olympics inspiring or arrogant?
I've always felt kind of conflicted about the Winter Olympics. On one hand, I myself am an avid snowboarder and I dabble in other winter sports, so it's nice to see some world-wide attention paid to sports that I like. Plus, the Winter Olympics are the only time the majority of Americans care about hockey, just like the Summer Games are the only time we care about track and field.
On the other hand, I can't deny that like the sports that they showcase, there's something very elitist about the Winter Olympics. Last time around I remember Jon Stewart calling the Winter games "the preppie kid's Olympics", and he's essentially right. Unlike the Summer version, the Winter Olympics are pretty much a collection of quirky cult sports that are mostly pursued by well-to-do white people from a handful of wealthy countries in North America and Europe. Trust me, little boys in Bangladesh or Brazil or Morocco are not growing up dreaming of winning a gold medal in the luge.
So leave comments: Are the Winter Olympics inspiring or arrogant?
posted by Yukon Sully | 6:28 AM
4 Comments:
Arrogant, very. Figure skating? I know, it's so cliche for a guy to bitch about figure skating. But seriously. And then when they had that scandal where the French judge didn't score honestly, and we had to hear about how these people's lives were ruined. It was the biggest thing on television for, like, days. The horror.
What a riot that whole judging scandal was. And to top it all off, they just split the baby and gave everyone a gold medal. Why not just everyone who shows up gold medals? I just don't care for sport where a bunch of judges decide who wins.
They used to be more inspiring when you had to wait four years to see ANY Olympic event. It was a big mistake to alternate the summer and winter games. They seem less of a rare event which is sad.
I must say that I love to watch the cross-country skiing events. Always have, always will. There is something to epic about that sport. And the finishes are always so close. Awesome.
I agree about the split. It think it was a mistake to do every two years... there's almost nothing to look forward to anymore. The Games used to be so magical to me but now they aren't even very interesting.
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