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Winter Olympics

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I am really enjoying watching the winter Olympic games from Sochi, Russia. They are showing ski jumping right now (medal round of the Men's normal hill). I know that Team USA doesn't usually fare well in the ski jumping events, though they are one of my favorites to watch. IDK, but I like watching both the summer an winter games, maybe because the events are so varied that it's not like watching the normal sports programming that is usually televised here in the states. Even events that I don't care that much about (figure skating) or ones that I really don't understand that much about are fun to watch, and I find myself watching this year more than in the past. Are there any other DCers out there that are watching the games, or am I the only one? Any favorite events?

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Figure skating is my favorite, since I used to do it. I also like bobsled, luge, and skeleton.

 

Women's biathlon is on right now, though.

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Yup, totally!

 

My sister loves watching most of the known sports and the Olympics time means there is nothing else allowed on tv during that time at home. laugh.gif

 

Also I love watching the sports where we have some medal chances. =) (One silver and one bronze so far is a great thing for my tiny country, Czech Republic)

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I am certain I will watch at least one game of hockey, regardless of which teams are playing.

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I don't usually watch much of the Winter Olympics (unlike Summer, which I will watch all day regardless of what's on), but I'd like to get in a few games of hockey if I can.

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I don't attend them as much as the summer olympics, but I try when I have time to see the figure skating. I really love that sport and I attend also the europian and the world championship. Unfortunately the public tv shows it at night, when I'm out or sleeping.

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I am not doing as well watching as I usually do. I get upset with subjective judging events. Ones in which the time or weight or whatever are facts aren't an issue, but figure skating, dancing, gymnastics in the summer and diving can all drive me crazy. Bobsled and luge are fun.

 

Snow boarding and moguls are fun to watch. Speed skating is also interesting but not for long periods of time. I get bored with people going round and round. Marathoms, speed skating, car racing. Yawn!

 

I wish I could just hit a button and watch the event without all of the color commentary. It drives me nuts and takes time away from the actual events they might have shown. Just because you aren't in the top 15 or 25 I might still love seeing all the countries entries in a sport I like.

 

What was with the qualyfing bouts of some sports happening before the opening ceremony? I'd feel cheated if I'd worked that hard, had not had an accident and yet was out of the running before the games officially opened. You can always hope and pray for a miracle after all.

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Mostly catching highlights here and there.

 

Especially for hockey and curling. The two sports that Team Canada usually excel in. And Team Canada is excelling already with 10 medals

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I always enjoy the figure skating. :3 It broke my heart a little when Evgeni Plushenko had to leave the rink due to injury. He deserved a better ending. sad.gif I was so looking forward to watching him in his final performance.

 

But watching Yuzuru Hanyu was like... I don't know, it was amazing. Watching those jumps, and him making them look so effortless... *whew* But I confess I only watched the Men's short program. We don't have TV, so its only when I go visiting people that I actually get to watch any of them. ^^; I've heard he didn't make two of his jumps in the free program.

 

I also enjoy the luge, and the speed skating. :3 Skiing is fun, I like the freestyle skiing. Hm... Skeleton scares me. ^^; I don't know why I like the luge, but not the skeleton. Probably because they're going down headfirst?

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I always enjoy the figure skating. :3 It broke my heart a little when Evgeni Plushenko had to leave the rink due to injury. He deserved a better ending. sad.gif I was so looking forward to watching him in his final performance.

I've got dissapointed too, but it makes me feel better to think that he took the gold with Russia's team at the team skating.

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Well, I live in the US and I figure skate, so you can tell how I feel about the whole thing. If you can't, I am rather annoyed. But my favorite person ever right now is from Japan, Yuzuru Hanyu because he is kind of adorable tongue.gif

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Yup, totally!

 

My sister loves watching most of the known sports and the Olympics time means there is nothing else allowed on tv during that time at home. laugh.gif

 

Also I love watching the sports where we have some medal chances. =) (One silver and one bronze so far is a great thing for my tiny country, Czech Republic)

The Czech Republic is my second favorite after the US thanks to the fact that Vladimir Sobotka was supposed to be on the Czech hockey team until an unfortunate leg injury just prior to the start of the Olympics. Even though he won't be there, I'll still be cheering for his country.

 

Which brings me to my favorite part of the Winter Olympics, which is hockey. As a Blues fan, I am so happy to see so much support for TJ Oshie and his shootout yesterday. But boy do I have high hopes for the US team this year.

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My favourite event is the one where the reporters have to find their hotel room.

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Anne Schleper is a defenseman on the US Women's hockey team. My mom knows her mother from when they taught together at McKinley elementary school in Waite Park, MN. Anne wasn't born until after my mom retired from teaching in 1990.

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I am a huge Olympics fan both summer and winter. It is nice to watch competitions by people who love the sport and not just overpaid pieces of crap. (Like most "pro athletes" are now.) It is also nice to watch sports I only see here and there too.

 

I was so jealous that my sister got to attend some events when Atlanta hosted them. She was interning down there for the summer. My dad did end up with one of the BMW motorcycles used in the races.

 

Yes I do cheer for USA in everything, but it is nice to hear about some of the other countries. (I was both saddened and appreciative when the Russian skater took himself out. That took a lot of guts and it is something that impresses me because he chose his health over what would have been a less than stellar performance.)

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I am, as usual, OBSESSED with the Olympics, and have been married to my laptop and the TV since they began. I've often got two events on at once, one streaming live and one on the television where NBC is idiotically tape delaying most things (seriously, screw NBC's coverage... horrible.)

 

It's good to see love for the Czechs in this thread - I always root for them as it's my favorite country and I'd move there if I could. Soukalová (Czech biathlete) just got silver a short while ago, FINALLY, I've been watching her struggle with the various biathlon events and she's come in 4th a couple of times, it's great to see her finally medal. Biathlon is by far my favorite event, both men's and women's, I love the combination of endurance and accuracy it requires. It's also got a lot of drama with potential for huge upsets, falls, last-minute races for higher placement, etc.

 

Figureskating used to be my favorite event but it's been pretty disappointing this year. If it weren't for Yulia Lipnitskaya, who is INCREDIBLE and probably the most beautiful skater I've ever watched, it would hardly be worth watching IMO. Plushenko dropping out is so disappointing, and more than a little sketchy, but oh well. The ice dance is on now and I'm only half paying attention. I just can't get into the ice dancing like the other skating events, it just looks ridiculous most of the time.

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Plushenko dropping out is so disappointing, and more than a little sketchy, but oh well.

How is it at all sketchy? Evgeny Plushenko is 31 and has been at the top level of competition for a decade. He's not just old for a figure skater, he's ancient, and he's been having back problems all season.

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I thought the figure skating short dance yesterday was fantastic. I guess it's a little "silly" as an Olympic sport (mostly because regular dance isn't considered a sport) but they are still pretty awesome at being able to do all that while skating. The top couple spots did fantastic routines.

 

I also watched Women's Snowboard cross which was pretty awesome, and two man bobsled (which was awesome seeing the Jamaicans even if they didn't place very well at all. I'm just like, good for them for making it! Also their watermelon themed helmets were hilarious).

 

I also thought that reporter was awful the way she badgered Bode Miller about his brother until she got him to cry. Seriously talk about insensitive.

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How is it at all sketchy? Evgeny Plushenko is 31 and has been at the top level of competition for a decade. He's not just old for a figure skater, he's ancient, and he's been having back problems all season.

The timing and his flair for the dramatic is what makes it sketchy to me. I don't doubt that he's legitimately injured, but I do question the way the whole thing went down. If there is more to it than just an injury then I don't blame him for going that route - who wouldn't want to go out on a gold, after all.

 

edit:

Also their watermelon themed helmets were hilarious

 

Haha, I didn't get to see this so I just looked it up, and I LOVE those helmets. Apparently some people are trying to make a racial issue out of it, wtf? Come on, people.

Edited by Koroshiya-Ichi

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Oh of course people have to bring that in.

 

I just thought it was a funny nod to being from a rather tropical place and managing to be in the winter Olympics.

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The timing and his flair for the dramatic is what makes it sketchy to me. I don't doubt that he's legitimately injured, but I do question the way the whole thing went down. If there is more to it than just an injury then I don't blame him for going that route - who wouldn't want to go out on a gold, after all.

Having followed Plushenko through the figure skating circuit since 2002, I can promise you that dramatics most likely had no factor in it. He's a dedicated athlete and was the sole representative for his country in the event (and Russia is ALWAYS viciously competitive in the figure skating circuits) - he would not have withdrawn if he thought he could compete despite the injury. It's hardly showboating when you know your career is over after the Olympics regardless, you want more than anything to go out on top, and you know you are your country's only hope for a medal. He was probably heartbroken.

 

Sorry, I just have a lot of figure skating feels. And Plushenko feels.

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I'm not sure how the Olympics work, but how can you compete in sledding...? blink.gif

Edited by Bunnybrine

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Congrats to Meryl Davis & Charlie White securing the gold for U.S. in ice dance by a big margin. Like I said, I'm not a fan of ice dancing, but they're talented enough to where even I can enjoy watching them, as are Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir and a couple of the other top performers that are so obviously way above the rest of the field, performance-wise, even to the layperson's eyes.

 

Events nearly over for today. Had to miss the men's aerials finals because I started getting an occular migraine, had a huge shimmering blind spot in my vision for a good 25+ minutes so I couldn't watch much of anything. Thankfully it's gone now, just in time to see the team ski jump! One of my Olympic waifus is Jakub Janda, a Czech ski jumper, but the poor guy just cannot get even close to medalling, sigh... still love watching him though. And his name is fun as hell to say.

 

 

edit...

Having followed Plushenko through the figure skating circuit since 2002, I can promise you that dramatics most likely had no factor in it. He's a dedicated athlete and was the sole representative for his country in the event (and Russia is ALWAYS viciously competitive in the figure skating circuits) - he would not have withdrawn if he thought he could compete despite the injury. It's hardly showboating when you know your career is over after the Olympics regardless, you want more than anything to go out on top, and you know you are your country's only hope for a medal. He was probably heartbroken.

 

We'll just have to agree to disagree I suppose. I don't think you can ever truly discount dramatics when it comes to Plushenko, it's just in his personality. Acknowledging that he wants to go out on top and being his country's sole entrant only makes the case for non-injury related reasons for withdrawal even stronger IMO. All that aside though, how anticlimactic was the men's skating in general? So many falls and chokes. I have a good feeling about the women though, I think they'll deliver much more solidly. /crosses fingers

Edited by Koroshiya-Ichi

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We'll just have to agree to disagree I suppose. I don't think you can ever truly discount dramatics when it comes to Plushenko, it's just in his personality. Acknowledging that he wants to go out on top and being his country's sole entrant only makes the case for non-injury related reasons for withdrawal even stronger IMO. All that aside though, how anticlimactic was the men's skating in general? So many falls and chokes. I have a good feeling about the women though, I think they'll deliver much more solidly. /crosses fingers

Nothing has prevented Russia from qualifying both Plyuschenko and Kovtun for the Olympics (they could have split the team and individual events). They decided to put all their eggs in one basket, so to speak, and paid the price. I don't blame Plyuschenko for pulling out - the man has a vertebral implant, for heaven's sake. You don't mess with spinal injuries; I'm sure he'd rather not paralyze himself over a chance at one more medal.

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