Olympics Fever: Do You Have It?
February 18th, 2010
I’m going to take today to digress from my usual posts. There’s not a lot of new TV on these days, which is mainly because of the Olympics. I realize that the Olympics aren’t a “show” per se, but they are on TV, and therefore fair game for a site about TV to write about them. I adore the Olympics. I will admit, the summer games are my favorite (I am entirely partial towards gymnastics) but the winter Olympics sucks me in as well. Coming in, I was most excited about figure skating but I found myself loving speed skating and moguls. Curling is about the only sport I can’t get into (sorry for those curling lovers out there!)
Tonight is the long program for men’s figure skating. If you follow it at all, Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir have been skating together/against each other since they were 12. Each Olympics, they have both failed to medal, and this year is said to be their year (at least Lysacek’s). Weir is outgoing, outspoken, and wonderful. In an exhibition routine last year, he skated to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face,” if that gives you any indication of his personality. He also has a Sundance Channel series about him called “Be Good, Johnny Weir.” Lysacek is much more reserved. He is super serious and hard working (not to say that Weir isn’t), and the reigning World Champion. However, that doesn’t mean that the odds are in his favor. A reigning World Champion hasn’t won gold in an Olympic Games since Scott Hamilton in the ’80s. After the short program, Weir is in 6th and Lysacek in 2nd. I thought Weir was drastically underscored in the short program, and hope that he is able to medal. It’s a tight race at the top though, so we’ll see what happens. There’s also Plushenko (Russian), reigning Olympic champion, who has returned to skating and is a contender for gold. It’s sure to be an exciting night!
I also caught some of the snowboard cross and ladies downhill skiing. Lindsay Vonn and Shaun White are two very recognizable faces of the games (at least here in the US) and they both won gold medals last night. And of course, who could not root for Shani Davis and Apollo Anton Ohno in speed skating?
Another thing I love besides the competition is the clothing. I think deep in my heart, I want to be an Olympic athlete. So every Olympics, I have to resist the urge to buy a ton of apparel. For the Beijing Olympics, I bought 2 jackets (probably not the smartest decision I have ever made), and this year, I am contemplating finding some way to get my hands on those adorable mittens. And possibly the medal stand USA jacket…
So what I want to know is — do you have Olympic fever? What are your favorite sports? Are you enjoying the coverage/hating the coverage? What event are you most looking forward to? Or are you just biding your time until glorious new episodes of your favorite TV shows come on?
