In fact, all the snowboarding events have been filled with the good spirit of both fun and competition. Traditional alpine skiing, even in the exhilaration of the downhill events, seems dull and wooden in comparison . . . with all the competitors taking themselves far too seriously.
In any case, the folks in Torino appear to have done a magnificent job and NBC's TV coverage has been far superior to past Winter Olympics . . . far less chit-chat and air-time for the big-name announcers and more of the real stuff we all want to watch.
My favorite quote of the Olympics so far was that of United States pairs skater Aliona Savchenko who, born and raised in Russia, is now an American citizen. When asked about his citizenship Savchenko said that he is happy and excited to be starting on the "American Dream."
I thought to myself, how many people, athletes or otherwise, immigrate to Russia to start on the "Russian Dream?" or to China to start on the "Chinese Dream?" People do not ordinarily immigrate to these countries at all. Rather, people emigrate away from these countries in pursuit of their "dreams" when given the opportunity.
I've got to say that Akiona Savchenko seemed to be a happy, smiling competitor even though he and partner Robin Szolkowy only came in seventh overall. Competing as an American was, apparently, the greatest thrill of all.
Article comments
1 - Alison
Ummm.... Aliona Savchenko is a woman, not a man and she immigrated from Russia to Germany, not America.
2 - Andy Marsh
I have a question concerning figure skating...why do the requirements for women's moves in this particular sport give extra points if a woman is able to hold one leg straight up in the air and skate around the rink??? Is it dirty old men wanting to see....I can't go there...
3 - Bird of Paradise
Oops! You are right, Alison. And, to add insult to injury, I mis-typed her name, too! Rats! Now I can't recall which American (former Russian) skater DID make that statement! Can anyone help me here?
4 - Alison
If it was pairs skaters you're thinking of, maybe it was Rena Inoue (who immigrated from Japan) and skates with John Baldwin. There is also a male ice dancer Dennis Petukhov (sp?) who is now a US citizen and married to his partner, Melissa Gregory.
5 - Natalie Davis
I thought Plushenko's long program was quite beautiful. Mileage varies. But I will agree that it blows to have jumps are given so much priority. And under the new scoring system, skaters are more calculated about what they do, which cuts into artistry. Some of the spins and positions are downright ugly, but they score points with the judges, so... It's a shame.
I remember long ago there was a Swiss skater named Denise Biellmann (she skates pro still, I believe). She was the first to do that spin where the leg is lifted overhead so that the skater can grab hold of the skate (and the first woman to turn the triple lutz in competition). What became known as the Biellmann spin is now de riguere in skating - even the men do it. But it was an ugly spin in the '70s and '80s, IMO, and it's even uglier now.
6 - Scott Butki
People do not ordinarily immigrate to these countries at all.
Wow, talk about making a wild generalization based on... well, if you're basing it on Aliona it turns out you're wrong - she immigrated to Germany, one of the places you said people don't immigrate to.