The Winter Olympics

I have been watching them religiously (well DVR'ing them every night and going through all the footage...which is about as good as it gets these days).

Some great stuff:

The guy who yells at every U.S. skier to pump him up before he heads down the mountain. He sounds like Sergeant Slaughter and says things such as "Shred this thing Teddy!" "Come on Bode, own this mountain!"

Interviews with snowboarders. They are so laid back it's sick. They live up to every stereotype about them and more. I love the fact that they actually say what they are thinking and feeling as opposed to the stock professional athlete responses we are so used to these days. Shaun White even talked about hoping that his gold medal would get him "babes."

Underdogs have actually won events. Many of Sports Illustrated's medal predictions were way off (to be fair, it is verrrry hard to accurately predict most of these things, especially when they are decided by such small fractions of a second). But I have also liked when big favorites like Shaun White have won, confirming their greatness. It was amazing to see a Croatian racer celebrating his silver as if it was gold. The Olympics are such a powerful (but shockingly brief)moment of importance for these athletes that it is remarkable to see how they react to the situation.

I can't wait to see the Snowboardcross event (I think that I have it on tape). Four racers jockeying for position racing down a mountain at the same time!

I just wish I could watch the events live and not have to try and avoid discovering the results before I watch the broadcasts.