Okay, now I can actually get something done…or not.
I had forgotten how enticing it can be to watch superior athletes do their thing. The summer Olympics were far away and this was a whole new venue, with challenges we don’t often see around here–this year being “the exception that proves the rule.” Speaking as one who has been wrapping up to sit watching all of this in my draft-plagued cottage, I have to say that those folks are WAY crazier than I will ever attempt to be–and I have a head start.
It was cool (HA !) to see both the men’s and women’s hockey teams win–in overtime, after tying up their games in the final period of regular time–both against Canada too. Interesting that both teams had professionals in their ranks and they had been accustomed to playing with and against each other for ages and suddenly they’re national teams with honor on the line. Fascinating.
I’m not quite sure what to make of either the opening or the closing ceremonies–WAY too “arty” for me, but I was watching the tech aspects of both presentations. The lights !, the music ! the choreography ! the colors! The costumes! And just the design of both programs. They’ve probably been working all of that out since the closing ceremonies of the last Winter Olympics–maybe before. The next time we get to host the Winter Olympics will not come up until they land in Salt Lake /Utah but if the global warming continues apace, we may have to do what some place I read about did; they put insulation on top of their winter snow pack–styrofoam panels or something–and managed to maintain it until temps went down and they could actually make snow..
Just like the Super Bowl, sometimes the commercials were about as much fun as watching the game. Same commercials too, sometimes–liked the Budweiser ones with the Clydesdale & the eagle, the “bride” who wanted three beers…and deviled eggs, and the entire wedding party that went down the hill “ass over ankle bracelet” as Peyton Manning watched. The real charmer though. was the little girl who went out on the ice the first time, promptly went down as the voice-over intoned, “New experiences don’t always start out great, but they just start.” Then the little girl comes up from behind the rinkfence, grins and gives a “thumbs up.” Terminally cute.
I was also taken by one of the winning hockey guys who grinned, showing that he was missing part of a tooth (used to be a regular happening in hockey…why do you think that they wear those facemasks?). Turns out the tooth got knocked out during the game but he stayed in, not wanting to miss anything that important. I wouldda too.
