I hated, HATED the Opening Ceremonies. I was underwhelmed by the whole thing, and some parts just confused me (tap dancing grunge rockers + fall foliage??).

I also thought the NBC commentators were off their game. Was it neccesarry to make fun of the one team's bright pants (which I thought were awesome)? And the Russian major in me cringed every time they said "the former Soviet Union." I think we've outgrown that phrase - please call it Russia/Russian Federation, or shall we call the United States "the former British Colony?"

Anyone else tear-up over the Dan Jansen/VISA commercial? I have heard that story a hundred times, yet it still gets me!

I bought some Olympic red mittens!!!

I agree 100 percent. Especially since the USSR was made up of more then just the RSFSR which is the current Russian Federation.

The men's 1500 speed skate final was :eek::D

Love the moguls, but my knees hurt just watching them!

I thought the US team's outfits were so cute.

*raises hand*

But then I always tear up when I see the replay of Muhammad Ali lighting the cauldron in Atlanta.

I think the same thing happened to Ono in 2002. He was knocked out right before the finish (either in the finals or semis)

I remember tearing up when his sister died. He was trying so hard to win the medals that he fell in almost every race. He wanted to leave the Olympics to be with her when he was told she was at the end, but she had insisted that he HAD to stay as this was his dream.

DaffyKD

The Journalism major in me cringed, too.

That last routine by the American pairs couple made me miss skating soooooo much. I've been off the ice for 2 months and need to get back. I think I'll go tomorrow. I'm so out of shape it's gonna hurt, but I still can't wait. I feel like they got robbed. Their music and passion were way better than Canada's, but Canada's routine was clean so that's fair.

I love watching figure skating! If only I could figure out how to mute the stupid commentators without also muting the music. Sandra Bezic makes me want to turn the channel.

I went and it was AMAZING!!! I forgot how skating makes me feel. Even my jumps and spins were still pretty good, I'm not nearly as out of shape as I thought. I haven't stopped smiling since I left. :D


Thank you, Olympics.

I watched the pairs final this morning (thank you DVR) and was truly impressed by the Chinese teams that took Gold and Silver. They were terrrific. As for the US Pairs, well we haven't had decent pairs in a long time. I don't remember much about the 06 or 02 winter olympics, but I do remember (so sad that I remember this too) that in 94 Jenny Meno and Todd Sand finished 5th, which at the time was the highest an American pairs team had ever finished.
I think it's kind of odd if we've never had a pairs team finish higher, considering we have rocked in women's and men's and I have a feeling this year we might rock it in ice dancing.

Peter and Kitty Carruthers won a silver in '84, and I think that an American team won the bronze in '88. And it doesn't count, of course, but if only Tai and Randy had been able to compete in '80...

in 88 Jill Watson and Peter Opigard (sp?) won the bronze (US pair). Sad that I didn't even have to look that up anywhere.

As a little bit of trivia- Peter is now married to Michelle Kwan's sister.

so no one past 88 in American pairs has won? we should be taking a clue from the Russians and now the Chinese. :D

I have to admit, every time they showed Shaun White during the opening ceremonies, I though they were showing a female.

I LOVE snowboardcross. It is so exciting!

Figure skating is so blehh for me. I think the athleticism of the jumps and spins is incredible, but the way it is covered at the Olympics drives me nuts. First of all, the judging this year seemed so rigged...there were several times (including the gold medal) where I felt the judges were just assigned scores based on seniority or "sob stories" even when there were visible mistakes and falls. Second, I feel that four minutes is far too long...the majority of the interesting elements happens in the first half, and then it is two minutes of just skating around. I would LOVE to see something like the gymnastics, where everything is packed in to a shorter amount of time. Third...would it kill somebody to not use a maudlin piano score? It is such an athletic event, and I would love to see a music choice with a little more "oomph" and edge...but maybe the judges would rate that routine poorly. And fourth, whoever is the American announcer is, she is beyond pretentious...if I had a dollar for every time she threw out a term like "exquisite", "ethereal" or "beloved"...

Anyways, I LOVE the Winter Olympics. Although I do miss the inclusion of diving, which is my all time favorite Olympic sport.

Haven't seen the results, but I hope Jacobellis didn't eff it up again.

ETA: She did.

Honestly, I don't know who is worse-Sandra Bezic or Peggy Fleming-both can come across as a bit snippy and Nancy Negative-ish. Just lemme enjoy the skating. Thank you.

The programs are not just jumping and "skating around..."

For the short program, there are certain requirements EVERYONE has to do. You have to do different footwork sections, spins, jumps, etc. They have three minutes to try and put all of these elements together in some sort of musical/artistic way. You are judged on each element.

There are also "kinda" requirements for the free skate/long program, as well. It used to be a free-for-all. But, it was becoming just a jumping sport. So, now, you have a list of elements to be judged on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISU_Judging_System

Because of the judging issues in the past, they completely restructured the system. It is complicated. And, I am not a fan. But, it's better than when the competitions were influenced...

Basically, there is a reason for everything they do on the ice. It's an extremely intricate sport.

If you think Shaun White looks like a woman, did you SEE Johnny Weir's costume for the short program?! It was FAHHH-BULOUS! My god, that boy has some guts. I found the pink tassel rather annoying/distracting, though.
I'm so excited for Men's Halfpipe tonight!!!:D

i have started referring to him as Johnny Weird.

also excited for the halfpipe tonight-if i can make it thru all the million dang commercial breaks. "sigh" i wish i had tevo(sp?). go shaun!!

Did you think he "rocked the tassel"?:)

I love figure skating. It was awesome.

Two words: Dick Button.

Was anyone else as underwhelmed as I was by Yevgeny Plushenko's routine last night?

Jen i so co-sign on that Shaun White/Carrot Top doppleganger. im sure he gets it all the time. I think he's cute, therein lies the difference.

and I really want men named Richard to go by Richard or Rich. Dick just sounds like you've stepped out of Anytown, USA circa 1950s.

I never liked people using "Dick." (there was no better way to word this sentence)

Dick Button
Dick Buttkiss...I mean, Butkus.

Are you kidding me?

They were had on female curling before. It is funny to watch.

lol, exactly.

p.s. i am LMAO at what replaced your siggy, cause i remember watching that a couple days ago and CTHU at that comment.

yes, plus I understand that mind games are all part of it, but he needs his smug little face smacked after that press conference.

If I wanted to see a jumping competition I would watch gymnastics or ski jumping. I prefer figure skaters that don't look like robots between their jumps.

And he needs to cut the mullet.

and get a nose job. God, i hope that evan beats him for the gold!

Seriously, his obnoxious comment about skaters not attempting to do quads was so freaking uncalled for.

I hope Evan destroys him.

USAToday posted on their FRONT PAGE the medalists of the downhill. WTF?!

You have to practically cut off any and all media to keep anything a surprise.