Wow! That was a terrific two weeks of sports. It was nice to be able to tune in everyday and watch Team USA compete against the world. Really that's what it feels like to me. It seems as if the rest of the world only cares about beating America, and I find that awesome!
I had some time last night during the closing ceremony to reflect on the incredible journey that was the 2010 Winter Olympics. Here are a few of my observations.
1. Canada is a beautiful country and they did a great job of marketing themselves. We'll see how I feel about all of that in a couple weeks when spring training heats up.
2. Short-track speed skating is the most exciting olympic sport. Hockey is a close second because its really all about the match-ups. Short-track is the best.
3. Skiing events like the super G, downhill, slalom, and giant slalom are brutal. I think Lindsay Vonn and Bode Miller had about 6 DNFs between them. You miss a gate, and your event is over. I like this rule when it screws the Russian team, but I'm not so keen on it when it messes with us. We should look to modify that rule.
4. Bobsled and luge are interesting events, but it would be nice if we could run some head to head races. Here's my idea. We freeze a section of road in a village nearby. And, just like in a video game, teams can race through the town and try and knock the competitors out of the race. This would make the back three people in the bobsled actually do something during the race. They could throw rocks, or tritans, or maybe banana peels.
5. It was pretty creepy when the russians got involved with the closing ceremony. Maybe it was because I started watching upstairs and the sound and picture were off, but there was something super ominous about those russians. It was like an overly dramatic Red Dawn scene. I was having flashbacks to my coldwar days. When team USA invades russia in 2014 we are going to have to have our head on a swivel. No room for mistakes. We need to get in there, steal their gold, silver, and bronze, check under the carpet for nuclear material, and get the hell out.
6. Finally, Team USA is full of badasses. We dominated the olympics from start to finish. It's really amazing how talented and competitive the Americans are. One reporter was asked why the USA did so well and he said, "When you have 300 million people, you are bound to be good at something." This pissed me off. China and India each have three times as many people as the United State. I didn't see them dominating! The fact of the matter is the united states is made up of extremely hard working people who at their core are very competitive. This culture had made the USA what it is today. Putting aside all political nonsense, the US is the best country in the world! It is the best place to raise a family, start a business, vacation, watch television, play sports, make friends, road trip, and not recycle. The United States can do anything it puts its mind to! Except, of course, for curling. Gawd we suck at curling.
