The closing ceremonies come tomorrow; another Winter Games is mostly in the books. One of the difficulties with this question is keeping up with all the new events. I see we now have one where skiing backwards gets you style points?
Most Winter Olympic events mesmerize me for a simple reason: they’re dangerous in a way Summer Olympics events are not. Take the luge and skeleton, for example. Growing up in Alabama, we got winter weather rarely, but when we did, we got it spectacularly. We had a huge
ice storm when I was in high school, and my friends had a great idea. We’d sled Bankhead Parkway, a half-mile descent with a hairpin turn in the middle. Run #1, we’d built considerable speed heading into the hairpin. We all yanked hard on our steering bars, and… the sleds did turn sideways, but they didn’t turn. We all hit our eject buttons and watched our sleds go flying into the oak trees at the bottom of the hill. Mine splintered. There was no Run #2. Going 90+ mph on ice? I can watch daredevils do that all day.
As for skiing, my first ever attempt came on a kiddie run, practicing the “snowplow” braking maneuver. I caught a patch of ice. The left ski kept turning in, and the left ankle snapped. They had to cut off the ski boot in the medical tent. So, going 70+ mph down a steep mountain holds much respect from me when I couldn’t handle 5 mph on a gentle slope.
On a trip to Innsbruck, our relatives took us to the ski jump from a prior Winter Olympics. It was summertime, but standing at the top of that jump, looking at the landing zone way, way, way down there, you start to appreciate just how how bored (and possibly drunk) people got during the winter up in those remote alpine villages. I can’t imagine any other way for that sport to start.
I’m torn on this one. My wife prefers figure skating, especially the pairs and the ice dancing. Curling seems to be enormously popular, maybe because it combines elements of bowling and billiards, two leisure activities we’ve all tried. My favorite, though, has to be skeleton. Face first, 90 mph, inches above the ice. I can’t imagine what that speed feels like from that perspective. That’s been my must-watch TV for this Olympics.
What are your favorite events and why?
