The Olympics are awesome to watch and cheer on your country and this year is particularly exciting for me because it is the winter olympics! My favorite sport is curling. I love the strategy, skill, and sportsmanship involved in this game. There are no refs in curling, curlers take pride in the fact that this game is all about sportsmanship, truth, and honesty. Thursday, February 18th provides the perfect example of this unique quality in the match between the U.S.A. and Denmark women. At the conclusion of, I believe the 8th end, the closest stones to the button for each team was a virtual tie. The skip for Team Denmark evaluated the stones and correctly gave the point to Team U.S.A. In many sports, an official would make the call and, if wrong, the party benefiting would be happy, while the other will be angry. Not so in curling, the only time someone other than the participates don't decide the points is when the decision is so close neither team as any idea who won. In this case a measurer uses a special tool to determine the winner, and noone argues. It is SO refreshing to see true sportsmanship.
Another popular winter olympic sport is, of course, figure skating. Personally it is not my favorite to watch but I do watch a handful of performances each olympic year simply because of the amazing skill the sport requires. Of course I always wonder how figure skaters can perform without getting sick.....I mean I get a headache and get dizzy just watching (maybe thats why I only watch a handful......) but the balance, training, and diligence required is crazy and I love to see the hard work pay off for those amazing skaters.
Enjoy this wonderful two weeks while you all watch so many diligent and gifted athletes perform sports at a level rarely seen. And remember, please do not fall into the trap of one of my pet peeves: criticizing any of these athletes for mistakes or short-comings in the games. Even the athletes who make significant errors in their performance are typically performing great. The olympics isn't about bad-mouthing, it is about getting the right to represent your country on the highest level of competition.
Good Curling Everyone!
