This evening I found myself sitting, enthrawled by the Great Britain v. Norway curling match. I think that I may be becoming a fan. It’s fantastic. And also awe-inspiring in how they manage to throw stones across ice, sweep at them, and move about without falling over especially when avoiding other stones that have been left about. Simply amazing.
However, I do find the Winter Olympics perhaps unique amongst sporting events for the absurdity of the challenges. I mean, why on earth do they do it. Or more to the point, how does one get started throwing oneself down a mountain on a tea tray at 130 mph or flying yourself into the distance on skates? How do you discover that you are good at these things without first killing yourself? And who decided to do these things in the days just prior to them becoming sports?! It all makes Ice Hockey look pretty ‘tame’ and we know how dangerous that is!!
How do you discover that you are good at these things without first killing yourself?
I think you just answered your own question 😛
When I was a kid I used to love sliding down the small incline in my parents’ garden on a tea tray when it snowed. Maybe I should have developed that interest and bought a luge 😉 I think the most bizarre thing I’ve seen so far is the cross-snowboarding (not sure of its official name) women’s final – first #4 crashed out, then #3, finally the person in the lead made a mistake and crashed, leaving #2 the only person still standing to take the gold medal…
I agree with you. I often wonder the same thing. One day, someone needed to cross the snow extra-quickly, so they took out a tea tray and realised it would be faster than the self-assembly sled they had bought from Ikea…
I also find the Winter Olympics is thrilling to watch!