then those olympics

the first hurdle of which has to be the crushing inevitability of the bbc coverage. it's no surprise that any and all coverage by the bbc can only be viewed thru the lens of what sports anyone british is going to 'do well' in. that coupled with the regular activities of the middle classes. what to do then as snowsport uk is in freefall?

talk about it a lot then fall back on the standby of the sliding sports, sports that get no coverage and precious little support in the years intervening. the mocking tone usually adopted is tempered somewhat with the tragic death of the georgian luger but that's never going to hold the behemoth of the bbc back.

time then for the usual twaddle about 'the youngsters' being inspired by what they see. no irony when they follow this up with the usual stuff about 'eddie the eagle'. this despite the fact that eddie the eagle was just the sort of guy who was inspired and followed his dream to the olympics. and anyone who throws themself off the ski jump hill is deserving of respect in my book. pity the one place he can be assured of ridicule is his home country.

thank goodness then for eurosport who seem to recognise that there might actually be such a thing as an audience who actually like the sport beyond nationalistic concerns and whose commentators appear to be interested in as well having taken part in some of the sports.

what'll i be watching? i don't much like the sliding sports, with the exception of the skeleton, which is just too mental not to watch. i always say i won't get involved with biathlon and cross country but such is the suffering in these there's little doubt i'll be engaged again. top of the list will be skating, particularly short track, a discipline that didn't exist when i was young even had there been an ice rink to do it on. a pity as if there's one sport i'm absolutely made for it would be short track skating.

i caught the 1500m final this morning. drama. apollo ohno of course, a man created for the phrase 'difficult to like' but whose individual brilliance is impossible to deny. how would he cope against the three koreans, a nation who, in short track as in archery, i will always support. i won't give the game away but it was nail biting and random in that way that only short track can be. well played for local boy jean olivier but really, he had no chance against a field like that.

finally, whie i was selling the bike yesterday i had the rugby men on the tv in the background. what was going on with scotland? true it was all very exciting, especially if you were welsh but what a performance by the scots to make such a concentrated effort to lose!