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!
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6 comments:
I actaully like the bobsleigh very much, not too fussed about the downhill ski-ing and, typically girly, I do like the figure skating and ice dance.
I left eldest son watching rugby when Scotland were 21-9 up at 52 minutes in, saying there was no chance of them losing now. He predicted otherwise. Wish we had rung the bookies at that point.
your ranting has validity... ; )
re the BBC:
Whistler is in soooo much debt from Olympic style spending. So much so that only the BBC can afford to put their people up there. Olympians certainly can't afford to stay there, they have to take a two hour journey.
Eddie the Eagle? He was a celebrity in 1988, when the olympics were in Calgary (go calgary yeah etc.) and the local stations are gabbing on and on and on about the guy. Ridiculed only on home soil? I don't think so. We have plenty of it here in canada, with all the interviews of him saying 'basically my goal is to make it to the bottom ALIVE' but we mix it with adulation. We do the same thing with our prime ministers, too. point, laugh, deride and.... support in a goodnatured yet TOTALLY MISPLACED manner...
also i will be watching all of the olympics, although my attention span has a tendency to SNAP after about five competitors if they are taking turns one after the other.
bring on the curling! now that's a sport :)
did quite realise how accurate a rant you had. the general coverage has been appalling but this article just pushed me over the edge. ok, it's funny but come on, the joke finished in the first few sentences. aarrrrh!
...hope you're feeling better :)
i'm working my way up maybe not to another rant (although the bit about the bbc certainly will be!) about the olympics and this very article would have been part of it.
they just go on and on and on and on and on. and on some more.
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