I got to thinking about which games are the most fun to watch, or possibly even go to and I have come up with my answer, and that is the Winter Olympics. Again, I am a huge fan of both, and I can’t wait for London, but just like in the bobsled, there has to be one winner.

The argument:

1. Winter games have more fun sports to watch. Who couldn’t get into watching snowboard cross, half pipe, moguls or speed skating?  What are the most interesting summer sports to watch? Swimming (which may be the top of both Olympics), volleyball, basketball, track maybe? Gymnastics? These are great, and represent a good chunk of the popularity of the games, but offer little danger, fewer close calls and tight finishes.  Winter games offer a variety of sports we don’t get to see very often in the States. Luge, bobsleigh (official name), skiing and skating offer a nice competitive break from the NBA this time of year. Many of these sports feature pretty damn brave athletes going 40+mph down ice and snow, high flying tricks and football field long jumps through the air. Gimmicky? I’m not so sure. The athleticism and competitiveness of these events show some real merit, even if we only recognize it once every 4 years.  The winter Olympics also offer some real nail bitters with many of the events coming down to tenths and hundredths of seconds.  Yes, this happens in the summer, but across as many sports?
2. The “hey I could do that” clause. Even though no falser words could ever be concocted, it is easier to imagine becoming a winter Olympian than a summer one. There is no way a person could ever imagine wrestling or boxing at that level, running fast or shooting arrows better than they do and since you or I will never play in the NBA, basketball is out too. But isn’t it easier to imagine being the 3^rd guy on the bobsled team?  Curling is another easy example.  I had the same feeling about volleyball and table tennis in the summer Olympics. But, just look at gold medalist Steve Holcomb’s size and tell me you aren’t happy that bigger guys can win gold.
3. The winter Olympics aren’t a gimme for the USA. This brings in the national pride and competitiveness part to the games. Since Barcelona it’s been all USA, all the time in the summer games.  Now I like kicking everyone’s ass just as much as the next guy, but the winter games gives us something more to work towards. Breaking the medals record this year feels good. It’s also the first time we have topped the charts for the winter Olympics.

Olympic naysayers may point out that few of the sports are popular and many of the athletes will be after thoughts almost immediately. True and true, but who cares? The longevity of an athlete’s popularity shouldn’t be the mark of an events success. 

NBC didn’t do the best job this year broadcasting the games, but they did a good job. Their ratings were high this year including two ratings victories over the once untouchable American Idol.  People may have just been snowed in, but whatever it is, it’s good news for the Winter Olympics. Enjoy both Olympics, and pull for our nation but don’t you dare talk down about the beloved games of the winter. Ever.

~ Gordon Southard

I really thought history was going to repeat itself. It would have been 50 years ago to the day that the U.S. defeated Canada in Olympic hockey to win gold in Squaw Valley, CA. Also, I thought it would have been fitting to repay the Canadians for beating us on home soil in the gold medal game at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake. However, it wasn’t meant to be as the Canadian National team was able to exact revenge on the Americans in the gold medal game winning 3-2 in overtime.

The Canadian National team featured 14 NHL All-Stars, compared to just four on the American roster. Not surprisingly, the majority of hockey fans and media thought the Canadians would come out breathing fire and demolish the Americans in the gold medal game. The reality is that the game was very evenly contested and the Americans took the Canadians best shot and had a chance to win gold in overtime.

U.S. hero Zach Parisse scored with 24 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime. The U.S. showed the grit and determination that makes this country great in erasing a 2-0 deficit in order to force overtime. U.S. goaltender Ryan Miller was named the tournament MVP and played another outstanding game. The first two Canadian goals were a result of poor turnovers right in front of the U.S. goal leaving Miller with little chance to make a save. However, I am disappointed in the winning goal as Crosby scored from a very tight angle on the shortside. I am even more upset that of all the people to score the winning goal for Canada, it was my least favorite player in the world, Sydney Crosby. I just hope that Alexander Ovechkin ripped his TV off the wall after watching Crosby celebrate once again in a big moment,  and will use this as fuel to propel the Capitals to the Stanley Cup.

Team Canada had better skaters and offensive skill, and certainly benefitted from the open ice of  4 on 4 hockey in overtime. The Americans were a physical team that was hurt by the Olympic overtime rules, but I don’t want to make any excuses. Even if the U.S. had won gold, Americans would have cared for one day, and by tomorrow people would have been talking about the NFL combine. If Canada had lost this game, they would have been second guessing this team for the next four years.

Here are my questions to the readers: 1) what did you think of the 4 on 4 rule in OT? 2) do you think Olympic hockey should return to amateurs in 2014, or should the NHL send their stars to Russia in the next Winter Olympics? 3) Did anyone dig the female curling athletes? I know I did.

Woodman – I hate Duke basketball the most, Crosby a close 2nd.

I can’t ever remember a Winter Olympic games where the prominent U.S. athletes have performed so well. With the exception of Lindsey Jacobellis crashing out in women’s snowboarder cross, every other notable American athlete, and some less notable, have performed up to expectations.

It started Tuesday night with Seth Westcott defending his gold medal in men’s snowboarder cross.

This momentum carried into Wednesday with three marquee Americans all grabbing gold medals. First, Lindsey Vonn overcame her shin injury to win the women’s downhill. NBC was able to clearly show on slow motion replay how Vonn was favoring her good leg. Despite the pain and a very difficult downhill course full of steeps and bumps, Vonn rose to the occasion and grabbed gold. American teammate Julie Mancuso had a tremendous ride as well winning the silver. Mancuso followed up this performance with another silver medal in the women’s combined. Unfortunately, Vonn crashed out on the slalom portion of the women’s combined while leading after the downhill. However, this event is not Vonn’s bread and butter. Vonn has crashed out of 4 of the 7 combined events on tour this year.

Next up, Shani Davis became the first male speed skater ever to defend his gold medal in the 1,000 meters. The commentator knew the exact splits that Davis needed to hit to win, and Davis did it. Davis was a heavy favorite and skated last with all the pressure in the world on his shoulders. Davis answered the bell and delivered the perfect run. American skater Chad Hedrick iced the American cake with a bronze medal of his own.

Last but not least on Wednesday night, Shaun White brought down the house with two snowboarding half-pipe runs that redefined the sport. Even though White had already locked up the gold medal with a score of 46.8 out of 50, he dropped a 48.5 on his victory lap. White executed similar tricks and skills relative to his competitors, but did them twice as high and with much more style. Also, in his final run White landed the first double McTwist 1260 that he later named the “Tomohawk”. Even my Mom called me the next day to tell me how amazed she was with his performance. White is the quintessential star of stars, and seems to be only getting better as he continues to revolutionize the sport. American rider Scotty Lago blasted a monster run of his own and grabbed a bronze medal. Lago lost out on the silver to a Finnish rider who was the last rider that could have overtaken him after a tremendous opening run.

Last but not least, American figure skater Evan Lysacek turned in the performances of his life to dethrone the defending Olympic champion and Russian terminator Yevgeny Plushenko. Lysacek skated two nearly perfect performances to edge the Russian legend who, like Shawn White, has helped redefine the sport. Lysacek was unable to land a quadruple jump, but executed everything in his arsenal to near perfection and garnered a better long program score with his technical skill. Plushenko landed a quadruple jump, but looked sketchy in a number of moments even though he never fell during his program. How often does an American deliver the performance of a lifetime and beat the steely will of an Eastern European? Flamboyant American skater Johnny Weir offered up a brilliant performance of his own, but was robbed by the judges and finished sixth. This competition is sparking heated debate on the current scoring in figure skating, with many believing Plushenko should have won gold.

There have been some other great story lines as well involving non-American athletes. Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau won the first gold medal for the host nation on home soil in Winter Olympic history. Also, Chinese pairs-skaters Shen and Zhao ended 18 years of partnership in style by grabbing their first Olympic gold. They will be married following the Olympic games.

Aside from Shaun White, I am a huge Bode Miller fan as well. Miller grabbed a bronze in the Men’s downhill, finishing only .09 of a second behind the winner (he missed out on the silver by .02 of a second). It is amazing that you can race for 1.8 miles and have the race be decided by hundredths of a second. Like Lindsay Vonn, Miller will compete in more events in the upcoming days. Also, American star Apollo Ohno grabbed a silver in short track speed-skating to tie an American Winter Olympics record. Ohno will have three more opportunities to break the record.

Most men only care about the the hockey tournament, where the American men are 2-0 so far. They will play Canada today in the last game of the preliminary round.

Woodman – Olympic fanatic and American patriot