Been watching the winter Olympics this week and am amazed by the displays of athleticism and skill. My favorite sports, thus far, have to be alpine skiing and figure skating. My fear of high speeds and being out of control kick in and I break out into cold sweats whenever I watch those zooming skiers or the high flying snow boarders.
Some of the events, well, I just don't get 'em. The first is ice dancing. Artistic? Yes. Drama-filled? No doubt. Cool costumes? Ah ha. But, overall it seems to be more ballet than sport. And then there is the whole skeleton and luge deal. A dude DIED on a practice run. At what point does a person decide they want to go head first, 90 miles an hour, down a curved frozen track? How does someone get into this? Can you imagine the parental response to a small child's request to start practicing skeleton? No thanks.
"Mommy, I want to do the skeleton."
"What is that?"
"Well, I dress up in spandex and a helmet. Then I lay on a sled and fly head first down a track of sheer ice at almost 100 mph with little or no control over my own body."
"Hells to the No!"
Wouldn't it be cool if they just took the summer Olympic sports and turned them into winter Olympics sports? Swimming and diving outdoors in the cold? Gymnasts competing on a frozen balance beam and parallel bars? Javelin throw with ice spears? What about beach volleyball? Now, that would be something worth watching.
Go USA!
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