Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Vancouver Day 11: Officially Hooked

It has happened. The Olympics have officially turned me into a curling fan. I've watched far more of the curling coverage than that of any other sport and I've thoroughly enjoyed it. I must now start petitioning DirecTV to start carrying the Canadian networks so I don't have to wait another four years to watch again. In case you were wondering, the world championships for the women are next month in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. The men play in Italy in April.

Some Websites for those of you interested in pursuing my new interest with me:

World Curling Federation

USA Curling

USA Curling also has a facebook fan page.

A few of the selling points for curling and the Olympic coverage thereof:

- Almost all of the coverage has been live.

- Far less of the human interest garbage you see in the mainstream broadcast. I like Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams but NBC has literally hours of event coverage which they could and should be airing instead of interviewing them.

- Blowouts are brought to a timely and merciful end as concession beyond the sixth end is expected as a matter of etiquette.

- Etiquette. Everyone is really very pleasant with each other. In a different context, one can easily imagine the players standing around the ice with a beer in hand - not recommended for bobsledding.

- Safety - no need for helmets in this one.

- The clothes are surprisingly cool - and far more tasteful than figure skater garb.

- Ample opportunities for jokes about rocks and stones.

- Strategy is fairly straightforward and easy to understand. That said, how anyone gets a 42-pound rock to move the way s/he wants it to is extraordinary to me.

- Men's and women's competitions are equally competitive and compelling - not so for ice hockey, where only the USA/Canada gold medal match offers much suspense on the women's side.

- Any game in which you get to yell at people to sweep has got to be satisfying.

I realize that my interest is likely to wane as soon as the Games are over but for me, this is what the Olympics are all about: learning about sports you don't get to see the rest of the time.

Our Girl beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin yesterday. We've got Gryffindor in our sights this morning. The game has renewed her interest in the books and I think we may spend some time reading them this week.

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