As is the case every four years, the Winter Olympics are upon us.† Clips of the 1980s United States menís hockey team will become more obnoxious than Christmas music in January, the movie ìCool Runnings” will air at least twice a week over the duration of the games and every single spectator will suddenly become an expert analyst for figure skating.† This year in Vancouver, the U.S. will try to prove that it is as formidable an opponent in the winter games as it is in the summer games, a task that most certainly will not be an easy one.
Going into this yearís games, the biggest story is speed skating.† For better or worse, Stephen Colbert has turned every eye in America onto the U.S. speed skating team.† He has graced the cover of ìSports Illustrated” in full speed skating regalia, ìraced” gold-medalist Shani Davis for a spot on the Olympic team and even helped raise the $300,000 that the U.S. Olympic speed skating team needed to travel to Vancouver.† During the same week that NBC (stupidly) exiled Conan OíBrien from ìThe Tonight Show,” they even made Colbert an official member of their ìNBC Team” giving him a sweater vest and recruiting him to help announce the speed skating events on their network.† Win or lose, Americans of all ages will be able to tune in during almost every day of the games to find out what all the hype was about.
The United Statesí most realistic chance for medals is in the different snowboarding events.† After claiming seven medals, three of them gold, in Torino for the 2006 games, the United States is returning all of its medal winners this year.† Everyone will be watching for Shaun White a.k.a. ìThe Flying Tomato” who, at 23 years old, is still in the prime of his career, should be the clear-cut favorite to win the menís halfpipe again this year.
Looking for some redemption is Lindsey Jacobellis, who dogged it at the end of the 2006 womenís snowboard cross final to just miss out on gold. Despite comments that she was in the heat of the moment, and doesnít regret her actions, it is clear from her recent actions that she doesnít want to go down with Bode Miller as a gigantic Olympic flop, and will be certain to give it her all this time around.
In figure skating, a perennial event of gold medal contention for the U.S., this yearís figure skating team is weaker than the New Jersey Nets. The squad, which is filled almost entirely with Olympic newcomers, has podiumed in every games since World War II, a streak which could be threatened due to their lack of experience.
Now, itís time to stop sipping the American pride kool-aid. Lest we forget, the U.S. has not been the top team in a winter games since Lake Placid hosted the games for the first time in 1932.† The only way that America stands any chance of returning to Olympic glory is if it starts to place athletes in events that we as a country have been absent from in the past Olympic Games. Events like the biathalon, ski jumping (not freestyle mind you, actual ski jumping) and the luge have been without proper American representation for years.
The Olympic games will air from Feb. 12-28 on all NBC affiliates.