The 2010 Winter Olympics
DAY 5
finally curling!
Russia and the USA, women's teams, and it comes down to the last rock on the last end. wow!
after the frenetic over-medicated commentaries of some of the other sports, it's a pleasure to hear quiet, under-stated intelligent voices.
the pace of the game is steady and the intensity is a slow burn that builds end by end. there are also, suddenly, more brunettes than there were on the ski hills.
it was a great game. what a pleasure to watch people play hockey like it matters again. what a pleasure to see teams play very different styles instead of usual NHL generic whatever...
one of the big advantages the Swiss brought to the ice was their ability to play the rules and the refs. their sense of how far they could push that edge and when was much keener than anyone's on Team Canada. sure, the Swiss took more penalties, but they should have had 3 times as many.
did they know all along they had little to fear from the Canadian power play?
the Canadian team stayed pro, and refused to be baited, but the Swiss played their edge well and stayed competitive despite their B level offense.
- hmmmm... maybe the 'experts' have their heads stuffed so far up their own podiums that they had no idea how good the Swiss team actually is?
- maybe the fact that the US team only beat them 3-1 should have been a wake-up call?
- maybe... just maybe, if we didn't start from the idea that Gold is 'ours' by some divine right, and chauvinist crap like "It's Our Game" and "Own the Podium", it might be easier to imagine someone else playing well and/or getting a lucky bounce (like Swiss goal #2)?
when you start by assuming we're number one, there's no way to win. the best one can do is a tie, and the odds of a Major Fail go through the roof.
you're also more likely to miss the fact that you got to see a great game of hockey last night, with more excitement in a period than you'll get in month of Saturday nights during the regular season and hey... Canada won.
Canada, hockey, Swiss, Switzerland, Olympics, 2010, curling, skating, gold, bronze, silver, Vancouver,
finally curling!
Russia and the USA, women's teams, and it comes down to the last rock on the last end. wow!
after the frenetic over-medicated commentaries of some of the other sports, it's a pleasure to hear quiet, under-stated intelligent voices.
the pace of the game is steady and the intensity is a slow burn that builds end by end. there are also, suddenly, more brunettes than there were on the ski hills.
***
hockey! switzerland! shoot-out!
it was a great game. what a pleasure to watch people play hockey like it matters again. what a pleasure to see teams play very different styles instead of usual NHL generic whatever...
one of the big advantages the Swiss brought to the ice was their ability to play the rules and the refs. their sense of how far they could push that edge and when was much keener than anyone's on Team Canada. sure, the Swiss took more penalties, but they should have had 3 times as many.
did they know all along they had little to fear from the Canadian power play?
the Canadian team stayed pro, and refused to be baited, but the Swiss played their edge well and stayed competitive despite their B level offense.
both goalies were brilliant, but Hiller was half the reason it wasn't a Canadian cakewalk. he was hot all night long, and the Swiss got a couple of lucky bounces - like a slapshot that was going way wide until it hit a Canadian skate and turned into the tying goal.
the shoot-outs were weird... none of the shooters seemed to have clue one about what they were doing before they got to the crease at either end, until Crosby's second try...
even before that pretty shot, though, the controversy was already underway.
why weren't we creaming these guys?
what the hell?
even before that pretty shot, though, the controversy was already underway.
why weren't we creaming these guys?
what the hell?
- hmmmm... maybe the 'experts' have their heads stuffed so far up their own podiums that they had no idea how good the Swiss team actually is?
- maybe the fact that the US team only beat them 3-1 should have been a wake-up call?
- maybe... just maybe, if we didn't start from the idea that Gold is 'ours' by some divine right, and chauvinist crap like "It's Our Game" and "Own the Podium", it might be easier to imagine someone else playing well and/or getting a lucky bounce (like Swiss goal #2)?
when you start by assuming we're number one, there's no way to win. the best one can do is a tie, and the odds of a Major Fail go through the roof.
you're also more likely to miss the fact that you got to see a great game of hockey last night, with more excitement in a period than you'll get in month of Saturday nights during the regular season and hey... Canada won.
***
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