My Crush on Apolo Ohno and Other Deep Olympic Thoughts

I wouldn't really say I'm an Olympic watching kind of person. I enjoy them, I suppose, but I don't normally watch more than an event or two from time to time. This year, however, for some reason that still eludes me, I watched from beginning to end, with the exception of a night or two.

I was following along primarily because of the death of the Georgian athlete just before it all started. I was saddened by it and horrified that NBC would show the footage of his death. I certainly don't ever want to see images of a man seconds before his life ends and the horrible way in which it ended. I actually looked away, but there was no getting away from the audio which was horrific as well.

I watched the entire opening ceremonies though I couldn't say how I was able to make it all the way through because I felt they were incredibly slow. And I feel badly saying that because I understood what Canada was trying to do but felt they just fell short. I sat there watching number after number thinking: Ok now something big is going to happen and nothing would, so the next one would start and again I'd think: Ok, now this is going to be it. But the big number, like the fourth arm of the Olympic Cauldron, just never came!

What the opening ceremonies did do however, was make me want to watch the Olympics in general. Seeing the faces of the happy, smiling, waving, incredibly young athletes really made me want to see them in their element, doing what they do best which was what made me tune in night after night after all. I'm glad I did! Despite not knowing what the heck I should be looking for on any of the given sports (except figure skating), I found it wasn't too difficult to get caught up in it all.  Here are some random thoughts:

Evgeni Plushenko: Seriously sore loser. Yes, we get it, you have a quad. Guess what? It may have been good enough to win with four years ago, but times have changed and so has the scoring system. Quit your crying and go work on the rest of your program.And for the love of god, just quit your crying and shut up already.

Evan Lysacek: I give the guy a lot of credit for never letting all the media and trash talk get to him. He took the high road every time even when I think everyone would have understood if the threw a shot back. I never heard him say a bad thing about Plushenko, though the media gave him every opportunity to do so.

Lindsey Vonn and Julia Macuso: I was just so over all the talk of their rivalry. I wasn't aware of Lindsey Vonn before this so I felt over-saturated with coverage of her. I understand about her injury (or I guess, injuries) and I definitely give her credit for not giving up, but there was so much coverage, I just didn't care anymore.

Snowboarding: Loved watching it! It wasn't on my radar before the Olympics but I enjoyed all of it. I think one new favorite is Snowboard Cross. It was just so much fun to watch!

Ski Cross: My god, I'm shocked no one got seriously hurt. Exciting and terrifying! Another incredibly fun one to watch.

Sven Kramer: Dutch speed skater who was disqualified when his coach gave him the wrong information and told him to change lanes when he wasn't supposed to. Ugh. My stomach just dropped. I felt so badly for him. I just can't even imagine how incredibly frustrating that must be. It's not like he can go back and do it next year. Interestingly enough I felt badly for his coach as well.I cannot imagine the fallout from that!

Hockey: Well. What is there to say? Exciting game. Incredibly heartbroken for our boys. I so wanted them to win it but I'm happy for Canada. I can't imagine how that would have gone over had they lost.

Apolo Anton Ohno: I'd heard of him and knew of him but I knew absolutely nothing about his sport. Now I have to say in addition to the snowboard cross, Short track is my other new favorite. It was simply exciting to watch. I had no idea! I found myself yelling at the t.v. more often than I'd care to admit. During his disqualification I was so frustrated and disappointed for him I almost felt like I was more upset than he was! But I think that's when the crush developed. I was so impressed with how well he handled himself, how even-tempered he was and how he always seemed to have a smile on his face. I especially loved listening to him talk about his sport and how respectful, awed and proud he is of it. You can tell he's just happy to be there. Honestly, I am just enamored with him and his positive attitude. Love it. It also doesn't hurt that he's a good looking guy. I'm just sayin'.

 

  

  

  

I just think this is a kick-ass shot