Sunday, February 21, 2010

Crazy People

Following yesterday's blog I am determined to write a much more uplifting one today. I came across a poll a few days ago asking whether the Winter Olympics are becoming more exciting than the Summer Olympics. How absurd! I can't perceive how it is remotely possible that the Winter Olympics could be more popular in a country such as Australia than the summer games. As a mainly arid country with limited amounts of snow covered peaks and most only in winter there is no possible way we can ever compete with most of the countries that dominate these games. We can only aim to win at most 3 gold medals. People will say that it is about more than winning, pft! Watch the competitors' reactions to following an imperfect performance and tell me that. The amounts blood, sweat and tears each of them puts into preparing for these events are phenomenal. Winning gold is everything and so it is with the countries they are competing for. Many countries offer great rewards to gold winning athletes just proving my very point.

Is there any event that doesn’t require huge amounts of unbridled lack of concern for one’s well being? There are the moguls that totally shatter your kneecaps while catapulting down an almost vertical decline. The downhill skiing reminds me of a young child in a toy car launching himself from the roof of his parents' home. It can only end in tears. Others that instil absolute terror in me include the aerial skiing (at which Australia is quite good), the snow boarding (again Aussies are good, we won a gold), ice hockey (don't feel like being rammed against a pane of perplex today thanks, figure skating – yes figure skating (their butts must hurt a lot), speed skating (imagining me in those condom like suits if terrifying in itself) and many others that escape me at this moment.

You could argue that the cross-country skiing is no more fear provoking than going for a leisurely ski across a snowfield. But have you seen what is involved in this event? Going up hills appears to almost burst the quads in their legs. No wonder their legs look sacks full of basketballs. The effort of all of this renders them completely ronnied by the finish. They truly rival marathon runners for the award for the most pooped athletes after an event.

There couldn’t be a more terrifying event than the luge, well maybe the skeleton but that can be debated. Hurtling down what looks like a frozen water slide with the ice polished to a gleam in a converted billy-cart on huge skates can only be described as petrifying. I cringe every time the thing goes round a corner or up the side. It captures scenes from my childhood when shooting down a water slide. Gathering speed you gradually get higher and higher up the sides as you are flung around the corners. Each becomes more terrifying as you believe you will be hurled up over the edge of the slide. The difference being the speed these vehicles are travelling. All this while the young Georgian man must be in their thoughts. His death must be the one of the most tragic occurrences to happen on the eve of any Olympic games.


Looks like the curling would be best for me to try. Best get myself a pair of skates and start learning to ice skate. Oh anyone know where there is an ice rink around here?


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