An affliction that happens every two years has entered my house. It’ll stay for a day or two or three before vanishing . . . not to appear again until the summer of 2012.
The Winter Games ended yesterday. And now I’m suffering from post-Olympics hangover. There’s so much I’m going to miss now that television and our lives are back to regular programming.
I won’t be staying up late anymore to catch the curling action on CNBC.
And I really do love watching curling! It’s the perfect sport. It goes on forever, so you can nap during it and really not miss much. Plus you can multitask while it’s on (I’m partial to surfing the web on my MacBook) and barely miss a curl. Its glacier-like pace reminds me of a soap opera. And curling even has time outs!
I’ll miss being moved to tears by NBC’s coverage. Whose heart didn’t break hearing the news that Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette’s mother had died shortly after arriving in Vancouver? Her daughter skated brilliantly in her memory.
Last Saturday as the events were winding down, NBC broadcast an amazing documentary by the incomparable Tom Brokaw about Gander, a small town in Newfoundland. The city opened its arms and hearts to international passengers who were diverted from U.S. airspace on September 11, 2001. That heart- warming piece wrung my tear ducts out to dry!
My emotions switched from tears to fears, as I watched the bobsledders hurtle down the track at 95 miles per hour. Some flipped over. Others won medals.
And how about freestyle skiing’s aerialists?
Certifiably crazy! But so thrilling to watch . . . from the comfort of my chair in my family room.
I’ll miss the thrills and spills of short-track speed skating, especially when the USA’s Apolo Ohno is involved.
But I bet that this person won’t miss the chills of the short track. How would you like to be on your knees with a camera on your shoulder videoing speed skating for hours? I think I’d rather try the aerials!
One thing that I won’t miss is wondering why virtually none of the American gold medalists sang when the national anthem was played at the medal ceremony. It seemed like winners from every other country were at least mouthing the words. But not us. It made me really appreciate when Canadians won the gold—the loud singing from the crowd gave me goosebumps!
Finally, I’ll miss the wonderful highs and bittersweet lows that are the hallmark of every Olympics. The final contest of the Winter Games—the men’s ice hockey final—was a bittersweet moment for Team USA, which wasn’t expected to contend for a medal. It was a thrilling contest, but it did seem fitting that Canada, the purported birthplace of the sport, persevered to win the gold. The image and sounds of the victorious players and their homeland fans lustily singing “O Canada” will stay with me until the Summer Games is about to start.
Oh, and I pronounced “about” as “aboot” . . . in honor of the magnificent job that Vancouver did in presenting the 2010 Winter Olympics. Bravo!