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It’s official folks, my daughters can’t wait until the Olympics are over.
Just last night, while I was home for a few hours after dinner before heading back to the office, we headed downstairs to watch TV when Quinette stopped halfway down the stairs and asked a simple question, “Are we going to watch the Olympics again tonight?”
“Well, maybe, yes,” I responded.
“No thanks,” Quinette quipped and scooted back up the stairs.
“Wait, why don’t you want to watch TV with your Dad?”
“More curling on TV, I think I’ll pass,” Quinette answered. “How is that a sport anyway?”
How dare a daughter of mine put down the fine sport of curling, which combines the skill of barroom shuffleboard, the grace of synchronized Swiffering and balance of ice skating, minus the skates.
I admit it — I am fascinated by curling during these Olympics. Maybe it is because the only time I get to sit down and watch the Olympics is around the midnight hour, and that is when curling seems to shine in the bright lights of tape-delay on the obscure cable news networks of NBC.
Maybe I have a deep, unexplainable love of curling because I have no idea what I am watching. Why are they sweeping the ice so furiously as the rock slides down toward the circles? What are they yelling? Is this a sport that you can play and drink beer at the same time, like bowling, golf, horseshoes and lawn darts, though I discourage drinking of any sorts with the latter.
A few nights ago while watching a spirited match between Canada and England, I wondered what other “sports” could be featured during the Winter Olympics.
- Snowball fighting: Of course, this is an obvious choice. Imagine can obstacle course, where rivals from border nations would battle each other to capture the flag while dodging flying snowpacked ice pellets. The Cold War would resume.
- Snowman building: This sport would require its athletes to have strength to build the tallest and strongest snowman, while also enabling them to showcase their creative side by designing the snowman’s “outfits.” The gold medal would require athletes to do more than just use two pieces of coal, a carrot and a corn-cob pipe.
- Ice fishing: I have never had the pleasure of drilling a hole in a frozen lake and spending hours in a warm shack fishing in the bitter cold of winter, but it must be enjoyable or those folks in the far north wouldn’t do it. Imagine how gripping hours of ice fishing coverage would be on TV. OK, I just imagined that, and well, I almost fell asleep. Scratch that idea.
It’s official folks, my daughters can’t wait until the Olympics are over.
Just last night, while I was home for a few hours after dinner before heading back to the office, we headed downstairs to watch TV when Quinette stopped halfway down the stairs and asked a simple question, “Are we going to watch the Olympics again tonight?”
“Well, maybe, yes,” I responded.
“No thanks,” Quinette quipped and scooted back up the stairs.
“Wait, why don’t you want to watch TV with your Dad?”
“More curling on TV, I think I’ll pass,” Quinette answered. “How is that a sport anyway?”
How dare a daughter of mine put down the fine sport of curling, which combines the skill of barroom shuffleboard, the grace of synchronized Swiffering and balance of ice skating, minus the skates.
I admit it — I am fascinated by curling during these Olympics. Maybe it is because the only time I get to sit down and watch the Olympics is around the midnight hour, and that is when curling seems to shine in the bright lights of tape-delay on the obscure cable news networks of NBC.
Maybe I have a deep, unexplainable love of curling because I have no idea what I am watching. Why are they sweeping the ice so furiously as the rock slides down toward the circles? What are they yelling? Is this a sport that you can play and drink beer at the same time, like bowling, golf, horseshoes and lawn darts, though I discourage drinking of any sorts with the latter.
A few nights ago while watching a spirited match between Canada and England, I wondered what other “sports” could be featured during the Winter Olympics.
- Snowball fighting: Of course, this is an obvious choice. Imagine can obstacle course, where rivals from border nations would battle each other to capture the flag while dodging flying snowpacked ice pellets. The Cold War would resume.
- Snowman building: This sport would require its athletes to have strength to build the tallest and strongest snowman, while also enabling them to showcase their creative side by designing the snowman’s “outfits.” The gold medal would require athletes to do more than just use two pieces of coal, a carrot and a corn-cob pipe.
- Ice fishing: I have never had the pleasure of drilling a hole in a frozen lake and spending hours in a warm shack fishing in the bitter cold of winter, but it must be enjoyable or those folks in the far north wouldn’t do it. Imagine how gripping hours of ice fishing coverage would be on TV. OK, I just imagined that, and well, I almost fell asleep. Scratch that idea.
I don’t know about you, but I enjoy watching the Winter Olympics more than its summer counterpart. Maybe it’s because the idea of ski jumping off a ramp, doing 10 flips in the air on a snowboard in the half pipe, or flying down a course at cheek-flapping speeds on a sled are just so far-fetched from reality for me that it fires up my curiosity.
Whatever the case, take a moment to enjoy the Winter Olympics. Cheer on the United States hockey team as it tries to shock the world in 2010 as it did 30 years ago with the Miracle on Ice.
And, if you get a chance, spend 15 minutes to watch a curling match. I promise, you will be practicing your technique while cleaning the kitchen floor the next day.
Rick Rogers is the publisher of the Daily News.
