Olympic Fever

I need to write about this, but it has to be somewhere where my family can’t read it. Long story there which I won’t get into, it’s not important. But things do need to be said, so here it goes… memories.

I’ve got Olympic Fever … BAD. Wednesday night was the first night I could sit and watch some of my favorite events and just SQUEE! Medal sweeping all around … Shaun White (Gold) and Scotty Lago (Bronze) in men’s half-pipe snowboarding, Shani Davis (Gold) and Chad Hedrick (Bronze) in long track speed skating, and Julia Mancuso (Silver) and Lindsey Vonn (Gold) in Freestyle skiing. And tonight, I heard Evan Lysacek took Gold over his Russian rival in Men’s figure skating, although I didn’t get to see it because of work, however before I left, the other half of me… the honorary Australian half cheered and cried when Torah Bright took Gold in Women’s half-pipe snowboarding. The SECOND Gold for an Australian in any Winter Olympic game. The first one by Stephen Bradbury in short track speedskating in Salt Lake City by accident!

This weekend brings more Apolo Ohno and J.R. Celski in short track speedskating and the first of the Ice Dancing and others. The past week, I’ve fallen in love with Biathalon, a sport I never knew existed but is so exciting.

Doubles Luge confuses me… “Here, lay down on this sled and I’ll lay on top of you and we’ll head down this icy pipe at 90 MPH and see what happens.”

I’ve cheered for Americans, Australians, Japanese, Canadians, and Norwegians. The medals have not gone to any ONE country but so many different strengths around the world.

My first Olympic memory comes from Calgary … when I watched Katarina Witt and Debi Thomas figure skate and win medals. I was babysitting, the kids were sleeping, I was dancing around the room imagining myself on that ice and winning that medal. Man, I was so young.

But my real memories were from Lillehammer, the first Winter Olympic games I was glued too… not only because of the fact that Norway is the country of my Heritage, but because there were so many exciting things that happened. I remember the name of every Athlete I followed that year… Free-Style Skiing’s Jean-Luc Brassard (Can), Ski Jumping’s Espen Bredesen (Nor), and Speedskating’s Dan Jansen (USA) and Johann Olav Koss (Nor).

It was the year that Dan Jansen took Gold in long track speed skating and broke a world record. I knew this was his last race ever, if he didn’t win it, he would never win it. I waited all day to watch that race in prime time and then when I got home from school, my dad spoiled it for me and told me he won earlier in the day. But it didn’t take away from the fact that when I watched it, I cried buckets.

There is a Visa commercial on now, about how he skated in Calgary and lost, mere days after his sister, Jane passed away… then in Lillehammer took Gold and skated a victory lap with his baby daughter, Jane. I remember it like it was yesterday. I get weepy every time I see that commercial.

That too was the year I fell in love with Speedskating… I always loved figure skating but there is something so perfect, so graceful, so precise about Speedskating that is will forever be my favorite winter sport of all time.

I leave you now with a short video of Stephen Bradbury’s historic win in Salt Lake City. Apolo Ohno took silver. It’s awesome and hilarious at the same time!