Here come the Olympics. A combination of skis, firearms and exhaustion? Who could want more?

First appeared on February 24th, 2010

in The Lebanon Reporter

The hills above Dykeman Golf Course are the best place to sled in Cass County, Indiana. As kids many a winter day was spent arguing over who was most like the great Italian Skeleton rider Nino Bibbia. OK, so maybe Winter Olympic hero worship didn't translate to kids in the Midwest during the 1980's, but that doesn't mean it can't in 2010. With America's strong showing at the Vancouver Winter Games to this point we have harvested not just a bountiful medal count, but a new crop of athletic heroes as well.

The Winter Games have always been the red headed step-child of the Olympic experience. This is likely a product of geographical restrictions which render many of the events foreign to wider audiences. For example, palm fronds and a beachhead are perhaps the closest the children of Papua New Guinea will ever get to cross country skiing. It also seems we as viewers often find ourselves wrestling with too many unanswered questions when it comes to Winter Events, like how do they get the bobsleds back to the top of the mountain?

Casual fans often don't appreciate the talent or ability required for events like the Luge, Skeleton and Bobsled. For us "Joe the Plumber types", competitors appear to be doing little more than hanging on for their life. The allure and drama of Curling is also lost on most as well, considering it appears more glorified therapy for the obsessive compulsive than an actual competitive sport.

Hybrid sports like the Biathalon only serve to exacerbate our confusion and, considering it's not a traditional Winter Olympic event, Snowboarding hasn't yet won widespread respect as well. Now maybe if the two were combined and we saw Biathalon contestants shooting at Snowboarders in midair-then, in the words of David Letterman, "you might have something".

Alpine skiing translates however. Who doesn't appreciate someone mixing all the ingredients for a complete disaster together (high speeds, slick conditions, trees)? Most understand that making turns on snow at 70 miles an hour is something the average person simply cannot do; you know like going back in time or reaching an actual real live human being when calling the cable company.

Enter downhill skier Bode Miller. Billed in Torino as the main event for the 2006 Winter Games, Miller responded by acting more like a mosh pit diver at Lollapalooza and thus failed to meet expectations. 2010 has been a much smoother ride for Bode however as he has fought to reclaim his legacy by winning 3 medals.     

Americans Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso have also lit up Vancouver. After skiing her way out of an avalanche of questions concerning a shin injury, Vonn has found the podium twice. Unlike Lindsey, nobody expected much out of Mancuso but she has already snatched two medals of her own.

Throw in Apolo Ohno's two speed skating medals, bringing his career total to a U.S. Winter Olympic record 7, and what you have is U.S. domination to this point. The only remaining question is can the U.S. hang on and win the winter medal count for the first time ever?    

The Olympics have always been a potpourri of political undertones and historic rivalries. However, unlike Beijing where people tuned in to watch NBC lift the mysterious veil that had hidden Chinese culture since the days of Mao, the Peacock network struggled early to find their footing in Vancouver. But with Miller's resurgence, Ohno making history and a pair of female downhill skiers turning heads and winning medals, these games have been worth the price of admission; for Americans anyway.