Monday, March 1, 2010
Metallic Potato Chips: A look back at the 2010 Olympics
6:02 AM | 
Posted by
Nick Mendola
(WGR 550) It's been less than 12 hours since the Winter Olympics came to a close, and I can't remember a more complete one. Granted, I'm 28. Even after the debacle that was NBC's "showcasing" of live sports -- I understand that not everyone got to tear through live sports on MSNBC and CNBC during the weekday afternoons -- there were so many memorable moments that I'm not sure I'm all caught up on all the best stories.
Consider this: I didn't watch a second of Apollo Anton Soulpatch and also missed out on Joannie Rochette's emotional triumph in figure skating after the sudden death of her mother, and I'm still stunned at how much I enjoyed the Winter Games. Admittedly, I don't care much for the summer events, but there is no question this is in my Top Two with Albertville in 1992 (or as I'll remember them, the Ray LeBlanc Olympics).
You had Lindsey Vonn's bruised-shin medal run and Shaun White's clear-outclassing of every other snowboarder. There were Norway's curling pants, Alexandre Bilodeau's Canadian gold in moguls and Bode Miller's metamorphosis from world-class ugly American in Torino to resurgent skiing star. Some of the most polite and offbeat people on Earth (Canadians) took a ton of gold medals and ratcheted national enthusiasm to near-record heights.
Plus, I'm pretty sure Macgyver captained the aforementioned Norwegian curling team, while Vizzini from "The Princess Bride" skipped Canada.
Before this weekend, Kevin Martin was a guy the Sacramento Kings traded. Now, Kevin Martin is a shiny-domed caucasian curler who skipped the Canadian curlers to a home turf gold medal.
Of course, this is all riding shotgun to the hockey tournament. Some of my favorite young hockey players became some of my favorite hockey players period: Dustin Brown, David Backes, Zach Parise, Bobby Ryan... I could go on for hours. They stood toe-to-toe (and out-scored) with the most talented hockey team ever assembled, and pushed them right to the limit. Yes, the host nation took the gold potato chips and we grabbed the silver, but it was a blast.
And when it was done, I felt great for Canada. Not the Canada that showed up in the comments section of my column, trash-talking like they never opened a Tim Horton's south of the St. Lawrence, but the Canada that wore red everywhere, sang their anthem like I wish we would and put forth an image that made me want to book a trip to British Columbia. That might be a bigger upset than the States performance in hockey, because pictures of nature and mostly B-list or 1980s celebrities convinced me to think about shifting my vacation plans. Alex P. Keaton, the girl from "Mannequin" and Van Wilder joined Steve Nash in that ad. Wow.
Good looks, Canada. I still love ya.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
Consider this: I didn't watch a second of Apollo Anton Soulpatch and also missed out on Joannie Rochette's emotional triumph in figure skating after the sudden death of her mother, and I'm still stunned at how much I enjoyed the Winter Games. Admittedly, I don't care much for the summer events, but there is no question this is in my Top Two with Albertville in 1992 (or as I'll remember them, the Ray LeBlanc Olympics).
You had Lindsey Vonn's bruised-shin medal run and Shaun White's clear-outclassing of every other snowboarder. There were Norway's curling pants, Alexandre Bilodeau's Canadian gold in moguls and Bode Miller's metamorphosis from world-class ugly American in Torino to resurgent skiing star. Some of the most polite and offbeat people on Earth (Canadians) took a ton of gold medals and ratcheted national enthusiasm to near-record heights.
Plus, I'm pretty sure Macgyver captained the aforementioned Norwegian curling team, while Vizzini from "The Princess Bride" skipped Canada.
Before this weekend, Kevin Martin was a guy the Sacramento Kings traded. Now, Kevin Martin is a shiny-domed caucasian curler who skipped the Canadian curlers to a home turf gold medal.
Of course, this is all riding shotgun to the hockey tournament. Some of my favorite young hockey players became some of my favorite hockey players period: Dustin Brown, David Backes, Zach Parise, Bobby Ryan... I could go on for hours. They stood toe-to-toe (and out-scored) with the most talented hockey team ever assembled, and pushed them right to the limit. Yes, the host nation took the gold potato chips and we grabbed the silver, but it was a blast.
And when it was done, I felt great for Canada. Not the Canada that showed up in the comments section of my column, trash-talking like they never opened a Tim Horton's south of the St. Lawrence, but the Canada that wore red everywhere, sang their anthem like I wish we would and put forth an image that made me want to book a trip to British Columbia. That might be a bigger upset than the States performance in hockey, because pictures of nature and mostly B-list or 1980s celebrities convinced me to think about shifting my vacation plans. Alex P. Keaton, the girl from "Mannequin" and Van Wilder joined Steve Nash in that ad. Wow.
Good looks, Canada. I still love ya.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
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