Vancouver is believed to be the warmest city to ever host the Winter Olympics. So apparently Mother Nature shares my level of excitement about these games. Mild.
I need to tell you though, that I am a HUGE fan of U.S. speed skater Chad Hedrick. It probably has a lot (okay, everything) to do with the fact that he's a Klein High School alumnus. It also didn't hurt that his parents owned the roller skating rink in my subdivision where I spent many, many summer days & nights of my youth.
Unfortunately, outside of super Bearkat Chad Hedrick, I can't get myself excited for the 2010 Winter Games. Maybe it's because I know that every sport the U.S. is really good at, WE had to invent and get put into the Games. Snowboarding and freestyle skiing, I'm talking to you!
I also think it speaks volumes about the Winter Olympics when some of the best athletes to ever represent our country are known more for what they did in a leotard on Dancing With the Stars than what they did while wearing the red, white, & blue. Apolo Anton Ohno and Kristy Yamaguchi, I'm talking to you!
Sure, I realize that over the years the Winter Olympics have provided us with a few memorable moments (Dan Jansen, Miracle on Ice, etc.) that made us proud to be an American. But Morgan Freeman already took care of those for us, and made them all into Visa commercials.
Now I WILL watch the Games, and probably more of them than I expect. Definitely the Curling (a.k.a. shuffleboard on ice). And the Ski Jumping, too. To me, any events that you can play with Robert Shiekh at Crickets or with Tom Interliggi on Nintendo Wii, will get my viewership.
But do you want to know the REAL reason I prefer the Summer Olympics to the Winter Games?
