I Don't Do Olympics

      I know that some followers will remember that I am not a sports fan. I'm not a spoil sport. You can watch the Winter Olympics and cheer your face off. I won't hold it against you if you really go all out for the Winter Olympics.

     I'm not completely unaware of the Winter Olympics. I will vaguely follow standings. I will know how many medals Canada has. I will cheer for Canada...but only in my head.

    I know that many of my readers share  a similar view of sports as I do. I like this as it assures me that I'm not some antisocial loner. 

    Television in all it's wisdom spoils sport for me. The analyzers go on and on to describe every aspect of what they are showing.. Then, there are endless replays. You get very little time of actually watching a game , race or activity. It becomes very slow. I like something fast paced and lively. If you go to an NHL game today , you have all kinds of down time for the television net work to air commercials.

     There is also an obscene amount of money spent on the Winter Olympics. I think Olympics could and should have less money involved. There is also the huge emphasis on security. Many athletes and spectators have apprehensions about going to the Winter Olympics. I'm not sure that these issues should be such a big part of sport.

    So I will blissfully skip all television coverage of the Winter Olympics.

Olympic Womens Curling Team Tops in my Mind

         My view of sports and Olympic games is a little different than most people's opinions. I don't watch TV and don't follow sports on a regular basis. There are some aspects H6WGQ5V65CYG of sports that do get my attention and the Canadian Women's Olympic curling team certainly caught my attention as they are highly skilled.

          I liked their success in the Olympic schedule. They curled well and conducted themselves with confidence. Most fans expected them to take the gold medal in a shoo in. That didn't happen and the team was disappointed and many fans were just as disappointed. Here's where I take a different path. Any team in the Olympic games has to perform at an extremely high level. To me the skill level is absolutely awesome. Anything can happen in sports competition. That's what makes sports interesting and challenging. People go out and give their best. The game determines the outcome. There's an opponent that has some say in the outcome.

      In my mind the Sheryl Bernard's Olympic team are to be greatly admired. Everybody wins at the Olympic level just by competing. I was disappointed to hear some criticism of the team's silver medal standing. Not me! They are tops all the way! Hold your heads high!

Jeremy Wotherspoon My Winter Olympics Hero

        I have followed Jeremy Wotherspoon's speed skating career since he first started skating with the local club.

        Jeremey became a world class leader in speed skating for a long time. This took tremendous dedication to every aspect of his life. Training to get to this level takes determination as well the dedication of your whole life.

       Jeremy had much success in World Cup races. Winter Olympics were another thing.

      For the 2010 Winter Olypics Jeremy was added at the last minute. At  34, age  had caught up to Jeremy. However, Jeremy went out and competed even though his prospects were remote. This is were it really takes guts. You go out and give it all you've got even though you know it's not going to happen. I'm reminded of Rudyard Kipling's line were he says "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing their's ....You'll be a man my son" Jeremy's a great man!

       Now Red Deer, Jeremy's home town, could name a street Wotherspoon Way?? The speed skating oval where it all started could be named for Jeremy. Come to think of it an enclosed speed skating oval would be reallly cool!