I remember when the world stopped for the Olympics. I remember when it was a big deal and every event was worth my time and energy. Sadly, those days are gone and here is why.

NBC Olympic coverage underwhelming – I like Bob Costas but much like sugared up kids at a birthday party he gets annoying and you want to send him home after a while. I was hoping NBC would do something different besides the sob story followed by the event script everyone else has done. I wanted to see more rivals, more Tanya Harding – Nancy Kerrigan type feuds. The world is a lot smaller place these days and these athletes compete against each other before the Olympics so there has to be more rivalries. Don’t give me fluff NBC…give me competition in its raw form. Yes I already know little Mikey wanted to be a snow boarder since he could walk. Tell me about how little Mikey wants to stomp a hole in that German snow boarder that beat him twice in the world championships. This is competition folks...not a pity party!

Lack of Snow in Canada? – As I write this from my comfy couch in Wine Country Virginia we have more snow in the Washington DC area than the Olympics. I haven't seen my grass in so long that I dug a hole in the snow yesterday just to remember what it looked like. If anyone told me that Canada would ever lack snow for any reason I would have required a drug test. Talk about a bad omen...Hmmmm.

Lame events – Since when did the X-games crap I go out of my way to ignore become Olympic sports?  Maybe I am just getting old but when I watched the snow boarders I wanted to call the police thinking they were on my lawn. Is snowboarding for people to lazy to Ski? Curling? What the hell is that? Is that bowling on ice? I missed that email. What’s next? Playing X-box outside in a snow bank as a winter sport?

The thud heard around the world – The pride of Canada is in that dream hockey team they assembled for this Olympics. That team is so good that the guys they did not pick for the team would win a medal. So why are they are going to fold like a cheap tent during an F-5 tornado? The problem as I see it is the Canadian team has everything in their favor. They have the best team, the home field and the home crowd. That is a recipe for disaster. The Russians, Swedes and Americans are quite capable of dealing a death blow to the nation that made hockey famous. This is like a slow motion car wreck because I know its coming but I can’t turn away.  There are not enough grief counselors on this planet should Canada fail to win a gold medal on their home turf.

Mike Milbury vs. Jeremy Roenick - With the Olympic Ice Hockey tournament underway the tensions are high. Apparently that tension carries over to the hockey announcers. Former NHL Coach and NBC Analyst, Mike Milbury is in love with team Canada and Sidney Crosby in particular. Former NHL star and lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame Jeremy Roenick is there to simply tell it like it is. The fact is most of these announcers believe Canada has already won the gold so they bring a heavy Canadian bias with them. Roenick, like most Americans will not implode if the US does not win it all. We have to excuse our Canadian friends if they are super sensitive right now as their national pride is on the line. This bares watching.

Start of games marred by tragedy – It was truly unfortunate that even before the games began a young man with dreams of glory was sent home to be buried. That is heart breaking not only for his family but for everyone. 

What i miss most is competition and a genuine dislike for old enemies such as Russia etc. Now I find myself rooting for Russia except against the USA. Instead of hating the old Soviets Canada is the obnoxious nation everyone wants to see cough up a giant snow ball. What has the world come to?

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