OLYMPICS: WINTER OLYMPICS 2018 WRAP-UP

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WINTER OLYMPICS 2018 WRAP-UP

I can’t believe that another Winter Olympics is in the books! I read that now most of the world’s Olympians have to face going back to their day jobs, as do I! But it’s a tad difficult to go back to writing after I’ve been a couch potato for the past two and a half weeks. Ugh. (“Ugh” to the writing, definitely not to the Olympics-watching.)

Photo by Karen Salkin.

Photo by Karen Salkin.

And I really think that I have Olympics PTSD now. I’m not joking. I’m having trouble sleeping because the names of Olympians from all over the world keep running through my head. As does all the music the skaters used. I keep trying to figure out which programs my mind is listening to, instead of falling asleep.

So, here are my very many thoughts on what I just witnessed. Unlike my previous Olympics reviews, I didn’t publish the first half a week ago–I saved them all up for today! So, this may be a tad lengthy. (And incoherent; I may have forgotten how to write!) But I did break it up with a bunch of tweets when I was especially hot (or happy) about something. My very last Olympics tweet has gotten a lot of worldwide reaction, so I hope you already follow me on Twitter. (If not, this would be a great time to do so because all of my Olympics tweets are still up there! @MajorCelebrity.)

First up are my thoughts on the overall proceedings, followed by a few notes I took on most days. Enjoy! As I lived vicariously through the Olympians, you can live through me. That’s because I watched every second of the coverage—literally!!! So you didn’t have to. You can just read the real high-and-low-lights right here. It’s like one-stop shopping.

Might shots like this one be why Mr. X joins me?  Not in a lewd way, but we both marvel at that the director doesn't tell the camera people to back off from close-ups like these!  Photo by Karen Salkin.

Might shots like this one be why Mr. X joins me? Not in a lewd way, but we both marvel at that the director doesn’t tell the camera people to back off from close-ups like these! Photo by Karen Salkin.

I’m really in my own little world while I watch.  It’s amazing to me that hardly anyone else I know joins me there. But I’m happy to say that Mr. X did on many occasions, especially for the marquee event—figure skating. (This situation gave me a chuckle or two: For the duration, I didn’t want to check emails, phone messages, or social media, in case I was a bit behind in my watching; I was afraid someone would spill the beans before I could witness it for myself. But the few times I did check them, when I was caught-up with the competitions, there was nary a mention of the Olympics at all! It was like I was in my own universe!)

So here are my random thoughts on the whole shebang!:

I noticed so many things that the announcers never mentioned, like a girl wearing the wrong number bib, or someone taking skis from the wrong number compartment.

Speaking of darling and lovely, no one fits that bill more than family man (and now two-time Olympic Champion,) David Wise, shown here with his young fam after his victory in Korea. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Speaking of darling and lovely, no one fits that bill more than family man (and now two-time Olympic Champion,) David Wise, shown here with his young fam after his victory in Korea. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I was happy to see that most of the athletes who were interviewed were darling and lovely.

Speaking of which, is Shaun White the man or what?! To have come through like he did to win his third gold medal in Snowboarding Halfpipe, especially in his thirties, and with so much else going on in his life (which means that he so does not need any more Olympic glory for fame,) is truly one of the most amazing physical accomplishments I’ve ever witnessed. I was crying hysterically right along with him at the end there!

But the absolute most interesting story of these Olympics was the two gold medals won by the Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecká…in two different sports!!! She was the first person to have ever even competed in two different ones in the same Olympics, and…she won both!!! How amazing is that? And she’s an adorable girl, too. (Her sports were Downhill Skiing and Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom. More on the latter later.)

After snowboarder Gus Kenworthy’s gay on-camera kiss, I guess that NBC felt they had to show Mikaela Shiffrin’s hetero one with her boyfriend, which they never do.  Why do they always have to make such a fuss over gay private lives?!  They never do that for straight people! It’s really no one’s business.

An Italian Biathelete rocking make-up and the popular button earrings. Photo by Karen Salkin.

An Italian Biathelete rocking make-up and the popular button earrings. Photo by Karen Salkin.

While Bode Miller was the most boring commentator ever, biathlon’s Bill Seward was by far the most annoying, with all his stupid puns.

So many girls wore the same little button earrings.  Where did they all get them?  They must have gotten them right there.

The Italian female biathletes wore make-up, which you know I loved. And they all looked to be the prettiest competitors, to boot!

Shameful Canadian hockey player Jocelyne Larocque, without her silver medal. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Shameful Canadian hockey player Jocelyne Larocque, without her silver medal. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Jocelyne Larocque is the douchebag Canadian hockey player who removed her silver medal.  She later said in a statement (yeah–after we all ragged on her, with my tweet being the first!,) that she “meant no disrespect.”  But she absolutely did!!!!  And she said her “actions did not demonstrate” the values she lives by.  Yes bi-atch, they did!!!  The IOC should take the medal away from her!!!  (And give it to me for being the Champion of Olympics Watching!)

Norway’s Cross-Country Skier, Marit Bjoergen, now has the record for most medals ever for the Winter Olympics!!! And this was her last Games, after five of them. She’s a lovely lady, so I’m thrilled for her.

The Champion US Men's Curling Team! (Although a mistake was made and they awarded the Women's medals by accident!) Photo by Karen Salkin.

The Champion US Men’s Curling Team! (Although a mistake was made and they awarded the Women’s medals by accident!) Photo by Karen Salkin.

THE gold medal of the Games for the US was for…curling!!!  I can’t believe that I was actually verklempt over curling!!!

Once again the two best commentators were Apolo Ohno and Jonny Moseley.

NBC did so many things wrong with its coverage. (But, to their credit, when I tweeted at them to fix something right away, they usually did! You’re welcome, the coaches of the top Ice Dance duos!) Here are just a few of the problems I could not fix for NBC:

Norway's Marit Bjorgen broke her own records, that are shown here, by the end of these games! Photo by Karen Salkin.

Norway’s Marit Bjorgen broke her own records, that are shown here, by the end of these games! Photo by Karen Salkin.

The head of NBC Sports chose to pronounce the city they were in, Pyeongchang, wrong! He said it was “cleaner” that way. How stupid of them!!!

They never showed us the full results of what we had just spent our precious time watching!!! They usually showed us only the medalists, especially if USA didn’t do well.  For example, they cut-off the exciting race for bronze after we all watched the full two hours of the men’s 50k race in Cross-Country Skiing!  That sucked.

Oleksandr Abramenko, the only blue-eyed athelete I saw the entire time! (He won a gold medal, too, in Men's Aerials!)  We blue-eyed peeps have got to stick together! Photo by Karen Salkin.

Oleksandr Abramenko, the only blue-eyed athelete I saw the entire time! (He won a gold medal, too, in Men’s Aerials!) We blue-eyed peeps have got to stick together! Photo by Karen Salkin.

If there were Americans who had just competed, they listed their results right after the top finishers, which made it look like the US athletes were in much higher-up positions.

They kept repeating the boring competitions, like Ski Jumping and Bobsled, which most viewers did not care about to begin with, while not showing enough editorial pieces about the host country.

They often repeated interviews with some commentators, like Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski, which was enough already, even for a skating aficionado such as myself. Not everyone is on their train.

Many of the commentators made soooo many mistakes.

Gee, I wonder where these speed skaters' male units are? Photo by Karen Salkin.

Gee, I wonder where these speed skaters’ male units are? Photo by Karen Salkin.

And, more often than not, the people calling each sport did not give us enough info.  And they left-out soo, soo, soo much color commentary, especially at Figure Skating!!!

The least of NBC’s offenses was running commercials for rival network ABC’s American Idol, which reeked of desperation for NBC.

(I guess I should get my passport ready by the next Olympics, because NBC has just got to hire me to help them out, right?! I actually spent a night or two worrying that it would happen this time, with my passport expired!)

Now here are some daily thoughts, beginning with the day before the Opening Ceremony, when they gave us an extra night of coverage, just in case sixteen days and nights was not going to be long enough for me to be under (self-imposed) house arrest. (It wound-up being eighteen this year! Oysh.)

FIRST THURSDAY

Why would this skaters' coaches let him go out there with those pit stains???  I have one word for him--shields!!! Photo by Karen Salkin.

Why would this skaters’ coaches let him go out there with those pit stains??? I have one word for him–shields!!! Photo by Karen Salkin.

I hate that the ice skating audience is so far away from the ice!  That’s what they did in Salt Lake City, too. It just looks uber-uncomfortable for all concerned.

A young male Korean skater was the very first athlete to compete in these Olympics in his home country!  What pressure.  But he did great!

NBC didn’t show us two of the male skaters in the beginning of the team competition!!! And there were only ten all together! Just the first of their many screw-ups.

FIRST FRIDAY—THE OPENING CEREMONY

Speaking of good-looking atheletes, how about this gorgeous face on Dutch Speed Skater, (and gold medalist,) Kjeld Nuis? Photo by Karen Salkin.

Speaking of good-looking atheletes, how about this gorgeous face on Dutch Speed Skater, (and gold medalist,) Kjeld Nuis? Photo by Karen Salkin.

Yay! Mike Turico and Katie Couric knew to say the correct “ceremony,” instead of the erroneous “ceremonies!”

Why did the red, white, and blue USA wear mustard color gloves???

I was happy to see that many of the athletes, including Americans, are nice-looking.

The Jamaicans were the most fun, of course.

I correctly predicted that Korea’s biggest star, (and not just as an athlete,) Olympic Champion ice skater, Yuna Kim, would light the cauldron. And they did it so beautifully, with her skating, in a lovely white outfit, atop the giant stairs before doing so.

FIRST MONDAY

Pita Taufatofua dressed.

Pita Taufatofua dressed…

...and Daniel Day-Lewis!!!

…and Daniel Day-Lewis!!!

OMG—repeat Champion snowboarder Jamie Anderson said “shooken” rather than “shaken!”  Three times!!!  Oysh.  And that lisp!  Someone better set her straight about her speech (and choice of words) before she tries to have a broadcasting career at the end of her athletics.

Pita Taufatofua oiled-up in the Opening Ceremony (in about 2 degrees!) Photo by Karen Salkin.

Pita Taufatofua oiled-up in the Opening Ceremony (in about 2 degrees!) Photo by Karen Salkin.

Pita Taufatofua, the “oiled-up guy” from Tonga who was featured carrying-in the flag in the previous Summer Games, (who learned how to cross-country ski so that he can compete in the Olympics again,) speaks so thoughtfully and beautifully!!!  OMG!  He sounds (and looks) just like Daniel Day-Lewis!!!  How could you not root for him?  He’s so much more than a gorgeous oiled-up body!!! (And later on in the Games, after his cross-country ski event, he said, “I don’t fear failure. I fear not trying.” You have got to be impressed by this guy!)

FIRST TUESDAY

Bode Miller is the worst sports commentator ever.  He’s boring, monotone, and doesn’t inspire enthusiasm for his sport.  He sounds like he’d rather be anywhere else, and also seems somewhat bitter that he’s commentating rather than competing.

Those images that look like dots are actually the alpine skiers!  Photo by Karen Salkin.

Those images that look like dots are actually the alpine skiers! Photo by Karen Salkin.

USA skier Bryce Bennett seems really fun.

FIRST WEDNESDAY

I couldn’t be more thrilled than I was that night when the German Pairs skating team of five-time Olympian, Aliona Savchenko, and her new-ish partner, young Bruno Massot, won, after having a disastrous short program the night before!  Their performance was Roger Federer-like! My only question that night was who was crying more—Aliona or me? I really did cry my guys out. You don’t see physical and mental perseverance like that every day. (Hers, not mine, of course.)

SECOND THURSDAY

An overview of one of the many venues. Photo by Karen Salkin.

An overview of one of the many venues. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I really hate that almost every athlete begins every single interview with “I mean.” And it happens from almost every country! How did that even start??? (Wait—I guess I mean how did it even start.)

And now they all end every sentence with, “So, ya.”  (As I was writing this, it happened again!) What is wrong with everyone???

My heart bled for poor figure skater Nathan Chen.  It’s so sad what the media has done to him with that crazy pressure. (He fell on every jump in his short program, and wound-up in seventeenth place! After they’ve been touting him to win for the past two years!!!)

SECOND FRIDAY

There were so many miracles tonight! First, in the Men’s Figure Skating.

Nathan Chen won the long program, by a million miles, and jumped all the way up from seventeenth place to finish in fifth! That’s unheard of! And uber-impressive. He’s the first person to ever land five quadruple jumps in a program, (and even did a sixth one, but it wasn’t ratified.) I hope he’s proud of himself for showing everyone why he’s the big deal that he is, rather than just slithering away with his tail between his legs after last night.

Vincent Zhou and Nathan Chen. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Vincent Zhou and Nathan Chen. Photo by Karen Salkin.

On top of that, Americans Adam Rippon (the hit of these games) and Vincent Zhou also did great!

But Yusuru Hanyu stole the show by repeating as Olympic Champion, which had not been done since Dick Button did it…in 1952!!! And with an injured ankle, to boot. His skating is beautiful.

But the story of the night, (and week,) was Ester Ledecká, whom I referenced at the top. (So if you missed it, please go back up and read it.) Besides what she was able to do, how she did it was most unusual. All the top contenders (nineteen of them) had come down he hill, so the announcers declared the medalists, and NBC switched to another sport to show us. About twenty minutes later, they said there had been a shocking development in the skiing competition, and took us back there. It turns-out that very low-ranked Ester had just skied and beat the one they anointed Champion by a hundredth of a second! And she’s mainly a snowboarder! Even she couldn’t believe it! Her reaction was priceless. (And then she did all the press with her ski goggles on because she hadn’t put make-up on that day because, along with everyone else, she had not expected to medal!)

SECOND SATURDAY

I love that commentator Luke Van Valin said about a Skislope Style snowboarder’s routine:  “What a combination of antics!”

I also got a kick out of snowboarder James Woods (with that unfortunate name) from England looking at the camera and saying, “Thanks for having me.”

SECOND SUNDAY

Ben Agosto and Charlie White, with that inexplicable shoreline between them! Photo by Karen Salkin.

Ben Agosto and Charlie White, with that inexplicable shoreline between them! Photo by Karen Salkin.

New Ice Dancing analysts Ben Agosto and Charlie White look like little boys in their father’s suits, which is cute.  I’m so happy for them to have those gigs.  But what was up with the very wide space between them in the studio??? What stupid production values.

It just hit me that day—what would a convo between Scott Hamilton and annoying constantly-laughing speed skater Maame Biney sound like?  They both just phony laugh over nothing!!! That must be exhausting!!! At least they’re working those ab muscles!

See what I"m talking about below? Are those hair sparkles or dandruff???  Photo by Karen Salkin.

See what I”m talking about below? Are those hair sparkles or dandruff??? Photo by Karen Salkin.

Oh no—the worst wardrobe malfunction I’ve ever seen in competitive athletics! And for such nice and deserving-of-the-win people! Here’s the quick tale: Fabulous French ice dancers, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, had just begun their short dance when the top of Gabby’s costume came undone! She had to skate her entire dynamic program with the threat of it falling down completely!!! I really don’t know how she did it. Near the end, there was a definite nip slip, which thank goodness, the cameramen were kind enough to pull way back from. The poor girl was devastated. So they placed second in that portion of the competition, which caused them to not get the gold the next night. It was so unfortunate because they’re the most beautiful skaters in the world!!! I hope their costume designer is proud of his or herself. (I just thought of something—they train with their closest competitors. So maybe one of them slipped into that rink’s wardrobe department, and snipped the dress! I’m talking to you, the Canadian team!)

Ice skating ladies (and dancing girls everywhere)–sparkles in your hair do not work! They just look like dandruff!!!

Halfpipe skier Marie Martinod has a nine-year-old daughter!!!  Thats’s so weird.  I wonder how the little girl perceives what her mother does.

SECOND MONDAY

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir's offensive move; the commentators neglected to call it what it is-- oral sex on ice! Photo by Karen Salkin.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s offensive move; the commentators neglected to call it what it is– oral sex on ice! Photo by Karen Salkin.

And here's another angle of the weirdo move by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Ice dancers lose points if a feather from their costume falls on the ice, but this lewdness is not only allowed, but rewarded!!!  They knew what they were doing. Photo by Karen Salkin.

And here’s another angle of the weirdo move by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Ice dancers lose points if a feather from their costume falls on the ice, but this lewdness is not only allowed, but rewarded!!! They knew what they were doing. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Even the aforementioned ice dancing experts, Ben Agosto and Charlie White, said there were obvious places where deductions should have been taken from the Canadian ice dancing team of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir last night!!! And were not!

I’m so glad that someone finally skated to a Korean song, even if it was a traditional one!  But why did no one use Kpop for their short programs???  How dumb to not get that advantage with the crowd!

SECOND WEDNESDAY

The happy Ski Halfpipe medalists! L-R: Alex Ferreira, Nico Porteous, and David Wis. Photo by Karen Salkin.

The happy Ski Halfpipe medalists! L-R: Alex Ferreira, Nico Porteous, and David Wis. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I loved the men’s Skiing Halfpipe!  I’m thrilled that American David Wise repeated as Champion, (at the last second, I might add,) American Alex Ferreira got the silver, and adorable sixteen-year-old New Zealander, Nico Porteous, (who is my new favorite athlete, by the way,) got the surprise bronze medal!

“Do your best and bless the rest.”  I have to give snowboarder Jamie Anderson credit for saying that, even though it sounds like a known saying. But it’s new to me, so I appreciate her attitude. I’m going to remind myself of it, (sans her lisp,) from now on.

Nico Porteous' shock when he saw his score! Photo by Karen Salkin.

Nico Porteous’ shock when he saw his score! Photo by Karen Salkin.

Watching Ski Champion Sofia Loggia sing her National Anthem (from her win last night) with so much gusto was a real treat. I wish Americans sang ours that way!

A guy skied off course, which meant that he’s out of the race which is always a dramatic turn of events, but creepy Bode Miller just kept talking about whatever he was saying, with only a slight “yeah,” when play-by-play guy Dan Hicks screamed, “He’s off!!!”

THIRD THURSDAY

Gigi Martin. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Gigi Martin. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Here’s an anomaly–Gigi Martin, a pretty female hockey player!

The ladies figure skating competition was so depressing, on so many levels, that I can’t even talk about it. Except to report that Russia’s stunning eighteen-year-old skater, Evgenia Medvedeva, got screwed by coming in second to her fifteen-year-old countrywoman, training mate, and friend, Alina Segitova. They’re both great, but Evgenia should have won the long program on artistic marks alone! But she was so classy in defeat. The things that that young lady has to say, in a language that is clearly still a bit difficult for her, are wise beyond all of our years!

THIRD FRIDAY

The two (possibly uneven) courses in PGS! Photo by Karen Salkin.

The two (possibly uneven) courses in PGS! Photo by Karen Salkin.

This was so ridiculous, and I can’t believe that the commentators didn’t say anything! Nor did the countries involved. In Parallel Giant Slalom in Snowboarding, there are two courses—the red and blue. And the entire competition, both men’s and women’s, every victor but one came down the red course! So it was obviously better than the blue. How is that fair???  The powers-that-be need to make the competition be two runs, one on each side.

THIRD SATURDAY

NBC totally screwed us on the Figure Skating Gala!!! They showed just eight out of the just about twenty performances!!! Aargh!

THIRD SUNDAY—CLOSING CEREMONY

The 2018 Winter Olympics comes to a close. Photo by Karen Salkin.

The 2018 Winter Olympics comes to a close. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Did any of the American girls ever hear of brushing their hair for the Closing Ceremony???

NBC chose to show us just the flag-bearer for the USA, and not the athletes who were chosen by their teammates to carry the flags from other countries! That would have been of a lot of interest to many of us, especially loyal viewers such as myself who dedicated over two weeks of our lives to watching their coverage!

And that’s a wrap on the 2018 Winter Olympics! Sorry that I couldn’t include everything, but it would take me another two weeks to write it all!!!

So now it’s back to real world problems.  And, hopefully, triumphs, too. And the Oscars at the end of this week! Oh no—I need some rest from my two weeks off!!!

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4 Comments

  1. I couldn’t agree more about the Canadian couple and their offensive lift. Not only was it inappropriate, it was really unattractive as well. When I was watching, at first I thought it was a mistake and she had slipped , but then I realized it was intentional.

    So surprised and disappointed the judges let them get away with it.

  2. I think a lot of people’s binge series recently has been watching the Olympics! Although I’m not a sports person, I am an Olympics fan. There is so much to see, and these athletes put their lives into becoming who they are, for this moment. So much heart, spirit, love, and drama I ended up on Pyeongchang time!! And am now in Olympic Withdrawal Syndrome! I wake up at the wrong time. Thank heavens, I discovered that I did pay my bills! I keep looking at the TV set, expecting more figure skating, womens’ hockey, bobsleigh, anything!! But all I get is dull regular programming. Worst thing- I ate all my favourite munchies. Yep, pop, chips, cookies, chocolates, popcorn. And, now I’m avoiding the scale in the bathroom like it’s Darth Vader!! I wish you liked sports, but c’est la vie. The womens’ hockey final will go down in the history books as one of the best matches ever! The was like the cream of haute couture!! There will never ever be another like it. Part of why I like these Olympians, is because of their attitude towards life. I’m looking for something to keep me going. Their words bring me life. Paralympics will be next, and am looking forward to that. All this reminds me, too of one of your novels that you wrote. About the skier, who had an accident, became paralyzed, but lived a new life. Bless you and your sweet little dogs. I’m so glad you curl up together. Pets are such a comfort.

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