Vancouver 2010

It was an awesome opening ceremony. k.d. lang did a wonderful job on her song.
 
It was long and carried on way too long, but that stage/video screen/whatevertheheckitwas was really cool. When the ice broke up, it became water, whales spouting, all that. The ceremony itself, yeah boring, but that was cool
 
Opening and closing ceremonies have always been easily my least favorite parts of the olympics. That was true even when I really liked the olympics. I still enjoy some of the summer olympics, but I just can't get into much of the winter events.
 
Benevolent One said:
Opening and closing ceremonies have always been easily my least favorite parts of the olympics. That was true even when I really liked the olympics. I still enjoy some of the summer olympics, but I just can't get into much of the winter events.
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Two of my favorite things are the short track speed skating (a lot like dirt racing:)) and, believe it or not, curling. Don't know why, but we got hooked on watching curling during the last games.
 
VaDirt said:
Two of my favorite things are the short track speed skating (a lot like dirt racing:)) and, believe it or not, curling. Don't know why, but we got hooked on watching curling during the last games.
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How about those two medals won by the Americans? Couldn't believe the N. Koreans took themselves out.
 
What about the two U.S. women that won gold and bronze in the skiing.

Ohno is a great speedskater. I just don't like to see them compare his accomplishments to Eric Heiden and Bonnie Blair, not even close.
 
Couple of things on the Olympics. I thought watching the short races for speed skaters was really fun and put on a great show. But the thing I am amazed at is the mogul event. I can't help but feel those racers must wear their knees out by the time they are thirty.
Does anybody know what the injury, surgery problems are as they compete? And what the after effects might be as they age?
 
Whizzer said:
Couple of things on the Olympics. I thought watching the short races for speed skaters was really fun and put on a great show. But the thing I am amazed at is the mogul event. I can't help but feel those racers must wear their knees out by the time they are thirty.
Does anybody know what the injury, surgery problems are as they compete? And what the after effects might be as they age?
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I know that they said during the moguls finals, one of the ladies that crashed had had 6 knee surgeries; 3 on each knee. I can't remember which one it was, but I thought that was just crazy!
 
majestyx said:
I know that they said during the moguls finals, one of the ladies that crashed had had 6 knee surgeries; 3 on each knee. I can't remember which one it was, but I thought that was just crazy!
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I think I would be finding another sport.
 
I love the short track speedskating. It is fun to watch. Apolo is really powerful. Also like the Moguls. Maybe the most fun to watch will be The Flying Tomato and Kelly Clark in the snowboarding. I also like the skiing. It takes a lot of balls to go off the ski jump.

I watch many of the events, my wife watches them all.
 
Sorry to see Jacobellis not make the finals in Snowboard Cross. She is a tough competitor.
 
Tonight is a good night to watch the Olympics. Lots of exciting events including women Downhill, Short Track Speedskating, mens snowboard Halfpipe, etc
 
Great! Just saw that on breakingn news. Guess we'll get to see it tonight on prime time.

Too bad about Jacobellis yesterday though...
 
This may be the best night of all for watching the Olympics.

The Flying Tomato will be a must see. He may not win the Gold but almost guaranteed, he will show you moves that have never been seen before.
 
Short track speed skating, Apollo Ohno just one his qualifyer with what almost looked like a nice slide job on a dirt track:beerbang:
 
Does anyone know when they started doing the blue lines in the downhill sking courses? I remember from that last winter olympics, but not before that. Back when I was a kid, it was just a hill, the gates, and that was it. Now the course is all outlined. Anyone know when they started that?
 
VaDirt said:
Does anyone know when they started doing the blue lines in the downhill sking courses? I remember from that last winter olympics, but not before that. Back when I was a kid, it was just a hill, the gates, and that was it. Now the course is all outlined. Anyone know when they started that?
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Did research on this and found some say that it's been around for a while and others saying that it was recently. The outer lines basically show the line of the course while the horizontal lines are for speed reference. I read where Turin had blue lines and Salt Lake City had red lines.

Interesting to see so many people have asked this question.
 
VaDirt said:
Does anyone know when they started doing the blue lines in the downhill sking courses? I remember from that last winter olympics, but not before that. Back when I was a kid, it was just a hill, the gates, and that was it. Now the course is all outlined. Anyone know when they started that?
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Robert Frost once asked, "You see the snow-white through the white of frost?" Yes, Robert, we at the Fourth-Place Medal Investigative Unit do see the snow-white. Except there are also various shades of blue painted on it.

One of the most popular queries so far during the 2010 Winter Olympics has been about the blue lines that are painted on the downhill skiing course at Whistler. Try watching Lindsey Vonn race without wondering what they're for, why they're there and, most importantly, why the heck they're painted blue.

Because of our desire to impart Olympic-related knowledge upon those who seek it, the FPMIU today looks at the mystery of the blue lines on the ski slope:

The two vertical blue lines are intended to give skiers a clear path down the mountain. It's a safety issue. Much like with pre-schoolers and coloring books, there is no penalty for going outside the lines. However, downhill skiers can't stray too far outside because the guide is flush with the limited number of control gates that competitors must pass through. Staying in the middle isn't necessarily the best path.

There are also horizontal lines stretching across the course. Those exist to provide depth perception to the racers. Ever stepped into a snowbank that was a lot deeper than it looked? Now try going downhill at 90 mph and doing the same thing.

Numerous methods have been used in the past for safety reasons (the blue line is a relatively recent development in the long history of skiing), with pine needles serving as the most popular. Race officials often sprinkle the needles at the bottom of a jump so skiers know where the landing area is.

Lines are painted before the race by an official wearing a backpack spray tanker. Why blue? Because it pops and looks better than red.
 
mike honcho said:
Robert Frost once asked, "You see the snow-white through the white of frost?" Yes, Robert, we at the Fourth-Place Medal Investigative Unit do see the snow-white. Except there are also various shades of blue painted on it.

One of the most popular queries so far during the 2010 Winter Olympics has been about the blue lines that are painted on the downhill skiing course at Whistler. Try watching Lindsey Vonn race without wondering what they're for, why they're there and, most importantly, why the heck they're painted blue.

Because of our desire to impart Olympic-related knowledge upon those who seek it, the FPMIU today looks at the mystery of the blue lines on the ski slope:

The two vertical blue lines are intended to give skiers a clear path down the mountain. It's a safety issue. Much like with pre-schoolers and coloring books, there is no penalty for going outside the lines. However, downhill skiers can't stray too far outside because the guide is flush with the limited number of control gates that competitors must pass through. Staying in the middle isn't necessarily the best path.

There are also horizontal lines stretching across the course. Those exist to provide depth perception to the racers. Ever stepped into a snowbank that was a lot deeper than it looked? Now try going downhill at 90 mph and doing the same thing.

Numerous methods have been used in the past for safety reasons (the blue line is a relatively recent development in the long history of skiing), with pine needles serving as the most popular. Race officials often sprinkle the needles at the bottom of a jump so skiers know where the landing area is.

Lines are painted before the race by an official wearing a backpack spray tanker. Why blue? Because it pops and looks better than red.
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Thanks for the info. But I still wonder, what's meant by "recent." Prteyy sure I remember it the last olympics, but don't know when they actually started doing it.
 
Do you realize that in the Women's Downhill they were going at speeds faster than the men in the Luge?
 
It's not ice skating unless there's controversy...

Not a fan of figure skating at all, but the russian was beat, and now Russia is griping about the result.

Oh, and they did a piece on Yevgeny Plushenko, and he looks, and acts, like he should be the villain on "Blades of Glory":D
 
Tonight! Team USA vs Team Canada. Should e a great hocckey game. So far, ther have been some great games in Vancouver this Olympics.
 
VaDirt said:
Almost. It's on MSNBC. Hockey and curling have pretty much been exclusively on MSNNBC or CNBC. NBC get the fun stuff like figure skating.:sarcasm:
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Thanks and NBC not helping the bobsled and skeleton coverage much either.
 
Ice hockey starting today at 3:00 PM eastern, US vs Switzerland in the first quarterfinal match.

USA!! USA!! USA!!:salute:
 
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