Dani:
I'm pleased to see the Canadian pair received the gold they had deserved, in my opinion, but the fact that the Russian couple kept theirs is frustrating. Either you're first or you're second. The co-owning of a gold medal seems a bit too much like
'Give them a gold and bury this thing'. You know, the
'We-are-the-world-everybody is a winner' mentality. Makes me puke. There can only be
one Gold Medal winner. Sale and Pelletier
are the Gold Metal winners - always were. Even their grace after losing the gold was admirable.
Of course, as much as I enjoy the Olympics, it's mostly a farce. Everybody gets paid - one way or another and the judging, especially by some of the europeans, is often skewed, especially in the subjective ice skating and diving events. Sad but true.
I prefer events where the clock tells the winner, not a judge, as in drag racing. Fastest car wins. End of story. Same in the Olympics; fastest runner, skier, etc wins.
I think skate competitions should be non-Olympic events after all the grief this latest scandal has raised.
As for Sale and Pelletier, they are great skaters, very photogenic and personable.
I predict they'll go pro very quickly and make a pile of money. Expect to see them in TV ads within a few months, if that. They deserve all they can get.
Meanwhile, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, the Russian skaters, will probably fade into obscurity rather quickly and never be heard of again. I predict they'll
hate those gold metals within a few years.
Oh, and Bob Costas is a jerk. His smarmy, smirking attitude is a bore and a distraction.
I once liked the guy but either he's bored with sports, has too much money or simply believes all the flunkys around him who tell him how brilliant he is. Whatever, NBC is a big disappointment.
Other than that, I have no opinion on the 2002 Olympics.
