Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
February 25, 2010, Washington Post

Olympic fun and games

Like many people, I have been watching the Winter Olympics. Here are a few thoughts -- some important, some silly -- I have had during the Games.

-- The Olympics are always full of surprises. Skier Bode Miller was supposed to be America's big star in the 2006 Winter Olympics, but he didn't win a medal. This time, no one expected much from Miller, and he has won three medals.

-- The American skiers have done great. Sports Illustrated predicted the United States would win four Alpine skiing medals. The American team had won eight through Wednesday's races.

-- Curling is surprisingly fun to watch. I wonder if the players practice by sweeping around their houses.

-- People argued whether the costumes of Russian ice dancers Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin offended Australian aborigines. I don't know, but they sure looked silly.

-- Speaking of costumes, the uniforms worn by the U.S. snowboarders make them look like they are Minnesota high schoolers.

-- American snowboarder Shaun White is unbelievable. The Flying Tomato, as White is called because of his red hair, had already won the gold medal in the halfpipe, but he did a Double McTwist 1260 just for fun.

-- The Olympics always has a problem with figure skating. This year, Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko complained that he should have won the men's gold medal instead of American Evan Lysacek.

-- There are so many close races that I feel terrible for the athlete who comes in fourth and misses out on a medal. For example, Werner Heel of Italy missed a bronze medal in the men's super-G ski race by two one-hundredths of a second. That's a blink of an eye.

-- The TV coverage has had stories about the sacrifices of the athletes. But at least these athletes made it to the Olympics. Some athletes train just as hard and never make it to the Olympics. That's a good reminder that if you play a sport, you should play because you love it, not because you may get a medal.

Enjoy the rest of the Olympics.

Fred Bowen writes the KidsPost's sports opinion column and is the author of 14 books, including a football book, "Touchdown Trouble."

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