The Winter Olympics Games 2022 Discussion Thread

[Soapsuds]

Well I guess I'll have to tune in.

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[AbcNbc247]

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Do you need Premium to watch on Peacock?

[Cat]

Men's figure skating: Nathan Chen (US) vs Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan) kicks off today, and I can't wait to watch the highlights.

Can't wait to see the opening ceremony either, which I'm sure the CCP threw a cast of thousands and shitload of money at Zhang Yimou to direct.

[DramatistDreamer]

Did Peng Shuai light the Olympic cauldron yet?

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[I Am A Swede]

How swiftly the press turns from despair to jubilation. After surprising medal misses in cross-country skiing and biathlon we get a gold in men's mogul skiing, and the disaster headlines are instantly forgotten.  

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[amybrickwallace]

It feels weird to see another Olympics so soon after the last one, but I've always been into the winter games than the summer ones. Bring on the figure skating!!

[Cat]

Women's snowboarding event was pretty good too.

Tonight -- Women's figure skating.

[I Am A Swede]

This is amazing! Gold medal in 5 straight Olympic Games!

Winter Olympics: Ireen Wust wins 1500m gold and sets record

[Faulkner]

 

[DramatistDreamer]

[DramatistDreamer]

Will Valieva (or the ROC) be sending roses to Sharapova now? Her legal team, which included this lawyer helped get Sharapova's sentence reduction for her doping ban years ago.

[Faulkner]

 

[DRW50]

The  idea of all these girls training for most of their lives, permanently injuring themselves for this moment of glory, only to be told that they won't get to be honored, and to basically get over it - it truly sums up how soul-crushing and beyond  repair this event has become. Not to mention the blatant underscoring of many in order to get the desired outcome for Russia. This is a good way to tell all those millions of viewers who  have left the Olympics behind that they should never look back.

Edited February 16, 2022 by DRW50

[Cat]

I love the Winter Olympics generally, and so far have caught up on a number of events. Even though the fact that it is being held in Beijing at all is hugely controversial, and explains why many viewers have actively boycotted it.

I especially loved the snowboard cross this year (men's and women's) -- the competitors of these adrenaline sports like cross, half-pipe and free-ski have a joyfulness to their performances, and a mutual respect across teams. The sport is not about subtracting points if you make mistakes as much as adding points if you do extra-well. Nor is it about nationalism and beating a hated enemy nation. Seeing legend Shaun White embracing Scotty James who ended up taking the gold was moving, as was watching the Australian team cheer on the Norwegian free-ski competitor, just because he was so good.

But the ice-skating -- which is like a cult in Russia and probably the number one reason why Putin will do anything to remain part of the Winter Olympics -- hurts my heart. The competition is riven with geopolitical fault-lines and is so tough and cruel. As you say, @DRW50 the sacrifice asked of some of these athletes seems way to high for one moment of glory. And for what? To satisfy a nation's low self-esteem, and to reinforce the low value placed on an individual's life. She is but a cog in the wheel of the state apparatus. The fact that a 15 year old has been on powdered protein drinks for two years straight and a regular regimen of (at least) three different heart medications is abuse, pure and simple. Once that body starts breaking down, and the heart problems appear, Valieva will be quickly discarded by her awful coach Eteri Tutberidze and the state-sponsored doping machine, like so many before her. 

It breaks my heart because I doubt she had any say in the matter of doping. The supreme irony is that the Russian skaters like Valieva do not even need 'performance-enhancing' drugs. The event rests largely on her tiny body weight and incredible balletic and technical skills learned from years of never-ending training.

Like I said, I love the Winter sports, but I understand people's disgust with the corruption and dictatorships involved. I think at some point very soon, the skating will just be to much to bear for a viewer/fan like me.

Edited February 16, 2022 by Cat

[DramatistDreamer]

Figure skating has had some serious problems for decades now (L'affaire Harding/Kerrigan, misogynoir and micro-aggressions toward Surya Bonaly, etc.). As a kid, I used to be a big fan but probably over the last fifteen years, I have been pulling away, bit by bit.

And hasn't an American recently naturalized Chinese citizen who competes for China faced relentless cyber-bullying by the home crowd after falling during her skating programs?

As beautiful and even as entertaining as a polished performance can be, figure skating as an industry has been as toxic as all get-out for decades now. I mean, I remember not really knowing much about Tai Babilonia, with her era being a little before my time as a fan, but seeing her made for TV movie about the basic toxicity of the people in charge of the sport.

I hope that some big improvements will be made but the sport has been rancid for years, lol.

Edited February 16, 2022 by DramatistDreamer