My palms were sweaty watching that crazy and action-packed snowboard cross. If not for the fact that I have never snowboarded, I really wanted to be on that slope. I actually felt patriotic when American Seth Westcott rather casually pulled out the win. Seeing Lindsey Vonn hurtle down the slopes, I was willing her to not lost control on those turns. And when Swede Anja Pärson did in fact crash in that event, I felt her pain. It’s the old “the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat” Olympic slogan from American TV in action.
Shaun White was amazing in his up in the air acrobatics on the halfpipe. And while I like cross country skiing, it is not quite so exciting to watch on TV. I’m sorry, but that cross country technique is a bit funny looking, admit it. Even so, my Swedish pride got a nice hit from seeing Bjorn Ferry’s gold in the biathlon and Charlotte Kalla’s in the 10k freestyle. The Swedish announcers were beyond euphoria in their commentating on Kalla’s finish. The oi, yoi, yoi, yoi exclamations and chants of Kalla over and over were just fun to listen to.
I love watching the Olympics. Whether it is winter or summer, I find myself transfixed by the stories of the Olympic athletes. And these days, I cheer not only for the US, but also for Australia (even though the winter Olympics are not quite the thing for the Aussies) and Sweden. And of course, I have to cheer on the other Scandinavian neighbors as well. It’s just good entertainment. Now what events are on tonight?
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Cheer on the other Scandinavian neighbors? What a very chivalrous but un-Swedish statement! You must understand the rivalry between the Scandinavian countries in sports. ; ) Finland is Sweden’s serious rival in hockey, as is Norway in cross-country skiing sports. Denmark doesn’t pose much of a threat in the winter olympics, but is Sweden’s rival in soccer. This rivalry goes way back and is deeply routed in the Swedish psyche. There probably aren’t too many Swedes who would share your sentiments! : )
Sharon: I know that it is not very sporting of me! But thanks for making me laugh. I just love watching. And I do have my allegiances in line of order….US first, for instance. And then I am always happy for Sweden to beat out Norway!
I have to disagree with Sharon. The rivalry is only when we compete against each other. We always cheer for each other against any other country, let me assure you!
Liv: Thanks for adding your perspective into the ring as well. I am glad that I am not the only one cheering on the other Nordic countries!
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