Curling: Some Olympic Commentary

Was reading some other friends posts about the Olympics and felt the need to get in on the conversation – especially after I had myself earlier this morning been flipping through the channels (never anything really exciting to be found on Saturday mornings) and landed on CNBC which was following a curling match between the U.S. and Germany. I was excited to stumble upon it because right before the Olympics kicked off, I remember Katie Couric doing an interview with the U.S. Curling team and I wanted to try and catch some of the event during the Olympics. I’ve always been a little intrigued by it. I remember it being a topic of major conversation when they added it to the winter tier of the Olympics because its fans were excited that it was finally being recognized for the sport it is.

So, I watched it for some time this morning and am a little confused. What about it is sport-ish? Granted, it looked like there was some strategy to it. But, I’m left feeling a little bit gypped on the athletic prowess element. I mean, isn’t that what the Olympics are about? Whether a team or individual event, isn’t the Olympics kind of the granddaddy of supreme amateur athleticism?

While I was engrossed in trying to understand curling (I am, if nothing, a gal who desires a well-rounded athletic awareness), a commentator lauded the fact that the best thing about this “sport” (yes, I’ve got to go with the air quotes here – still unconvinced of its sport-worth) was the fact that you could actually get into the curlers' heads. (Out loud giggle here – do you think that’s what they’re called?...Okay, so full on laugh out loud here! I’m even too ridiculous for myself.) What other "sport" lets you do that, he asked. He said that wouldn’t it be great if we could hear the strategy of our favorite football team up close and personal like that…or hear what is actually going on in their heads. At first thought, it sounds kind of cool, but on second thought, I’m a pretty good lip reader and I’ve seen blips of what comes out of my favorite team players/coaches mouths at certain critical times. Pretty confident that the whole thing would be ruined for me if I really knew what they were thinking…

Okay, so this post is ending up being more of a fizzled ramble than a stand up rant.

Did I tell you it is SNOWING here?