The Olympics have been awe inspiring (think 1980 Lake Placid, Miracle on Ice), they have been used for political purposes (Boycotts of 1980 and 1984 Olympics), they have been terrorized (1972 Munich when the Israeli athletes were taken hostage and killed), they have been cheated (Ben Johnson in the 1988 Seoul Olympics caught using steroids), and they have been used to prove how wrong and evil certain people can be (1936 Olympics when Jesse Owens won four gold medals in Berlin in front of Hitler). So what will the 2014 Olympics be remembered as?
Well if your Shawn White, it will be remembered for disappointment, if you’re a lot of the skiers, snowboarders and skaters, it will be remembered for dangerous conditions that should not be allowed, and if you’re anyone OTHER than an athlete who ventured into Russia, it will be remembered for being a total disaster.
Can someone please explain how and Olympics that cost over $51 Billion (yes, that’s with a “B”), the most expensive Olympics ever, can have such horror stories coming from the people who are visiting the country?
The hotel rooms were never ready for all the media and guests that were coming in. Some rooms had no doorknobs, others had yellow/brown water coming out of the faucets, and still others were not even available for another 2 to 3 days for the people who are supposed to stay there.
Then there’s the American athlete (who shall remain nameless) that got locked in his own bathroom, so he had to bust a giant hole in the door just to get out.
Now I realize not all Olympic experiences are going to amazing, but considering how long they have had and how much money they have spent, you would think that Sochi would have gotten their act together.
The fact that there is so much disarray is disgusting. This is supposed to be a showcase for the world, and all it has shown is that Russia is much closer to a 3rd World Country than the Super Power they were back in the 80’s.
While it would be bad to just have the accommodations be brutal, the conditions at some of the events have never been worse in all the time I have watched the games.
Sure falling is part of figure skating, but when every single competitor seems to take at least one tumble, there is something wrong with other than just the athletes.
It’s not just the ice surface that needs to be redone, but the half-pipe was a mess (maybe that’s the reason Shawn White didn’t medal), not that he’s ever blamed the conditions on his failure to medal. The weather has been more tropical than it has wintery, and the injuries are starting to mount up.
As if the issues with the competition itself weren’t bad enough, then there is poor Bob Costas. The voice of NBC and the Olympics has not been able to work for the last 4 days due to a nasty eye infection he got in Sochi. While I have nothing against Matt Lauer or Meredith Vierra, neither one of them should be anchoring the Olympic coverage. Thankfully, Costas is scheduled to return on Monday, but we shall see.
It has not been a total failure. The U.S. vs Russia hockey game in the round robin portion of the men’s hockey was an absolute classic. The U.S. is, as always atop the medal board, and there is still a lot of competition to go.
But overall, when this Olympics is said and done, I believe in will get the Gold in poor places to have the Olympics. Once it was apparent, 6 months ago, that it wasn’t going to be ready or up to snuff, the IOC should have had the balls to move it. But they didn’t, and now the athletes, the media and us viewers at home are the ones who get to suffer.