Richard Paige — Just because the Winter Olympics are a half a world away in Sochi doesn’t mean that the glow of the Olympic flame can’t be felt here on our campus.
Most of the North American viewing audience may have to brush up on the differences between skeleton and luge, pairs and dance, and the confluence that gives us the Nordic combined. Bonus points will also be awarded for knowing the difference between classic and free technique.
I took a very brief Wabash pulse on these Games to see what interests these Little Giants about the XXII Olympic Winter Games.
Location matters in the Olympics, as nothing casts a longer shadow as the vibe displayed by a host city. Looking back at the host cities in the last 20 years, the most mentioned hosts were Vancouver (2010) and Lillehammer (1994).
It’s interesting to see the weight that Lillehammer’s well-earned reputation for delivering a transcendent Games resonates with a group that, at best, were mere toddlers two decades ago.
When it comes to favorite sports, the answers ran the gamut, as skiing (“the body control they have is insane”), hockey (“I’m from Wisconsin where hockey is huge”), figure skating (“it’s very interesting because of the precision”, ski jumping (“they defy gravity while effortlessly flying through the air”), and superpipe (“all the biggest stars are there”) all received mentions.
Prompted for a favorite athlete or moment, the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” trumped individuals like Bode Miller, Peter Forsberg, and Apolo Anton Ohno, and my anticipated winner Shaun White.
While the Miracle on Ice still might be the greatest upset in sporting history, the geopolitical implications still bubble up. When explaining why it’s so memorable, Ben Cook ’14 said, “I love capitalism and freedom.”
