Olympic Fever!

Dear The Olympics,

Please stop being so awesome so I can get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Sincerely,
Melissa

The XXI Winter Olympic Games kicked off Friday night, and not coincidentally so did my reluctance to leave the couch. The Opening Ceremony was a joyful celebration of all things Canadian, so good that even I, a person who avoids things that rhyme, enjoyed Shane Koyczan‘s slam poetry portion of the event. I watched with my nieces and nephews (I had 8 of them over on Friday night, aged almost 11 years to 1 year) and they were entranced. The last to leave, my 3 year old nephew Gideon, refused to consider going home until a commercial break even though he was falling asleep on my lap.

Not everything about the opening ceremony was wonderful. We grieved for the Georgian luge athlete who lost his life in a tragic accident. NBC persisted in talking about the technical failure during the lighting ceremony as if it were some global catastrophe. But overall, it was beautiful and inspiring and exciting. Well done, Canada!

Apolo Ohno goes in for the kill!

Speaking of drama, once competition started, I was immediately sucked into the speed skating and women’s mogul excitement. How about that 1500m speed skating final, huh? I thought seeing Apolo Ohno zip from last to first in his qualifying heat was the most exciting thing I’d see that night, but the final race was a nailbiter with a crazy finish. Wow!

Canada’s quest for gold on home soil also brought the drama as Jenn Heil narrowly missed when USA’s Hannah Kearney delivered a near-flawless performance in the moguls. I know Jenn was disappointed, but Hannah was awe-inspiring. Fortunately Canada did snag gold when Alexandre Bilodeau won the men’s moguls, citing his brother Frederic (who has cerebral palsy) as his inspiration.

Surprisingly it’s the figure skating that has left me cold so far. Maybe it’s because we have so many first-timers in the pairs competition; the quality of the performances aren’t on par with what I expect from the Olympics. Here’s hoping the individual events are more inspiring.

Which events have you glued to your seat? Or are you skipping the Olympics in favor of catching up with your DVR?