Olympic Team Announced

Yesterday I watched the final events culminating in the selection of the U.S. snowboarding team. Or at least I watched the portions that NBC chose to air. It would have been nice to see some more of the competitors, such as Keir Dillon. The network kept the camera on the competitors in close contention to make the team (so Dillon’s runs, for example, were not shown). Considering that the show ended at 40 minutes after the hour, and lead into yet another ice skating something or other, there certainly was time for some extended views. Except, I guess, the viewers aren’t there–at least not in the range of ice skating.

But why should an old fogey watch snowboard competitions such as the X games, or Olympic qualifiers? Do I have any hope of ever jumping 8 feet out of the halfpipe? Do I even go into the halfpipe? Just barely. On a very good day I can connect turns in the pipe, but I focus on cruising on the trails. And, well, let’s not talk about snowboard cross or the 10 foot jumps of slopestyle.

So why watch? For the same reason that I enjoy watching a wide receiver cross over the middle, catch a football going 30 miles per hour, take a beating from a defensive back and still hang onto the ball. It’s that I marvel at the talent and dedication of such individuals–not that I expect to replicate their feats.