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Submitted by BB

That Old North Wind

Did you feel the brisk nor’easter swirling down from Canada on Sunday afternoon? That was the collective sigh of relief of thirty-three million Canadians as their Olympic hockey team won the gold medal in an exciting overtime victory against Team USA.

Given the level of importance attached to this game (is the self-esteem of an entire nation enough?), I was almost afraid to root for my own countrymen. I like the Canadians, but it’s hard to stomach the potential mass suicide that might have occurred if the Canucks lost the match. We could not take the chance that the year-long mourning period that would surely follow would affect our already flailing economy.

As for the US, the defeat only cost us a case of Molson Canadian Lager, to be paid for by President Obama.  I was most proud of our young men; they did phenomenally well, considering that they weren’t even expected to medal in the Games. The Canadians, with professional salaries that ranged from 130 to 150 million dollars depending on who was on the ice, were Olympic ice hockey’s equivalent of the New York Yankees. The upstart Americans were the Florida Marlins…this time around.

When seen in that light, I understand why the Canadians had their jumping spots chosen along the Lions Gate Bridge.  Should we tell them that the eighteen-and-under American juniors not only won the international hockey title in Canada this past year, but that our fourteen-and-under squad did as well? They better hope that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman allows the professionals to compete in the next Olympics to be held in Russia. I’m just saying….

More Olympics Notes

Nordic Combined medals for the United States? Really? This was pretty darned cool! I loved this sport—possibly because I was tired of events that were determined by subjective judging. I like athletes competing, their physical abilities the only thing being timed or measured. They were in control of their performance. The only thing better than the gold and silver medal wins would have been a sweep including the bronze. But I suppose we shouldn’t be greedy. Team USA was already on their way to collecting more medals than any other in the history of the winter Olympics.

Curling: a sport or not? I tried to understand; I really did. It was mildly entertaining, and I began to recognize and appreciate the strategy of the game.  But an Olympic sport? I’m sorry, but darts in the pub was what came to mind, which had me looking for pints of Labatt sitting around the tables framing the ice. Is it the players’ upper body strength gained through vigorous sweeping that makes this an athletic event? I couldn’t tell. I was, however, impressed with the high-tech quality of the brooms. Wish I had one for my kitchen.

Bobsledding medals? What is the world coming to when the United States medals in this sport? Where were the East Germans and Soviets?  I know, I know. East Germany is no more, and neither is the USSR. But I remember their overwhelming dominance of most winter sports back in the day.  I used to resign myself to watching the flag of one of these countries rising behind the podium.  I can still hear their incredibly long, intimidating (to my young mind at least) anthems playing in my head.

I kind of miss those days; they were the big bullies on the block, making it easy to root for anyone who opposed them.  The complaint used to be that it was unfair; they were obviously fielding professionals against the amateur athletes of every other nation. This isn’t the case any longer.

Final, Dark Olympic Note

The Vancouver Olympics opened with a tragedy; the death of a Georgian luger on a practice run. It created a definite pall over the opening ceremonies, leaving athletes and spectators alike to question a course that was known to be incredibly fast and dangerous.

I refuse to minimize the loss of any life. I’m sure that Nodar Kumaritashivili’s family didn’t expect to be informed that he’d been killed rather than having competed well for his country.  This is why I found the IOC’s comment about him being at fault so distasteful.  If ever there was a case where silence was the better part of valor, this was it.

This comment created more questions when they shut down the course and moved the competition to another run, which seemed highly suspicious if they truly felt that the fatal accident was the athlete’s fault.  And no, I’m not suggesting that the Canadian or International IOC was covering things up.

I am suggesting that they made a horrible situation worse.  It’s always sad when a life is lost and the only concern of the officials is to shift any possible blame away from themselves.

OT Debate

The NFL is finally succumbing to the pressure of the extreme left in football. The side that insists that everything must be fair and even-handed and that everyone should get an equal opportunity to score. What—the previous 60 minutes wasn’t enough time?

 I am puzzled by the proposal for a new overtime rule. If a team scores a touchdown on the first possession of the overtime period, the game is over. If they score a field goal, then the other team gets the ball and an opportunity to score.

How is this fair and equitable? What happens if the defense steps up and scores a safety?  Is there a handicap awarded if a starting quarterback is injured, because honestly, it’s not fair that a team has to rely on its back up QB.

AND—did I hear this right—the new rule would only apply to the playoffs?

I’m of a different opinion than the majority of football fans, which I suppose puts me in the Independent or Green Party of football. I don’t think there should be overtime periods. What’s wrong with ties? I’d like to see teams have to go for broke, be gutsy and run trick plays at the end of games. Two point conversion attempts are exciting to me; I’m just funny that way.

As for the playoffs and Super Bowl, where there must be a winner? I propose a five-minute period in which the offense must play defense and the defense must play offense. Don’t you think that would prove who truly has the team with the most depth and talent? I’d like to see Troy Palamalu at quarterback, and the speedy corners would run great reverses. How difficult would it be for the defensive line to turn around and play the other way?

 I suspect that the best defenses would win the day, even on the offensive side of the ball,  but we’d still be left with the same debate if the first team that got the ball scores.

Obviously something other than the luck of a coin toss needs to be used to determine who gets the ball first. Something that calls for skill, and would therefore demonstrate a team’s superior aptitude.  So let’s go for a multiple choice, three-question apiece examination based on the Wunderlich test. Each team can have a combination of halfbacks and offensive tackles answering the questions. This affords each team an equitable start, as this offers an average of the historic lowest and highest scoring athletes on this haloed test.

Seriously, Mr. Commissioner, you have so much else on your plate in the next two years to tackle, not least of which is making sure that the owners and players continue playing. I’m afraid a walk-out or lockdown would sour my (and many other Americans’) taste for professional football, especially in these trying times. So many families are struggling with multiple jobs, lay-offs and the highest number of mortgage defaults in history.  An agent-led athlete not making 8 million dollars a year, or an owner not able to purchase the largest Trinitron screen on earth, won’t garner sympathy.

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