The 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, BC, are just a week away. The airwaves have already been pelted with Olympic-themed commercials. Watching all of this brought some questions to mind…
In 2000 the “Summer” Olympics were in Sydney, and in 1956 they were in Melbourne. This being the case, were they really “Summer” Olympics? According to Wikipedia the games were held later in September, so it was actually early spring there. I guess one could argue that there are no real “Summer” Olympics, just the Olympic Games and the Winter Olympics.
While there have been two Summer Olympics in the Southern Hemisphere, there have never been any Winter Olympics south of the Equator. That made me wonder if Alpine sports are even big enough down there for a venue to be established. There’s certainly snow and hills, so the conditions would exist, but no one ever really hears about a Bolivian Bobsled Team, or Chilean Ice Dancing.
Obviously if the Winter Olympics were held in the Southern Hemisphere, they couldn’t be held within the normal time frame. It would be interesting if that ever did happen, but I’m guessing it won’t.
They could do them in Chile. Maybe New Zeland. But I think they should always do them in the European Alps. Maybe in Scandanavia once in a while.
I think the winter olympics are the greatest sporting event on the planet. Rise up with me and sing the praises of famous men (and women): Ingemar Stenmark, Eric Heiden, the 1980 US hockey team, Bode Miller, Peggy Flemming, Katarina Witt, Hermann Maier.
Yes, I’m a New Englander. Yes, my childhood (and adult) dream was to be an alpine ski racer or a hockey player. But tune in for the men’s downhill (alpine) race on Feb 13th and tell me it’s not the most exciting thing in sports. Go Bode! (he’s from Franconia, New Hampshire)
Nope, no bias there whatsoever. 😉