It’s only Day 5, and I’m already exhausted from the tension. And from the questions: Why did they do that? How could they do that? What were they thinking? What was going through their mind?
I have come to realize that while the Summer Olympics Games is athleticism, par excellence–speed, grace, power, technique, and courage–the Winter Games are all that plus insanity and psychosis. How could they possibly compete under those conditions, especially with the eyes of the entire world watching? And yet they do, again and again.
There will be much to talk about in the coming days, but today’s post has to start with the big topic, and I’ll get it right out there. Lindsay Vonn is a badass, and I applaud her for her efforts. I know some of you disagree, so I want to get into this a little, into the context of what Alpine skiers do, and the Olympic history that surrounds an athlete’s choices. Part of that larger context is the stress of what all these athletes must endure in making spectacles of themselves.
They have a lot of nerve.
Continue reading “The Nerve”