Au Revoir Les Jeux Olympiques**

So the Olympics have come to an end and I am sure that while we are watching the Duke game this evening there are fantastically bizarre happenings going on for the closing ceremonies. I thought it would be fun to look back at my favorites and not so favorites from the games. So, let's start with the likes.

1 - Awesome Olympic mascots. Check out their website. They are both delightful and a little trippy at the same time. My favorite is the seabear - part orca, part bear - loves to surf. Or ski or something like that.

2 - The outing of Canadians. Who knew so many people living among us were Canadian? I am glad the opening ceremonies set the record straight on so many of them. Donald Sutherland? Sarah McLaughlin? Joni Mitchell?? Crazy Canadian talk.

3 - Nordic combined. I am hesitant to include this because suddenly this sport is one that Americans can win at and I hate to make it look like I only now like the sport because American win medals. Not true. I just can't believe this sport has never been on tv before (that I've seen) and that it makes cross country skiing so exciting. I was actually yelling at my television on more than one occasion during a race to finish in cross country. That and I love how they all collapse at once over the finish line in a pile of cross country skier.

4 - Bill DeMong - So he is part of the nordic combined American power house, but it was this story on NPR that made me love him. His mom is really cute, I love the story of her being pregnant in Lake Placid in 1980 and deciding he would be an Olympic baby. I think the fact he proposed to his girlfriend during the Olympics so cute. And I think its great that he gets to carry the flag at the closing ceremonies. Just a great Olympic story.

On the other side of the coin, some of my not so favorite Olympic moments/things.

1 - Lindsay Vonn. She was overhyped. I find her really annoying. Not at all sweetheart like. And a giant cry baby. She claims she will be back in 4 years, but I certainly hope not.

2 - Always knowing the results. I know a lot of people were upset with the tape delay. I don't really mind - I work all day so watching the day's bobsled race that night works for me. What I don't understand is why the media world cannot recognize this and not make headlines like "Bodie Miller Wins Gold" the headline at 2pm. A button that says "Olympic results here" works fine for those who want to know. But ESPN, I think putting the results on your bottom line during PTI is just not cool.

3 - The idea that you have to win a medal to matter. There are so many human interest stories, so many of them overplayed, but there are so many others who come to the Olympics and never even make it on television, and they matter too. Just like nordic combined mattered to a lot of people before the US medaled in it.

4 - Olympic commentators. I know they have space to fill and that they can only know so much. But the skiing people always seemed to talk about it being the competitors "best run" right before they crashed - or discussed the "amazing speed" of a bobsled, before they were 2 seconds behind the leader. I'm sure they do a lot better than I would, but I also think it might be nice to watch the competition set to the soft tunes of Canadian songstress Anne Murray.

** I used google translate to double check my French for "Good bye Olympic Games". It suggested "Good Bye Jeux Olympiques. " It may have been over 10 years since my last French class, but I am pretty sure "good bye" is not the correct translation.