Snowboard Cross - This has got to be the suicide sport.
Four competitors - men or women, but not both at the same time - race down a "hill" on snowboards at the same time. The "hill" has many built in jumps - just to create more opportunities to crash. Once they get about 30 seconds down the run, they have usually spread out some, but the first few seconds are like roller derby downhill on snow! It's thrilling, but like auto racing - hence the "cross" - you find yourself waiting for the crash.Curling is totally at the other end of the sports spectrum. It's the sport of beer drinkin', fun lovin', folks from cold states. Actually, it's apparently one of the fastest growing sports in the US, with clubs springing up as far south as D.C. and Atlanta - who knew? It's often likened to shuffleboard on ice, but I see it more like bocce.
The goal: get more of your stones (42 pounds) in the big green circle (the "house") than the other team, and if you can knock theirs out of the way, so much more fun! That whole sweeping thing is like science. Rubbing your broom on the ice thaws the ice a bit creating water that the stone slides on, so the sweepers can speed up and slightly change the direction of the stone by sweeping slower or faster. The captain is the "skip", and several people take turns "throwing" the stone. Does it help to know that this sport was born in the Scottish Highlands where they used what they had at hand?I actually love curling. Vivianne wanted to know why it's an Olympic sport. My answer is, "why not? we need some funny stuff!" It has been there since 1980, so maybe the answer is "tradition". It is the one sport that you all and I could have a shot at playing on the Olympic level, so support your local curling club. Fashion-wise, I find it lacking. Slacks and a polo shirt - no style there, and no one in sight with plumber pants on - very boring. Well, let's do give style points on the fabric the Norwegian men are wearing above.
Fashion report:
I last reported the first night of ice dancing, so I hope you have been paying more attention to who's wearing what. Just in case you missed round two - the original dance - let's hit the highlights. The requirement here was that each team choose some sort of "native dance" to interpret, so we had a can can, a Greek folk dance (you know, Zorba), a Hebrew dance, several western/cowboy entries, and the much maligned "Aboriginal dance" of the Russians. Mind you, it deserved to be maligned. Not only were the costumes awful, but the dance was.... well, not interesting, and who knew what the music was all about?
Round three
- the free dance - was much less interesting with no one really displaying inappropriate clothing. 
What's a girl to blog about when they behave like that?So let's look at bobsled. I like a good capri pant
as much as anyone, but I think it's a real "miss" when it comes to bobsled attire. Capris really need a strappy sandal, not a hockey shoe.
Aerials/snowboard cross - A bunch of folks somewhere are missing their pajamas. And, I found them... on a variety of snowboarders and the entire alpine coaching staff. The US has the semi-baggy, flannel-looking coverall-type uniforms for the snow crew. It works pretty well on the coaches who look like they have a couple of layers underneath and do the Pillsbury doughboy look nicely. The aerialists seem to have a less bulky version. I like the fabric design - dark blue covered with white stars - but the final effect is too rumpled.But, the US look is not the worst. The Canadian team has
a similar uniform that looks a lot like Tony the Tiger - not flattering to anyone.
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