I came across a photo the other day of Norwegian skier Aksel Lund Svindal, one of the more memorable names from the Vancouver Olympics. I happened to see Svindal, and hear his tale, a couple of times while the Olympics were on. The photo brought back some names from the recent games: Kim Yuna, Mirai Nagasu, Niklas Edin, Cheryl Barnard, Petter Northug, Torah Bright, Shaun White, Johnny Weir, Bill DeMong, Johnny Spillane, Joannie Rochette, and, sadly, Nodar Kumaritashvili.
It also brought back images, starting with the shadows cast on the snow by cross country skiers, collapsed skiers lying on the snow after finishing their marathon races, the general craziness of speed skating and the total exuberance of snowboarders, the gold medal hockey games (men and women), the proud parents from around the world who were in the stands cheering on their offspring, and the fabulous Argyll pants worn by the Norwegian men's curling team.
Nor can I forget the 'cult' program Curling after Dark, though it ran in the early hours of the morning and I never saw it. Or the way the Canadian faithful broke spontaneously into their national anthem, as they did when it was clear that the Canadian men's curling team was about to win curling gold. How wonderful it must be to have a national anthem that people actually want to sing and can sing.
