Andy And The Winter Olympics

Written by Andy Rooney

The 21st winter Olympic games started last Friday in Vancouver, Canada. I love watching the Olympics. I went to the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid a long time ago. I heard they didn't have enough snow in Vancouver; maybe they should have brought some in from Lake Placid.

Every four years we get a chance to see the best athletes in the world compete against each other. They are always counting how many metals each country gets. The Olympics were never supposed to be your country against mine of course.

Figure skating is an unlikely Olympic event but its good television. It's sort of a combination of gymnastics and ballet. A little sexy too which doesn't hurt.

The downhill skiing and speed skating for men and women are great events. You might complain about some of the announcers but the cameramen do it just right. They never miss a fall.

The dullest Olympic sport is curling, whatever "curling" means. Two guys with brooms sweep the ice in front of another "athlete" who pushes a flat, round stone towards what they call the "The house".

I like ice hockey, but it's a frustrating game to watch. It's hard to keep your eyes on both the puck and the players and too much time passes between scoring in hockey. There are usually more fights than there are points.

The biathlon is baffling too. It's a combination of skiing and shooting - which don't go together at all in my mind. The contestants carry rifles. They ski for a while, flop down and shoot at a target, then they get up and ski again. I don't know why it's an Olympic event.

Why would they give rifles to skiers? They don't give them to hockey players!

Written by Andy Rooney