We are back! I’m sorry there has been no pre-Olympic coverage, but I’m watching football right now and the blog is back in action. Much, much more to come.
PARIS 2024
Category: Uncategorized
Questions, Trivia & More from the Community
Today’s question comes from the north!
Why do Hockey Coaches dress up in suits for games? Why are they so fancy/look like Mighty Ducks Villains? – Audrey from Maine
Great question Audrey! I wish I had a more definitive answer but from what I can find there is no formal rule. But in an interesting aspect of sporting history, hockey tradition and NHL standards have kept coaches wearing suits as an unspoken rule of Olympic Hockey.
Hockey was first an Olympic sport in the 1920 Antwerp games and you can see from the picture above, suits were part of Hockey over 100 years ago! Also, don’t some of the hair-dos look surprisingly modern, fun to see.
Jump forward 60 years and you can see our favorite USA Hockey Coach rocking a very fun suit behind the bench. Suits still going strong in the 80s. Thanks Herb!
Jump to the 90s when wearing a suit officially became a regular part of the NHL player’s agreement for pregame and travel. And if the players are getting fancy, the coaches can’t slack off. (Except for the Winter Classic).
Audrey’s question arose from the USA-Germany game where the German coach, Toni Söderholm, and his coaching staff decided to go full-blown villain and extra fancy with a vest. Which one is a screenshot from Mighty Ducks 2 and which one is a screenshot from the Olympics? It’s almost impossible to tell!
Toni is from Finland originally, came to North America for college and then returned to Finland to play professionally. So he is definitely going to be familiar with The Mighty Ducks, and hockey traditions in general.
The US coaches are going with a little more color, a little less bond villain. I would like to see a little more American-themed ties or suits but can’t win them all.
As almost every other sport (NBA is one of the major exceptions) has lost the ties on the sidelines I’m guessing Hockey coaches are going to hold firm and keep this unique part of hockey tradition alive. Or Gritty will get them….
Friendly Reminder That Bartering Is Still A Necessary Skill At The Olympics
Olympic pins are an INCREDIBLY hot commodity in the Olympic Village. In addition to dancing during an opening ceremony I would love to get in on the bartering system. People apparently trade pins for EVERYTHING.
I don’t have much experience with bartering but I’m ready to pretend it’s the 1500s and there isn’t a trustworthy monetary system. As long as there isn’t a Taco Bell because they would be able to commit Highway Robbery for what I would give away for some Cheesy Gordita Crunches.
Read more about this unique Olympic trend here.
Questions, Trivia & More from the Community
We’ve got another great question!
What are upcoming events that will be filled with DRAMA? – Jon from Charlestown
Great question Jon! There are so many events that are sure to be filled with DRAMA and excitement and heartbreak and tears of joy. I’ll list out a few of the events over the next week that I’m most looking forward to should also have their share of DRAMA.
Figure Skating – Ice Dance
Sunday, February 13, 8:15 PM
Reasons for DRAMA: the two skaters are judged on never being too far away from each other at any given moment. What if they disagreed on how bedazzled their costumes should be? What if one of them really likes “Don’t Look Up” and the other one hates it? Maybe one of them can’t turn left and the other is tired of having to choreograph of only right turns? The possibilities for DRAMA are endless. Plus, jazz hands.
Speedskating – Team Pursuit
Tuesday, February 15, Women’s Final 2:24 AM & Men’s Final 2:43 AM
Reasons for DRAMA: of all the traditional speed skating events this is the most exciting. Teams of 3 start on opposite sides of the track and try to make up ground on the other team. They aren’t necessarily catching the other side at any point but if you haven’t watched any speed skating yet, at least tune in for the DRAMA in this one.
Hockey – Women’s Gold Medal Match
Wednesday, February 16, 11:10 PM
Reasons for DRAMA: If this ends up being USA & Canada it will be one of the most exciting events of the games. The rivalry runs deep. 1998: USA beat Canada for gold. 2002: Canada beat USA for gold. 2006: USA F*D up and got bronze, Canada beat Sweden for gold. 2010 & 2014: Canada beat USA For gold. 2018: USA beat Canada for gold. Another USA and Canada matchup would be amazing to watch, all for the DRAMA.
Women’s Figure Skating
Thursday, February 17, 5:00 AM
Reasons for DRAMA: Doping. That’s it. That’s going to be the DRAMA.
Four-Man Bobsled
Saturday, February 19, 10:20 PM
Reasons for DRAMA: The Jamaicans are back! They’ve had two-man sleds in the games for most Olympics but 1998 was the last time they had a four-man sled qualify. It’s also a lot of man for a small sled so how can there not be DRAMA.
If you have a question, observation, fun fact or something else I should share, you know where to find me!
Primetime Coverage Live Blog
There is a lot of exciting stuff going on tonight! I’m going to bounce around and fill in thoughts on the various events I’m trying to watch in a noncoherent mess of words. Get ready.
Women’s Halfpipe
- Chloe Kim’s first run….should everyone else just Rock, Paper, Scissors for the silver and bronze? We’re done here already right?
- Chloe is crying and talking about how happy she is to have nailed that first run. She is talking with her coach about how she can just do whatever she wants now, including tricks that we’ve never seen. Her family is freaking out in LA. Amazing all around.
- Chloe tried some new things in her second run and it didn’t work out but she still seems very energized and excited so I’m feeling good. And same with her third run but she tried.
- SHE HAS HER SECOND GOLD MEDAL. There is a lot out there on the web about everything that’s happened since her first gold and it’s worth reading. She took some time after winning her gold at a young age to step away from the spotlight and came back even stronger.
Men’s Free Figure Skate
- I switched here for a second and randomly saw Lukas Britschgi of Switzerland skating to Still Don’t Know My Name by Labrinth, recently made famous by the HBO show Euphoria. But it was the song played during an elaborate dance number during the season 1 finale after Rue relapsed so some mixed messages here. Have I become an old man by starting to think they shouldn’t use songs with words?
- I just switched back after almost an hour and it seems like we made minimal progress towards getting closer to Nathan Chen hopefully winning a gold medal. This next group seems to have a lot of guys with formal vests. I only approve if one of them pulls out a pocketwatch on a gold chain at least once during their performance.
- Switched back after Chloe solidified her gold to a guy wearing a black vest with a white shirt and a ponytail. Can’t stop thinking of him as a waiter trying to be too fancy. I’m going to go watch some skeleton until we get closer to Nathan Chen.
- And I fell asleep and now it’s Thursday morning and I’m watching a replay….but Congrats Nathan Chen on the gold medal!!!! One of my favorite facts is that both Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano got a disappointing fifth in their first Olympics and then came back the next games to win gold and now Nathan Chen has done the same thing. I’m not sure if it is a curse or a gift but eithe way, he’s now in great company.
Women’s Curling
- The USA women’s curling team are competing in their first Round-Robin match against Russia right now and currently 4-1 almost halfway through the match. The US men beat Russia this morning in their Round-Robin match. Let’s send a message to the athletes from a country who can’t compete under their own flag because of doping in previous games and are once again accused of doping….
- US Women win 9-3. Cheaters never win in the long run.
Men’s Skeleton
- We’ve got one American in men’s Skeleton. They do 2 runs tonight and 2 more tomorrow. His name is Andrew Blazer and if we didn’t have the same first name he would be my future boyfriend since he’s one of the only out male athletes in the games. He’s currently 20th after his first run, not the best but he can still improve his standing within the competition, and my heart.
- His second run was worse than his first…he king of just bounced around the track the whole time…but his sled has a lot of rainbows on it. So, there’s that!
USA’s 3rd Medal: Team Figure Skating
We got another Silver Medal and more Panda Stuffed Animals! We are still waiting for that first gold but I think we might have some future gold medalists on this amazing team of figure skaters in their individual events. I honestly haven’t watched much figure skating so I’m going to watch just the Americans and write a haiku for each.
Men: Nathan Chen
Nathan Chen, Fly high
Quads in the air, all the time
Go for gold, it’s yours
Pairs: Alexa Knierim & Brandon Frazier
Coldplay Cover Song
Girl flies high but also trips
Dude, throw me next, please
Dance: Madison Chock & Evan Bates
Techno music beeps
Spin, Spin, Spin, Lift, Spin, Twirl, Twirl
First place, you rockstars
Women: Karen Chen
Some Karens are great
No managers needed here
Brought home the silver!
Guess the event based on the hair
This is Manuel Fettner from Austria. He just won a silver medal earlier today. Based on the hair alone, can you guess the event?
Do you have your first guess or are you still thinking?
Which event would that hair be the most majestic in? One more scroll before the answer is revealed.
DRUM ROLL…..SKI JUMPING
Thanks for playing. I bet he is very upset that he has to wear a helmet and can’t let that flow fly free.
Beijing 2022 Medal Predictions
It feels like we just wrapped the summer Olympics but here we are, only a few days away from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing! Here’s my take on the top 5 countries predicted to be on top of the medal table by the end of the games.
The Dominant Frontrunner – NORWAY
Norway is predicted to go absolutely BUCKWILD and get more than 40 medals, mostly from ski sports. Which would best their 39 medals from 2018, the best ever by a single country in the winter Olympics. Everything I’ve read is saying there is no chance any other country gets close.
Their secret is apparently FUN & FRIENDSHIP.
It’s very important for us not to go to Beijing as a team and start to count medals. That’s not the point. The point is to have good performances and have fun and be friends and if we achieve that, we have an experience that also means a lot of medals.
Tore Øvrebø, director of elite sport for Oslo-based Olympiatoppen
Royer’s Norway Prediction: 43 Medals, 21 Gold
It’s on my bucket list to visit and USA and Norway don’t have a lot of overlap in medal prospects so I will probably be rooting pretty hard for Norway, especially when they are racing for medals against the country coming up next….
First Loser – RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
Russia is still banned from the Olympics for state-sponsored doping until the end of 2022 so will be competing as the “Russian Olympic Committee” under the Olympic flag once again. That, plus general world events, and we have ourselves a bonafide nemesis for these games. I’ll give the athletes who are competing in these games a fresh slate, I’m sure I’ll like some of them individually, but that doesn’t mean I don’t hope the overall prediction of ROC getting the second most medals is wrong.
Royer’s ROC Prediction: 29 Medals, 12 Gold
Their country is a giant frozen desolate depressing tundra so it kind of makes sense they are going to rack up some medals competing in a terrain they know best.
Bronze Medalist of Medals – GERMANY
Germany is always a safe bet for being near the top of the medal table. After a surprising 6th in 2014, they came back strong in 2018 to finish 2nd. I think they are going to have a successful Olympics in Beijing but unfortunately, it seems very unlikely they will be able to catch ROC in overall medals. I am hoping they get more golds at least.
Germany’s challenge is they excel in some sports that have limited opportunities for medals. Germany is good at luge and bobsled that combined have only 8 podiums. Cross country skiing, one of Norway’s best sports, has 12. But both countries are good at biathlon though, which has 11 opportunities for medals so if Germany can pull some upsets there, they have a chance of keeping close to ROC.
Royer’s Germany Prediction: 27 Medals, 14 Gold
And the more German Olympic medalists there are, the most likely a chance I will run into one and become friends with them and get pictures with their medal when I finally make my Germany trip happen.
Rock, Flag and Fourth – USA
We are possibly in a smidge of a slump right now for winter Olympic medals. We peaked in 2010 with 37 but went down to 23 in 2018, the lowest amount in 20 years. Betting odds for this year aren’t much better and the storyline is battling it out with Canada for fourth place.
Snowboarding is our most dominant sport, we always do well in figure skating and women’s hockey, we’ve got some very strong female speed skaters and some great skiers. I’ll get into individual athletes and teams that I’m excited about later this week but overall I’m going to be optimistic that we defy some odds and end up firmly in fourth.
Royer’s USA Prediction: 25 Medals, 9 Gold
We have a very strong history of getting 9 gold medals at the Olympics and I think we’ll continue that but sneak in some more bronze and silvers than expected.
Pitter Patter, let’s get at her: CANADA
Canada, our friendly and polite neighbors to the north. They’ve been on a little bit of a tear the last 4 Olympics scoring 25+ medals. Besides the obvious sports of hockey and curling, they also have come to dominate freestyle skiing, the counterpart to snowboard.
Royer’s Canada Prediction: 24 Medals, 9 Golds
They aren’t predicted to have a stellar Olympics but I hope they do a little better than predicted, but just not quite as good as the USA.
I’ll check back in on how wrong I am at the end!
FINAL 4 Random Things Bringing Me Joy
Can’t believe it’s already over!
THIS DREAM TEAM
These are my 4 favorite female track athletes of the US team and it was amazing to see them on the same relay team. Allyson Felix has been a leader and inspiration for decades. Athing Mu and Sydney McLaughlin are just starting their careers and hopefully, stars for years to come. And Delilah is a former world record holder and champion who has pushed Sydney to become a champion. Sydney and Delilah have run the 4×400 before in the finals of world championships but when I saw Athing was joining and Allyson was going for her 11th medal I did a fist pump….so amazing to watch.
Women’s Volleyball Get’s 1st Gold
For some reason I feel like with volleyball, you really start to pretend you know the athletes personally after watching a few matches. And I watched at least 5 of the US women’s volleyball matches so I basically think they are my best friends now. So I’m naturally incredibly happy they won the US’s first ever gold medal in women’s volleyball. Especially since we’ve gotten so close in the past few Olympics, it was time.
Mongolia’s Medals
I always track Mongolia’s success in the Olympics. Not their best Olympics but not bad either. Some new heroes going home to Mongolia!
Final Medal Table
I was fully prepared a few days ago to write how the overall number of medals is more important than the number of gold medals but here we are, the top of both so I’m just going to say….
Closing Ceremony Live Blog
It’s always such mixed emotions by the time of the closing ceremonies. I stayed up until 3 in the morning watching volleyball so I’m exhausted and have been watching as much Olympics as humanly possible while not getting fired the past week. So there is always some relief/acknowledgment that all good things come to an end…so here we go!
Johnny Weir coming in HOT, I think his hair is supposed to be the cauldron….he lived down my street growing up, NBD.
Thank you Jonas brothers for reminding us “We are going to want to remember this”…..no shit? But will be stuck in my head for days.
Wait, they are making javelin athlete carrying the US flag talk on live television while walking with the flag in a crazy parade….let’s keep it simple NBC, just let her march and not hit anyone with it. At least they aren’t making 2 people carry it at once again….
As all the athletes walk out it sounds like they are entering a game show with this music choice….come on down!
CANADA WITH SOME AMAZING JEAN JACKETS. I hope those pockets are filled with the free condoms because we all know what happens at a Jarty.
It’s actually great to see all the US athletes having a BLAST during these closing ceremonies and pulling their masks down and celebrating what they’ve worked so hard for and sacrificed so much for. They deserve to do whatever they want right now.
But also, is something else going to happen or is it just going to be 2 hours of them wilding out on the field….I don’t hate it I guess.
This Ska Band and accompanying dancing and juggling is not really doing it for me….but if it’s meaningful to Japan, go for it. But do have to say it is probably one of the BIGGEST NIGHTS EVER FOR THE GUIRO, little known percussion instrument that gets almost no love, until now.
AND NOW THERE IS A BIKER GANG ROLLING IN!?!?
I’m guessing this woman/tree didn’t win a medal and is mourning her loss?
Did anyone else see the Ukraine dude in the background of the montage of athletes from various countries trying to learn the moves for the traditional Japanese dance? He wants no part in anything happening, like that one guy back in middle school that was “too cool” to do the macarena.
Wait, that dude actually played the saxophone in space? Was he allowed to bring his saxophone up there from the beginning? Is there really space for saxophones on the space station?
This party in Paris with the Olympians from these games is pretty awesome. If so many of the athletes had to leave Tokyo immediately after their events, might as well throw them a party at home!
YESS, I’m so happy The Rock is hyping up the Paralympic games. I’m going to blog them a bit and give them some much needed attention they never rightfully get.
I feel like this children’s song to represent the closing of the cauldron is a good ending to the games. It’s a little more subdued, it’s a little more somber, it’s leaving you wanting a little bit more. Kind of like the games as a whole. This isn’t a criticism of Tokyo necessarily, more the state of the world and NBC’s coverage of the games. Good+ but not Great.
I think the song they are playing now is a version of what played at the end of Ocean’s Eleven when they are looking at the fountain after pulling off the heist…pretty similar actually, they both accomplished the impossible.
Royer's Olympic Blog 