Daily Dirt: Time to move on from the Olympics … I’m going to miss the halfpipe and curling

February 19, 2022 | By Steve Eighinger, Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Daily Dirt for Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022

As the Winter Olympics wind down, Steve realizes he has little future as a halfpipe snowboarder … Welcome to today’s three thoughts and Vol. 217 of The Daily Dirt.

1. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Beijing Olympics, but after two weeks it’s time to move on.

I’ve had my fill of double Salchow loops (skating), hogged stones (curling) and button lifts (skiing). I need to get back to jump shots and — hopefully, soon — pitchers and catchers reporting.

I tried to tell myself before the Olympics started I would not get sucked in like I always do, but there I was — six, eight, 10, 12 hours a day and night. I was worried sick about Swiss women’s curling team and whether the U.S. would have a satisfactory showing in the biathlon. As you read this, I am done watching the Beijing Olympics, but come 2024 in Paris I’ll be back in front of the TV. Vive la France!

2. Speaking of the Olympics, here are my medals for the sports I have enjoyed the most — and believe me, I have watched A LOT of these Games:

Gold medal: Halfpipe snowboarding. Those guys — and girls, too — are nuts. There are times when they were almost three stories in the air. And that ice they would be landing was like concrete (or so i was told).

Silver medal: Curling, either men’s or women. Wouldn’t you think as much as I enjoy this I would have figured how the scoring works, but I have absolutely no idea. My favorite team to watch was the Japanese women. They were a feisty bunch.

Bronze medal: Men’s and women’s hockey. Every four years I care about hockey.

3. One last Olympic thought.

Here are arguably the three weirdest sports that were once in the Summer Olympics:

1. Pigeon shooting (1900): More than 300 birds were killed at the 1900 Olympics. That particular competition was canceled soon afterward.

2. Tug of war (1900-20): This was an actual medal sport for five straight Olympiads. No word on whether or not the losing team was pulled into a mud bog or something similar.

3. Croquet (1900, 1904): Seriously, it was croquet. Come on. (We did one of the gold medals!)

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Steve estimates he has watched 93 hours of Olympic TV coverage.