Arena 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic thread.

I didn't watch this game as I'm not really interested in hockey, and, being a complete non-athlete myself, I can only imagine how disappointing it must be for these athletes, but this still strikes me as very poor sportmanship and contrary to the intended spirit of the games. Doesn't reflect well on this player or her team IMO.

 

Nah, I give a pass on this. You're asking literally the most competitive people in the world, in one of the only actual rivalries with somewhat bad blood at the world stage, from a country that would gladly lose every other event in order to win the top-prize at hockey... to be satisfied with losing.

If McKayla Maroney can become a meme for "McKayla Maroney face" for winning her Silver medal (after falling for the first time in like 50 consecutive tries) then these athletes can be allowed to show emotions too.

 

I definitely felt bad for Vonn, but more because she didn’t win the downhill. That was her race, and she skied too conservatively, more concerned about not making a mistake. Her strength, literally, is her ability to power through a course (on men’s skis, which no other woman does) on her own line. She could make small mistakes and it would not matter. In the DH here, she seemed like she was too intent on following Goggia’s line.

As for the combined, she’s hardly skied slalom at all since she returned from her last injury, DNF was disappointing, but not surprising. She’s always been an all or nothing skier, she either wins slaloms or she DNFs.

The disappointment was Shiffrin, who looked like she was holding back until the final few gates, when she lit her usual turbo finish. At her best she would have the best time in the slalom by a second or more.

 

Yeah, I give Jocelyne Larocque a pass too. A shoot out to determine which team takes home the gold has been somewhat controversial as it becomes less of a team performance and sort of a luck thing, so I think that plays a big part in how you end up with a Silver Medal.




I can't remember the name of the female commentator, but she was a former member of the US Hockey and she was asked if she ever takes out her Silver Medal, and she admitted it's hard to look at and it took along time for appreciate it.

So yeah, as previously posted, it's a better feeling to win the bronze than losing the gold and getting the "consolation prize." It's not what either team plays for.

One of the US players said, (paraphrase) "that they didn't wait four years to prepare for this game, they prepared everyday since their loss in Sochi to play in this game." Which Jocelyne Larocque expressed when asked about receiving the Silver Medal.

'It's just hard,' Larocque said in her post-game interview. 'You work so hard. We wanted gold but didn't get it.'

 

Also Lias Andersson did it better.

 

The 1972 USA Men's Basketball Team did it best.

 

WOW YEAH! I watched the hockey match till 11:15 pm, still so exciting to see the USA have won. Great game and they deserve the gold. I still remember last time they blew up a 2-0 lead when there was only 4mins left.

They didn't play too well in the 1st and 2nd period, but totally dominated the game after the tie goal. Grats!

Too bad the men didn't do well but you can't blame the guys. It was NHL's fault.

 

Those are good points of context about that Canadian player, dp4m and Sith Sensei. I know nothing of Canadian hockey culture or the particulars of the rivalries involved. I'm definitely not against showing emotion (crying with disappointment, etc.)--it is really just things like refusing a medal, taking it off during the official part of the ceremony, etc. that strike me as going too far. And I wouldn't say I'm expecting that player to be "satisfied" with losing--just to be a little more gracious in the acceptance of it.

But in addition to not knowing hockey culture, I am not really a competitive person myself, so perhaps my "standards" are indeed too strict. I can't help it, though...I just personally find those players who were equally disappointed, worked just as hard, but managed to be a little more gracious in defeat more admirable/"inspiring" and in keeping with the ideals of the games.

 

Hockey culture definitely plays a part in the whole thing. For example in the NHL playoffs, the winning teams of the Eastern and Western conference finals receive a trophy for being the champions of their respective conferences. I don't know when it started but at some point the players started a tradition where they don't even touch the trophy when it's presented to them because they believe the Stanley Cup is the only trophy worth touching or caring about.

 

I still feel a bit headache because I couldn't sleep well last night. But it was such a great game! Glad I didn't miss it.

It's a shame that NHL refuse to release the players.

 

For additional context, I'm sort of a classic example of someone who cares almost nothing about most sports competitions except for the Olympics

 

Yeah, it's always fun to hear Doug Collins take about it and how their medals on in Switzerland, IIRC.

However, their Gold Medal game ended on the refs making a judgment call rather after the game ended rather than letting the players decide it.


Oh about the 1984 Summer Games in LA, Romania defied the Soviet Union and participated in the games and when they walked into the Coliseum during the opening ceremony they were meet with a roar of appreciation.

 

Confirm/deny -- you'd willingly lose Curling in order to guarantee Gold medals in Men's and Women's Hockey?

Also, the NHL is why I give these women a pass. For men, there IS the NHL... for women, it's just this. The US Women have absolutely dominated International competition, constantly winning... except the Olympic Gold, which the Canadian Women always won. It's a thing. It's their only thing. I totally get it.

 

@yankee8255

I hear what you are saying about Vonn bout considering her age and all her injuries, the fact she medal was a massive accomplishment. Yes it would been amazing to go out with a gold (and have the Trump fans truly cry even more) but winning a bronze and medaling in her final games was a massive accomplishment. I think she sees this as a total win and made coming back one last time totally worth it.

The question mark I agree is Shiffrin. She just seemed so tentative these entire games. I know all the delays really bother her and perhaps a flu bug but I do think some of the pressure she put on herself to try and win 5 gold medals got to her. She still did great (1 gold, 1 silver) but I think she is going to look back at this and see it as a bit of a wasted opportunity had she been less tentative.

And again I am clueless no why Vonn-Shiffrin-Ted are not doing the mix team event. They could really lay havoc tomorrow with it.

@DarthIntegral

Their silver medals are still sitting in a vault somewhere I believe in Switzerland. They literally won the game twice.....to this day it’s sickening to watch.

@Boba_Fett_2001

It seems like that sometimes depends on what trophy it is. The Eastern Conference winners seem to pick up the Prince of Wales trophy a lot more then the Western Conference winners picking up the Campbell Bowl. The two best examples of that are Sydney Crosby and Jonathan Toews. Sydney will gladly pick up the Princes of Wales trophy and celebrate with it while Toews treats the Campbell Bowl like it has the Black Plague. I remember particularly in 13’ when the Blackhawks defeated the Kings to win the Western Conference, the team took a picture with it and stood about as far as away from the trophy as they could and still be away from it.

 

Very few of the top stars do the team event, no surprise there.

 

During last night coverage, the had a bit from Jimmy Fallon with Chloe Kim, which the photobombed Olympic fans, but also revealed the Chloe is on the Kellogg's Corn Flakes.




I would imagine the womens US Hockey Team gets the Wheaties box cover.

 

Shiffrin has gold medals in two different disciplines and is young enough to come back for more if she can stay injury-free and motivated.

 

Which is why the NHL should have released their players to attract more ppl to watch their game.

 

For me, at this point, it's not as big of a deal when you consider the women had already won four in a row and the men three of the past four. I'm fine with other teams winning it for once especially the US women, who for a while it seemed couldn't catch a break against Canada.

Also there is the IIHF World Championship every year (except for Olympic years) where the US have actually dominated over the past ten years or so. It's interesting how their success in that tournament doesn't always translate to the Olympics when you consider that the rosters tend to have a lot of the same players.

Yeah it seems like in more recent years the players are more willing to touch or pick it up but there was definitely a good period of time where almost no one touched it.

 

They should have won it last time, a 2-0 lead in the last 4 mins and a chance to shoot an empty net.

But they made a great comeback this time.

 

I don't think lack of motivation will be a problem with Shiffrin as she noted in her NBC featurette on her. In Sochi, she noted that she wanted to leave Pyeong Chang with 5 Gold Medals. So even though she said she's happy and has no regrets with the one Gold Medal and one Silver Medal, I'm sure she feels she could have done better and thus motivate her to come back.

She definitely needs to improve on the downhill event.

I'm looking forward to tonight's womens free skate, as it's setting up to be a battle between the two Russian skaters and training mates Evgenia Medvedeva, 18, and Alina Zagitova, 15. When both these skaters took the ice in the short program, you could tell by their body language and the look in their eyes they feel like they have already won the gold. They look that confident. I like Medvedeva's persona as she just loves to dance like any normal kid, and loves K-Pop and anime. However, Zagitova's talent and abilities is undeniable. They showed a warm up her where she did five triples in a row. When I first saw it, I thought it was the video skipping & replaying. It's crazy.



Good on Tara Lipinski to comparing Medvedeva and Zagitova to Kyrie and LeBron, but noting that Zagitova can't ask to be traded during the short program. So glad she and Johnny are commentating on the games.

 

Well, this is the culmination of exactly what Lipinski has been castigating US Skating for because the Russians are doing (and have been doing) exactly what she told them to do for the last several years, based on her winning 20 years ago:

Incentivize the youngest skaters with more points and exposure for performing harder and harder routines and jump sequences. You probably want to be less harsh about it than I'm sure the Russian coaches are, but that's the only way they're going to compete with Russian, Ukraine, Korea, and Japan going forward.

 

On Vonn, I was just really disappointed for her. It’s the brutality of the Olympics: you can dominate a sport or event for years, you have one bad day, or a badly timed injury, or a course that doesn‘t suit you, and suddenly all your other accomplishments are discounted, especially in the US. Lindsey is an absolute legend in the sport, one of the greatest of either gender. She brought the sport forward so much. She deserved better than just one gold.

The last part is the big question mark. She‘s been relatively injury free, but so was Vonn for the most part. Then that one devastating injury in Schladming and she‘s never really recovered. That she wil still probably top Stenmark‘s win record is absolutely incredible. Anna Veith has had a similar experience, two straight giant globes, then one training injury and she‘s lucky to be back two years later. Really have to wonder what kind of problems Vonn will have as she gets older.

 

Maybe it is just me but the ladies figure skaters just seemed stronger and bigger a few decades ago when you had like Katarina Witt, Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. Now they just look so small and fragile...or maybe I am just getting old.