Olympic dreams ?

[donheff]

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Originally Posted by freebird5825 I used to figure skate several times a week on the pond near my childhood home, from about the age of 5.

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Originally Posted by Moemg I also grew up skating at a local pond . It was great . All the girls would try figure skating and the boys would play hockey . We skated for hours . Winter is really fun when you are a kid !

Every winter the Park District plowed and flooded a large rink at a nearby park. I probably just forget the intermittent thaws that interrupted our fun but it seemed like we were able to skate from December through February/early March. Hockey and some kind of skating free for all where the "it" guy in the middle had to catch and tag someone coming across a no man's land to pass "it" on. Can't remember what that was called - some variation of red rover

[easysurfer]

My olympic dreams would either be track and field. Something special about considered the fastest man alive. Either that or table tennis as it cracks me up seeing the ball ping pong ball going 100mph and the players standing so far back from the table.

[REWahoo]

Ski jumping. I was fortunate enough to get tickets to see the event in person in the 98 Nagano Olympics and found it fascinating.

[pb4uski]

I went to the men's downhill in Lake Placid in 1980 and also had tickets for the men's ski jumping later in the games, but I fell sick and sold my tickets to a friend. IIRC the men's ski jumping was about the same time that the USA men's hockey team was playing the USSR so they hung around Lake Placid and enjoyed the excitement (while I was sick in bed watching it on TV).

BTW, while the pomp and pageantry of attending an Olympic games is fun, I can't recommend the men's downhill. You trudge your butt up the mountain to a suitable spot to view the race and then do a "hear they come...there they go" for a couple hours as you see each competitor for all of 20 seconds or so as they wiz by. Much better to watch it on TV where they cover the whole course.

[REWahoo]

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Originally Posted by pb4uski BTW, while the pomp and pageantry of attending an Olympic games is fun, I can't recommend the men's downhill. You trudge your butt up the mountain to a suitable spot to view the race and then do a "hear they come...there they go" for a couple hours as you see each competitor for all of 20 seconds or so as they wiz by. Much better to watch it on TV where they cover the whole course.

+1

I think that was one of the things I enjoyed about ski-jumping - you can see the entire event from one spot. We also saw speed skating, hockey, men's moguls and women's figure skating (DW insisted ). You can see all of those from one spot as well but none of them compared to watching someone launching off a huge ramp and flying hundreds of feet through the air on a pair of skis...

[Bestwifeever]

How is it that now the Olympians' swimsuits cover more of their bodies while most of the other sports' uniforms cover a lot less? Crazy times.

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski I went to the men's downhill in Lake Placid in 1980 and also had tickets for the men's ski jumping later in the games, but I fell sick and sold my tickets to a friend. IIRC the men's ski jumping was about the same time that the USA men's hockey team was playing the USSR so they hung around Lake Placid and enjoyed the excitement (while I was sick in bed watching it on TV). BTW, while the pomp and pageantry of attending an Olympic games is fun, I can't recommend the men's downhill. You trudge your butt up the mountain to a suitable spot to view the race and then do a "hear they come...there they go" for a couple hours as you see each competitor for all of 20 seconds or so as they wiz by. Much better to watch it on TV where they cover the whole course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo +1 I think that was one of the things I enjoyed about ski-jumping - you can see the entire event from one spot. We also saw speed skating, hockey, men's moguls and women's figure skating (DW insisted ). You can see all of those from one spot as well but none of them compared to watching someone launching off a huge ramp and flying hundreds of feet through the air on a pair of skis...

I couldn't get to see ski jump - too many people (Calgary). I could say I saw luge, but it would be a misrepresentation - but I did hear it, lots of noise combined with an occasional blur. Kinda like downhill with a lower see/hear ratio.Didn't matter though. Just being there was the most amazing experience.

[imoldernu]

Re: Placid 1980...
Was my stomping ground. Mirror lake was home to me when I was on the road. Used to hang out at the bar in Saranac, with old timers who were on the bobsled team for the 1932 Olympics... (they settled in Lake Placid).
The Adirondaks is my personal Nirvana.

My sons went to Whiteface on a regular basis for skiing. Bride and self come back from Chicago for the '80 Olympics, but never made it... My best friend, camping/canoeing/climbing partner for years, was dying, and we stayed in Saratoga through the week, so we watched Olympics on TV in his hospital room.

Sorry.. off topic, but ya can't stop memories...