(no subject)

[cleolinda]

Man. The women's snowboard cross was worth it just to hear an Olympic sports announcer scream, "She did a METHOD?! SHE--SHE TWEAKED!" I knew going in that Jacobellis had apparently "thrown the gold away on a dumb showboat move" (to quote my stepfather), but I didn't know who won instead, and I hadn't seen any footage--so I got to watch the whole event, from quarter-finals onward, with the grim foreknowledge that somehow, somewhere, Jacobellis was going to biff.

And she did. The fact that she had a gigundo lead most of the race just made it sting worse, of course.

It's a little cruel, though, to replay her father's reaction as he watches that last part of the race. And to get up in her face at the bottom of the slope. And here's Jacobellis claiming she was trying to stabilize herself. And maybe she was, although that tug on the board doesn't look "stabilizing." She's not in tears, though, which is probably more than I would have been able to manage. (Full story.)

Also, I have to say that I must be a big ol' softie because once I found out that Wescott and Tanja Frieden are dating, I totally started rooting for Frieden, so I ended up being glad she won--it was really sweet to see them down at the bottom of the course.

(Oh God, and there's Maelle Ricker being toted away on a sled in, like, a body bag. She took out a whole chunk of snow fence when she fell and didn't even get back up. "OH THE CARNAGE!!" shrieks the announcer.)

And here's some bullshit editorial montage (with Pensive Music and Sad, Sad Slo-Mo) about how Sometimes It Really Is About Winning the Medals and how, No Matter What Success She Has In Life, Lindsey Jacobellis Will Never Forget That She Fucked Up. Thanks, man. I'm sure she appreciates the sentiment.

Comments

[molliewollie.livejournal.com]

That was some crazy, crazy shit.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Dude, that whole event was. People were frickin' going down left and right, and Jacobellis herself nearly went down a couple of times. And I still can't believe Ricker took out a whole section of fence--that shit looked *painful.*

(omg I have become a snowboarding fan)

[scarolinagrl.livejournal.com]

Costas just grilled her in the studio. Ugh. Poor girl, she held it together pretty well, all things considered.

[telesilla.livejournal.com]

Yeah, even Bob had to admit that she was being really gracious about it.

[lila-rye.livejournal.com]

I wonder how many times they're going to replay/refer to that fall. Poor girl. Yeah, she probably shouldn't have shown off, but I bet I would have if I was 99.9% sure I was going to win.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was what some of the other boarders were saying. I mean, if she'd landed the method? It would have been some huge iconic moment about the joy of women's sports, or something.

[gryphonmage.livejournal.com]

Holy. Crap. This just aired here this second and...holy crap, seriously. That was insane and terrible and AWESOME.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Dude. Seriously.

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

All I know about snowboarding comes from playing SSX3.

"OH THE CARNAGE!!" shrieks the announcer

Seriously? That's really quite awesome.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I'm totally not kidding. "Carnage" was the word of the day, particularly whenever a couple of snowboarders would run into each other and fall down. Every. Single. Time. they had a race, they'd talk about how important it is to get out in front to avoid "the carnage" that can ensue in the middle where everyone's bunched. The announcers kind of clung to that as their buzzword, so when both Maltais and Ricker went down, they started screaming, "OH, THE CARNAGE!!" And then when Jacobellis fell over, it was just hilarious--"What! What happened! What was that! Oh my God!" They had to replay it from like three different angles before they realized what she was doing and we arrived at the immortal cry of, "SHE DID A METHOD?? SHE--SHE TWEAKED!!"

[delle.livejournal.com]

she's *20*. freaking 20 years old.

should she have done it? no, probably not. but she's 20, she's pysched, she's pumped and she had the race in the bag (she thought) so she did something stupid. she's *20*. you're *supposed* to do things like that when you're 20.

not to mention, like you said? had she landed it, it would hvae been *the* shot of the Olympics

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah--it was a stupid, stupid thing to do, but I want to smack NBC for editorializing about it, like she doesn't feel like shit about it already. Seriously, she rocked the entire race right up until that moment, and I felt awful for her when Tanja Frieden and her people are freaking out at the bottom (and good for her), and poor Jacobellis just has to stand there and wait for the Obligatory Hug of Sportsmanship. I would have been in bed under the covers by that point, myself.

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

Is it me, or did Bob Costas eat all the Bitch Flakes before the Olympics this year? He's been a huuuge dick the entire time. o_O

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I definitely saw it tonight, yeah.

[kalliopeia.livejournal.com]

I thought the girl they had to carry off was the one in fourth place who went down first, just before that big jump, and she looked like she landed on her neck, the girl that went through the fence got back up and finished for bronze. Did I get them mixed up?

I feel so sorry for Lindsay. She *was* crying, actually, but she pulled herself together pretty well. This will be one of those shots they show all the time, like the final shot of the 92 Duke-Kentucky NCAA game, or the ski jumper who fell at the end of the ramp and tumbled horribly to what I'm sure everyone thought was a grisly death. I assume he lived or they wouldn't show it at the beginning of every Wide World of Sports.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Ricker was the one who went through the fence, because they had a shot of the sled coming to get her and the medics crowded around her by the downed fence; Maltais won the bronze. Unless I'm crazy, which is so entirely possible.

[wildcatlizzie.livejournal.com]

I had no idea that Westcott and Frieden were dating. That makes him congratulating her before going over to Lindsey much better because I was a bit miffed that he wasn't thinking of his teammate first. That and it just seemed totally random that the American guy was celebrating with some seeimingly random Swedish chick. Anyway.

I knew what happened from the moment that I started watching the races thanks to Brian Williams and NBC Nightly News. So I was watching the whole thing wondering where the heck it all went wrong. And then It happened. I feel so bad for her because like they said, she didn't win the silver, she lost the gold. She's going to be kicking herself for a really long time.

[tenebris.livejournal.com]

Dude, that bullshit editorial montage? Is Jimmy (Roberts? Daniels? I don't care, he's a dick). He's been doing this through the WHOLE DAMN OLYMPICS. Every night, Bob Costas brings him in, and they do either a sob story or a dissection and it's irritating EVERY. TIME. This is the same man who said, "Michelle Kwan, awesome skater, but everyone will always talk about her with a BUT at the end." ARRRRGH. I just want to throw things at him everytime he's on the screen.

*whew*rant over*

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

I dunno, he's right, all my Michelle Kwan stories tend to go "Dude, she's hawt, BUT I don't stand a chance!" *hides*

Ahem. But yeah. Lots and lots of Bitch Flakes being eaten over at NBC this year. What the hell. o.O

[bludrummergrl.livejournal.com]

I was in the same boat with you. I knew what had happened beforehand but hadn't actually seen it. And when I did I felt for her.

Those commentary bastards at the Olympics never cease to irritate the shit out of me (I REALLY hate the way our media handles the Olympics) but that just made me want to reach into the tv and do harmful things to them. The poor girl is going to be kicking herself in the ass for god knows how long. They really don't have to add salt to the wound.

[lottery.livejournal.com]

Dood, we just watched it. And yes, She Will Never Forget That She Fucked Up.

Oh, the Olympics. You can't pay for drama like this, and it only comes around every once in a while.

[megmatthews20.livejournal.com]

Okay...bully on me because I JUST turned the tv off right before the race which is I am supposing, the very one you have been good enough to highlight here. Damn, I missed the action. Still sounds like an incredible moment, one way or the other.

cheers

[punkiejeannien.livejournal.com]

amen, god that whole coverage was RIDICULOUS. I mean, yeah I was watching her going, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" but there was no reason to be any harder on her than she's being on herself.

[conejita-diabla.livejournal.com]

Okay, am I on crack? Did anyone else see the guy who was practicing for men's aerials and was way the hell up in the air when his skis flew off? It was one of the most painful looking things I've ever seen, but I can't find a single line of coverage on it anywhere. I swear I saw it...

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw that too.

I think winter olympics might become my fourth favourite international tournament just because watching all the spectacular falls is so much fun.

[fauxkaren.livejournal.com]

Also, I have to say that I must be a big ol' softie because once I found out that Wescott and Tanja Frieden are dating, I totally started rooting for Frieden, so I ended up being glad she won--it was really sweet to see them down at the bottom of the course.

[small voice]me too[/small voice] I felt mildly unpatriotic for rooting for Switzerland... but come on! How cute was it when he saw that she won?

And that snowboarding was some crazy stuff. Sure, it was stupid, but understandable. Heh. I was just excited for some good old fashioned Olympic drama. It isn't the Olympics unless something dramatic happens! (see: Athens, Paul Hamm. also: Atlanta, Keri Strung) Olympic drama is fun.

[viola-arvensis.livejournal.com]

Serious Icon love

[lannamichaels]

And here's some bullshit editorial montage (with Pensive Music and Sad, Sad Slo-Mo) about how Sometimes It Really Is About Winning the Medals and how, No Matter What Success She Has In Life, Lindsey Jacobellis Will Never Forget That She Fucked Up.

That was horrible. It was her mistake and I'm sure she's kicking herself for it, but there's a difference between losing the gold and having it rubbed into your face.

[carmine-rose.livejournal.com]

I saw that - it was absolutely HI-larious. I mean, obviously since I'm British I could watch it with the total detachment of knowing we weren't in with a chance at a medal, but it was truly inspired. I couldn't believe it. Carnage indeed. And the earlier quarter-final where the Japanese girl got through because everyone else fell over. That was pretty entertaining too.

I do feel for her though. We've all made totally stupid split-second decisions that have left something ruined or broken and looked back and thought, "Why? Why did I do that?!" She's going to spend the rest of her life wishing she could rewind that moment.

(I have to admit, I mainly watch the Winter Olymics to see people falling over (it's not like I watch it to see my countymen win medals because again... British), so the snowboard cross was a treat for me.)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Did you watch the men's skating the other night? So much falling down. One guy got a bronze by basically saying, "I'm going to attempt a jump I know I can't do, because I'll get more points for trying and falling down than I would for not trying at all."

[riverchild.livejournal.com]

Saw that live yesterday and it took me five entire hours before I found out what had actually happened to Ricker, because all anyone would talk about was LinseyLindseyLindsey! (And, this being a German channel, Katharina Himmler, because she's German, so she's totally the only one we care about anyway, nevermind that she came in 12th three races ago and is thus OLD NEWS.)

[thoughtcr1me.livejournal.com]

Talk about a rockin' race.

I have to say, every single one of those dudes who's all "omfghowstupidisshe" would have been all "whoa! she rocks" if she'd pulled it off. I thought the same thing about Frieden. :D Of course, first I was all, "but IIIIII wanted him". LOL

Hope that Ricker girl is okay. Just watching the replays on that one makes me wince.

[ckalenda.livejournal.com]

According to one the the articles linked in Cleolinda's entry, she's alright, and we can all be a little relieved over that if we're inclined.

[zikade.livejournal.com]

ya all make me snowsick, wah!

[bardintraining.livejournal.com]

Maybe I just need to let the Canadian in me out here, a little: the CBC was blathering on and on about how Ricker would have gotten the gold if she hadn't eaten the fence and minorly concussed herself (at least that's all it was, thank God. I saw they had her strapped to a body board and whimpered a little.) I know that I have no proof that she would have gotten gold if she had stayed in, but I like to believe if only for the sake of blind patriotism that Canada...really doesn't have...except during the Olympics. This was supposed to be her last Olympics, (she's 31,) because she's had eight knee surgeries in ten years, but her Dad was watching from back in Canada and he said that she'd probably feel she had to try again in 2010. He said he didn't like it, it was dangerous, and he'd like her to stop now, but "she's her own lady."
*tear*

[stella-gold.livejournal.com]

"I know that I have no proof that she would have gotten gold if she had stayed in, but I like to believe if only for the sake of blind patriotism that Canada...really doesn't have...except during the Olympics."

Oh, I know what you mean. Most of the time I'm debating whether or not to live in the US when I get older, but when the Winter Olympics come around...and they drag out the lucky loonie story all over again...and my teachers "accidentally" leave the their televisions on CBC at the back of the class...and the local curlers (the only ones in my area with any hope of making the team) leave on their planes...god, I love Canada. This is the only time of the year that I can even tolerate sports, and I sit there absolutely riveted.

[mukkahai.livejournal.com]

The way they focused on this, you'd think they were planning to replace the 'agony of defeat' guy with her home stretch SNAFU. If anybody really does *know* who I mean by the agony of defeat guy, that might help take the edge off of how pissed I am that she's gotten so much shit for this. Man, sometimes, a person gives themselves way more shit than they deserve in the first place. This is one of those times. Leave her alone, she feels lousy enough already.

[agatha-mandrake.livejournal.com]

Darn you, Cleo, you've gotten me hooked on snowboard cross! I hadn't even heard of it before you mentioned it, and I started watching it out of curiosity and I ended up glued to the seat.

I was so thrilled in the finals, because Canada was guaranteed a medal (such a rare occurance), and then omg one goes down and then OMG the other one's through the fence and then the American goes down and it was like Death Race 3000 on snowboards.

And now I'm bummed that there's not going to be anymore snowboard cross.

[napoleonscream.livejournal.com]

Hey, just in case you didn't see this yet and would find it funny, as I did. Brokeback Mountain Jack (Gyllenhal's character) and Ennis (Ledger's) dolls:

http://cgi.ebay.com/BROKEBACK-MOUNTAIN-GAY-OOAK-DOLL-DOLLS-DISPLAY_W0QQitemZ5666078097QQcategoryZ48920QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem