TV & Film 2018 Winter Olympics

[AlbaGuBrath]

So, the Winter Olympics are coming back around again, and I'm so excited! I can't wait to watch the opening ceremony and my favorite events (short track, figure skating, and snowboarding), though I'm kinda sad that so many of my old favorites have retired or aren't competing anymore. But, hopefully I'll find some new athletes to follow and will see them again in Beijing, I believe?

This is just a general thread to discuss your excitement over the Games (because surely I'm not the only one, right?), your favorite athletes and events, and anything else Olympic-related you can think of. I expect it will be quiet around here for a few days, but I'm hoping that there will be more people around soon. If a few people do show up, what would y'all think about making a Discord group to chat as we watch?

Update - Discord Chat

 

[Abendrot]

It looks like we're going to have a great Olympics this year! Now, the only thing I have to figure out is where I can livestream the Games without having to suffer NBC's crappy coverage.

 

[two]

yes i'm so excited! my favourite events to watch are alpine & freestyle skiing, figure & short track skating, ice hockey and snowboarding. i think it's also amazing to see how many young attendees there are this year (feels like more than ever honestly), but also the classic 'oldies'. i'm for instance wondering how shaun white's going to perform since he ended in 15th place a month ago during the x games, which is the worst finish he's ever had so. anyway i can ramble paragraphs about this topic but i won't, for now hahah, but i'm down for the discord chat!

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

Yay, people! I'm not alone! (x

Yeah, I haven't figured out how to watch much of it either, especially since I have class and I don't think I'm allowed to lay claim to my dorm's TV for an entire 2 weeks... I'm going to try to watch it online if I can, or watch coverage after the fact. I'd rather watch it live, but if I can avoid hearing about the results watching a recording should be similar.

I know! I was looking through the athletes listing I'm like "I don't know ANY of these people! Where did they come from?" I haven't been able to follow them like I'd usually try to do, but I look forward to getting to know this new batch. I'm glad there are a few familiar faces, though. I'm especially looking forward to seeing Yuzaru Haneu (sp?) skate again. I watched him during Sochi and he was so good! Except it weirds me out that a lot of the figure skaters are my age or younger, while I'm here as uncoordinated as a one-legged duck, haha!

Yeah, I'm hoping that Shaun White will do alright. I completely expected Sochi to be his last one, so it was so sad to see his disappointment. (Though I didn't like the guy, I also felt the same way for that Russian skater Plushenkov (again, I've no idea how to spell his name) after he got hurt. That just seems like such a heartbreaking end to your career, you know?)
I really like Shaun White, though, and he's so much fun to watch! I've read that he plans on trying to compete Tokyo and maybe Beijing as well!

 

[Generic Brooding Antihero]

NHL players are not allowed to join which killed about 80% of my hype.

 

[Ronan]

I’m a retired figure skater, so I thought I’d pull back the curtain on what’s happening on behind-the-scenes in the figure skating world.

No—there’s actually not a lot of new American skating atheletes. None at all if I’m being honest. They’re all old skaters. They’re ‘new’ because most have only seen them in the Olympic or Worlds, which is unsurprising.
The USA women’s division is in danger right now. At the Olympic try-outs, Ashley Wagner got booted from the team by Bradie Tennell, who, unfortunately, is going to get torn to shreds at the Olympics. So it’s just a matter of how Karen Chen and Mirai Nagasu do. It could be a straight-up bloodbath.

For the men’s team ... eh. They will do well. It’s unsurprising and everyone guessed right about the Olympic team for this division. We expect Nathan Chen to land a spot on the podium.

Ice dance team, it’s going to be a showdown between USA’s Shibutani team, Canada’s Virtue/Moir, and France’s Papadakis/Cizeron. Currently, the Virtue/Moirs are the reigning champions, but anyone can knock them out. It’s a big question mark here’s because we have so many strong dance teams. It can stay the same, or a dark horse team could claim a spot on the podium.

I would say more but I don’t want to turn this into an essay. To address the main point of this: yes, they’re all old athletes. And no—this will be the very last Olympic for several of them, so there won’t be any ‘following’ to Beijing 2022. Beijing 2022 will be a clean slate of sorts. Many known skaters are going to retire between then and now and hand over the stage to new skaters, like Starr Andrews.

Pyeongchang is it.

 

[Abendrot]

Pyongyang is it.

Pyeongchang. Pyongyang is Best Korea

NHL players are not allowed to join which killed about 80% of my hype.

The reluctance is understandable. In the past, there were benefits for the NHL to go to offset the negatives. Use of the Olympic name and logo for marketing, promotions for the league in expanding markets, IOC funds to account for losses and sponsorships, etc. However, the league has to stop midway through the season for the Olympics; no other American team does this. Players risk injury, so there is a cost for insurance and a potential for a team to lose a key player during the season. Until now, the IOC would've made concessions to make this a mutually beneficial arrangement, but now they're offering nothing. It is strictly a business decision

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

I’m a retired figure skater, so I thought I’d pull back the curtain on what’s happening on behind-the-scenes in the figure skating world.

No—there’s actually not a lot of new American skating atheletes. None at all if I’m being honest. They’re all old skaters. They’re ‘new’ because most have only seen them in the Olympic or Worlds, which is unsurprising.
The USA women’s division is in danger right now. At the Olympic try-outs, Ashley Wagner got booted from the team by Bradie Tennell, who, unfortunately, is going to get torn to shreds at the Olympics. So it’s just a matter of how Karen Chen and Mirai Nagasu do. It could be a straight-up bloodbath.

For the men’s team ... eh. They will do well. It’s unsurprising and everyone guessed right about the Olympic team for this division. We expect Nathan Chen to land a spot on the podium.

Ice dance team, it’s going to be a showdown between USA’s Shibutani team, Canada’s Virtue/Moir, and France’s Papadakis/Cizeron. Currently, the Virtue/Moirs are the reigning champions, but anyone can knock them out. It’s a big question mark here’s because we have so many strong dance teams. It can stay the same, or a dark horse team could claim a spot on the podium.

I would say more but I don’t want to turn this into an essay. To address the main point of this: yes, they’re all old athletes. And no—this will be the very last Olympic for several of them, so there won’t be any ‘following’ to Beijing 2022. Beijing 2022 will be a clean slate of sorts. Many known skaters are going to retire between then and now and hand over the stage to new skaters, like Starr Andrews.

Pyeongchang is it.

Wow, thanks for your insight! I haven't been able to watch much these last couple years, so I'm not familiar with most of these people yet. Are Charlie White and Meryl Davis not skating in the ice dance anymore? I haven't heard anything about them yet. I think I remember seeing Virtue/Moir at some point, at least the names sound familiar. I usually prefer the solo skates, but I like the pairs too.

I think by "new", though, it wasn't meant so much as new to the skating world, but like you said, new faces to people who mostly only see the big events. It will be interesting to see the transition, though, and see what happens next time. It seems like Olympic careers are shorter for skaters than those in other events, or at least the athletes seem to be younger. Is skating just harder on the body and becomes problematic as the athletes get into their 30s or so?

 

[Ronan]

Wow, thanks for your insight! I haven't been able to watch much these last couple years, so I'm not familiar with most of these people yet. Are Charlie White and Meryl Davis not skating in the ice dance anymore? I haven't heard anything about them yet. I think I remember seeing Virtue/Moir at some point, at least the names sound familiar. I usually prefer the solo skates, but I like the pairs too.

I think by "new", though, it wasn't meant so much as new to the skating world, but like you said, new faces to people who mostly only see the big events. It will be interesting to see the transition, though, and see what happens next time. It seems like Olympic careers are shorter for skaters than those in other events, or at least the athletes seem to be younger. Is skating just harder on the body and becomes problematic as the athletes get into their 30s or so?

Meryl Davis and Charlie White are still skating, but have chosen to not defend their Olympic title come Pyeongchang. Their reasoning is that they're in their 30s now and the figure skating world (and bodies) are unforgiving towards that age (more on that below). They've been travelling and coaching on side and they enjoy the laid-back, easier schedule. It was honestly a personal choice for them. It's been a whirlwind since Sochi, so I'm unsurprised they've decided to let another ice dance team snatch the Olympic crown—like the Virtue/Moir team.

Now about the shortness of careers and bodies ... there's a lot of pieces to this question, so I'm just going to summarise below to the best of my ability:

• Women: The skating world is incredibly unforgiving to female skaters. This can be blamed on sexism from coaches, judges, and most frightening of all—the fans. Women have to battle for the same spotlight that is granted to their male counterparts so easily. Women are constantly thrust out to be the new 'ice princess' (which is what's going to happen to Bradie Tennell). Women are exhausted to the point that coaches even demand they skate on broken ankles or what-have-you. It's incredibly unforgiving and it's heart-breaking to watch. Gracie Gold? She was propped up as the ice princess and her coach, Frank Carroll, broke her. She had a nervous breakdown because she couldn't take the spotlight and pressure anymore and withdrew from skating. She no longer competes competitively. Yulia Lipnitskaya? Same thing. She couldn't do it anymore and quit. It's devastating to watch the world tear down these skaters, and in the same breath, praise the men and give them the respect and space they deserve.
  • Also, that figure skating anime—I hate it. It's just another added layer of pressure to women skaters. Fans only care about the male counterparts and will tear a woman to shreds for speaking her mind or demanding equal respect.
  • God forbid you're a lesbian figure skater. It's a death sentence. Everything in the skating world is for the male gaze or in service of men. It's disgusting.
• Men: It's just a battle of the quads now. Whoever lands the most quads successfully pretty much wins the Pyeongchang Olympics, which is why everyone is saying Nathan Chen is guaranteed to get on podium (unless he crashes and burns spectacularly). Artistic skating has no room anymore in a quad-for-all world. It's not about who has most fluid, put-together programme anymore; it's about the quads. This also goes for women, too (pressure, much?)

I'm sure you can fill in the rest for ice dance, pairs, synchronised, et cœtera. Also, one last bit: if you are not a junior or a senior team level skater by the time you are 18 (as a woman), then goodbye. There's no place for you. It's not to say you can't keep skating, it's just awkward because you've reached that age line. I kept skating in spite of it, but retired because it was just so unforgiving. I consider myself a strong skater, but I'm not senior team level for women's, so my fate was inevitable. If you're a male skater past 18, you're still good. You just have to endure the awkward 19 and 20 years until you're 21 and can compete for the next level (adults).

Past the age of 21 is when your body really starts to go 'STOP! TOO MUCH!'. I took ballet to keep my body active and stretching, but occasionally I would get pains in my right knee. I even blew a national skating competition last year because my knee decided half-way through my programme that it needed to die. Any kind of lutz or axel takes a toll on your body. Skating in general takes a huge toll on your body. The young skaters are part of that (and the 'ice princess' toxicity).

Does that answer your question?

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

That did answer it, though it was a bit more than I expected... (x

So what did y'all think of the Opening Ceremony? I only got to catch the last half, but I thought it was neat!

 

[Abendrot]

TONGA, THE LEGEND

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

Haha, I didn't remember seeing that guy during the summer! That was certainly... unique. (x

Did anyone see the women's short track? I was wanting to watch, but it was at 4 or 5 a.m. this morning.

 

[Troldmand]

Dahlmeier did well.

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

That's good! I haven't been able to really learn names yet, though. But I did get to see Maame Biney skate in the trials and she seems like such a fun person! It seems like she's just so happy and excited to be there, so I'm hoping she does well. I missed the last race she ran (I guess the 500?) but I hope to see her sometime these next couple weeks. That is, if this rain will go away and stop messing with the TV signal...

 

[two]

i'm currently rewatching figure skating (mens short program) because it's all in the middle of the night for the timezone where i'm in, but i thought the opening ceremony was nice! i loved the skiing and snowboarding part with all the drones.

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

Are you able to rewatch old events and stuff online even if you don't have NBC? I get it on my TV, but I don't have a code to prove it online, so I've been only able to see what I can catch on TV between my schedule and local rainstorms. Is there any way I can catch up on what I missed or does NBC have exclusive rights to that too?

 

[two]

Are you able to rewatch old events and stuff online even if you don't have NBC? I get it on my TV, but I don't have a code to prove it online, so I've been only able to see what I can catch on TV between my schedule and local rainstorms. Is there any way I can catch up on what I missed or does NBC have exclusive rights to that too?

ah shoot i don't think i can help you with that, i'm from the netherlands so another channel is broadcasting a livestream (if i'm right). what i do is record instead rewatch it through the tv guide!

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

ah shoot i don't think i can help you with that, i'm from the netherlands so another channel is broadcasting a livestream (if i'm right). what i do is record instead rewatch it through the tv guide!

Ahh, okay. Not a problem!

I just saw the Women's 3000m Speed Skating for the medals. Did you get to watch it?

 

[two]

three times yes! ​

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

three times yes! ​

Great! I was really impressed. I remember a couple Dutch sweeps in Sochi, and I think at least one in Vancouver too? I saw one your skaters in short track too, which was cool!

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

Added a link to the Discord chat! Invite your friends!

 

[two]

Great! I was really impressed. I remember a couple Dutch sweeps in Sochi, and I think at least one in Vancouver too? I saw one your skaters in short track too, which was cool!

so am i! it's so cool to see your country dominate, Sochi was insane and i think it were Wüst and Kramer that you still remember if we're talking about Vancouver. i haven't rewatched short track yet but i probably will tomorrow, but i've heard about it here and there already so.

did you see the finals of the men's slopestyle? because damn, red got lucky that mark didn't land his last trick because otherwise mark would've grabbed gold there for sure. but in general very happy with the ending results! also i'm not sure if it's just me but i see the place for the discord, but no link to it

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

so am i! it's so cool to see your country dominate, Sochi was insane and i think it were Wüst and Kramer that you still remember if we're talking about Vancouver. i haven't rewatched short track yet but i probably will tomorrow, but i've heard about it here and there already so.

did you see the finals of the men's slopestyle? because damn, red got lucky that mark didn't land his last trick because otherwise mark would've grabbed gold there for sure. but in general very happy with the ending results! also i'm not sure if it's just me but i see the place for the discord, but no link to it

Oh, okay! I didn't remember their names from Vancouver, just that it was a very big deal.
(By the way, random question... Why orange? The only connection I could make was maybe William of Orange, and so maybe the line or association was still a thing? But I saw it everywhere with the Dutch skaters and spectators, so I was curious. (: )

I saw the first part of it, I think. But I was in and out at the time, so I don't remember the details. But I think that kid from the U.S. was only 17 years old! These kids are so small... (x

Oops, I had a dumb. It's fixed now.

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

Half-pipe finals are tonight and, if last night's qualifiers are anything to go by, I think they'll be good!

 

[Suggy]

Hey! I've been watching the Winter Olympics this year. normally I pay no attention to it but this year I'm obsessed lmao. I don't really know any of the athletes but there are a few from Ireland competing (although ive missed every event theyve been in, i hear they didnt do too well so far)

the tv channels eurosports 1 and eurosports 2 have been showing winter olympics non-stop if anyone has those channels