Now that the Super Bowl is over, you may find yourself looking forward to the pageantry of the Winter Olympics. Here’s who and what to look for in snowboarding this year…
- Lindsey Jacobellis – In the Turin Olympics Lindsey went a little too big off the last jump in the snowboard cross final and it cost her the gold. Afterwards the U.S. press criticized her for showing off and letting her country down. Lindsey would later explain how snowboarding is supposed to be fun and how she wanted to match the enthusiasm of the crowd with a stylish finish. Makes sense to me. Let’s see if Lindsey can redeem her honor.
- “The Flying Tomato” – All sports have those athletes that come along and not only dominate a sport but also change its direction. What Tiger Woods is (was?) to golf, Shaun White is to snowboarding. I just want to say that I personally rock his signature line of Burton apparel and yes, I snowboard better because of it.
- The Double Cork – It’s hard to describe this controversial halfpipe maneuver, so you’re going to have to click here to see it for yourself. Invented by Shaun White, it was deemed necessary for unseating him in Vancouver, but after Kevin Pearce fell hard and into a coma trying it in training, some called for a ban by the International Olympic Committee. No official ruling as of yet, so we’ll have to wait to see what happens.
- Torah Bright – I felt this Australian phenom got robbed when she finished 5th in the halfpipe finals at the Turin Games. Since then, she won gold at the 2007 and 2009 X Games and is a favorite in this year’s Olympics. However Torah had to pull out of the 2010 X Games after suffering two concussions in three days in January—adding fuel to the fire to eighty-six certain maneuvers in Vancouver. Reports say she’s recovered physically, but as I can attest, concussions come with psychological effects as well.
I don’t know where I stand on banning maneuvers at the Olympics. On the one hand, I don’t want a governing body capping the level of competition in snowboarding. On the other, I realize each year this level gets more and more dangerous. What do you think?
I tend to be conservative — so, I think that capping the competition can be a good thing, if it helps to saves lives and prevent traumatic injury. Sometimes, people will to do almost anything to make their statement to the world. Setting some reasonable limits might help to keep the sport safe and prevent devestating injury.
I see your point, Sandra. To add to it, I wouldn’t want people tuning in with the hopes of seeing someone get hurt. That’s what the UFC is for!
Capping the competition would hurt the sport of snowboarding. These athletes are the best at what they do, they are Olympians. Why should any one tell them that they shouldn’t push the limits of their sport? They are not going to go out there and try a trick they have never done before just so they can hurt themselves and get on television. They practice these tricks. If there were a cap on the sport, it would hurt the sport because people would get bored of watching the same tricks over and over. I’m sorry to say, injuries are part of any sport. They don’t put a cap on football because someone gets hurt do they? If people tune in because they want to see someone get hurt, they have a sick mind. Some people watch NASCAR races just for the wrecks, and NASCAR is capped. They are capped because they have restrictor plate races where they limit their top speed. Let the sport take care of itself. If people get hurt, people get hurt. That is what happens in sports.
Thanks, Adrian, for representing the other side. I agree, banning the double cork would definitely affect “the sport” of snowboarding, but snowboarding itself would continue to evolve. Even if Shaun White wasn’t allowed to do the move in the Olympics AND the X Games, he’d still do it and it would get captured on video for all to see and emulate. I don’t know, maybe we just need better helmets.
I agree Mike, those little shells they call helmets don’t help much. Keep in mind though, no helmet is going to stop someone from breaking their neck and becoming paralyzed. You can’t prevent athletes from performing with lots of safety regulations and you can’t let them go out there and risk their lives. Every sport in the world could be safer in a way, it’s just a matter of finding that common ground where people can agree that it’s not too dangerous and that it doesn’t take too much away from the sport.