"Every job invites its share of inane, clichéd questions, and being an Olympic athlete, at least in this respect, is like any other job."
And so it is that Aidan Kelly, an American luger, is often asked “if I feel ridiculous wearing a full spandex suit all the time.”
The sliding sports — luge, bobsled and skeleton — are particularly prone to misapprehension, particularly among casual observers who look at them and think of glorified sledding.
“What is the stupidest question?” said the American bobsledder Dallas Robinson, the brakeman on a two-man team. “The problem is that when I say ‘stupidest question,’ I’ve probably asked all those same questions, so I’m admitting to my ignorance of the sport prior to becoming an athlete of the sport.”
“A lot of people think the brakeman brakes throughout the track to help control the speeds,” he said.
“That is not the case. That is not the case at all. No, my head’s down between my legs and I’m praying the whole time. When the track’s over with, I pull with the brakes, and that’s it.”
Curlers, of course, get the most generally clueless questions, starting with, “Are you the sweeper or the thrower?” (Answer: They do both.)
Another question: “Do you clean the ice?” said Johnny Frederiksen, vice skip of the Danish team.
The answer is no. “We’re trying to heat it up, which sounds stupid — but we’re trying to get some friction going,” Frederiksen said. This melts a thin layer of ice and helps direct the stone into the correct position.
“The first thing they normally say is ‘O.K., if you want to practice, you can sweep my kitchen,' ” said Christopher Bartsch, a German curler, who held up his broom, made of carbon fiber, to demonstrate that it was not a regular broom. If you had to pick a household implement, it looks more like a sponge mop.
Also, no one would sweep a floor the way curlers sweep the ice, with maximum side-to-side frequency and all of their body weight pushing down. It feels like an all-out sprint, said Harry, the Danish curler, holding up his hands — covered in calluses and blisters — to demonstrate the thoroughness of his grip on the broom.
He has an answer for the clean-my-house question.
“I say, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m pretty good at cleaning, but you should try curling — it’s a lot harder than you think.' ”
5 comments:
I mentioned Ear Falls, Ontario in a previous thread. They have an indoor curling rink.
Once when I was up there ice fishing, there was a curling event, and the town was packed.
Curling is a big deal up dare up nort. People will drive a 100 miles for one of these events.
When I was a kid the Bud Summerville Rink was the perennial curling champs. I thought it was unfair, being they had their own rink named after them.
So when a two man luge team wins a gold medal, the brakeman, who basically tucks in behind the driver and puts on the brakes once, at the end of the run, so for doing that he gets a gold medal? Compare that to what it takes for a hockey forward to win a gold medal in hockey.
I heard Obama say "If you like the bill of rights you have, you can keep the bill of rights you have. Period."
So we are good.
Curling is one of my favorite Olympic sports. First, I like that a game best enjoyed while drinking is an Olympic event. Second, unlike many popular sports in the Olympics, the determination of the victor is objectively determined. You don't win a gold in Curling because you the Russian judge on the take.
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