Every week during the NFL season we Protect the Shield and recap the stories, stars, and everything you need to know from the week that was. Now that the Olympics are over (what, no curling? NOOOOO!!!), who will we look back on as the influential figures from the Vancouver Olympics of 2010? What will we remember, and what will we forget? Who wins our Olympic Awards? So many questions, so little time until the next Olympics! Let's Protect the Rings!
Underrated Story of the Olympics - North American Dominance
-The US set a Winter Olympics record by winning 37 total medals (9/15/13), while Canada's Gold Medal Hockey win gave them a record 14 Golds for a Winter Olympics. Sadly our North American friends to the south failed to medal. C'mon Mexico, even Kazakhstan won a medal! These Olympics were about the two North American superpowers going head to head in many sports and dominating the games. Whether it was hockey, snowboarding, curling, nordic combined, speed skating, skiing, figure skating, bobsled, and everything in between... there was either an American or a Canadian there in the medals. The excellence from both countries throughout the games made it compelling for fans across North America.
Truth be told, these were the most enjoyable Winter Olympics of my lifetime. Some of the major events were spoiled and shown on tape delay in primetime, but you almost expect that by now from TV Olympic coverage. There wasn't the sappiness of made up stories to dominate the games (more on that below), but real drama from beginning to end. And, as we said last week, the diversification of the Winter Olympics and addition of X Games sports has given the Winter Games a much needed boost to go along with the traditional events. There were so many great individual and team performances throughout the Olympics that it made the two weeks fun. Also, Team USA was terrific and made every American sports fan proud of the effort of its record setting Olympians. As American sports fans, we don't get too many chances to go crazy for the red, white, and blue - but the 2010 Vancouver Olympics made all of us stand up and cheer for Team USA.
Overrated Story of the Olympics - Lindsey Vonn's Shin
-Going into the Olympics, Dwight Freeney's Ankle was shoved off of the injured body part stage by Lindsey Vonn's shin. It was an attempt to make her the focal point for the Vancouver Olympics. She was an SI swimsuit model, cover girl, network star, and the poster girl for Team USA. Vonn did win a Gold in the downhill, but didn't become the crossover star that the media would have hoped. Similarly, Apolo Ohno has most likely made a fortune out of his record setting Olympic career (2 more Bronzes in 2010), but he doesn't have enough Gold (2 out of 8 medals) to be an all-time icon.
And, perhaps that was what was most refreshing about these Olympics. There wasn't that one dominating presence ala Michael Phelps to control the spotlight. There was the underdog hockey team, the nordic combined stars, the Night Train and Steve Holcomb, Evan Lysacek, and countless other US Olympians that made themselves stars with their performances. The unfortunate side to the media's star obsession is that we don't hear about guys like Steve Holcomb until they are halfway to a gold medal. In 4 years, let's hope that more of our Olympians get the attention they deserve heading into the Games... instead of a hot skiier's shin.
5 American Stars
* Evan Lysacek - Gold Men's Figure Skating
-The 1st American to win Gold since Brian Boitano... and he did it by shutting up a Russian crybaby (more on him later). I'm no figure skating fan, but Lysacek's win was a great moment.
** Shaun White - Gold Men's Halfpipe
-Shaun White is sick! The star for the extreme side of the Winter Olympics. His halfpipe performance was simply awesome.
*** Bode Miller - Gold Men's Combined
-The redemption story of these Olympics. Miller grew up in a huge way by finally winning an Olympic Gold in the Combined event.
**** Steve Holcomb & Night Train - Gold Men's 4 Man Bobsled
-The 1st 4 Man Bobsled Gold in 62 years (since they had a natural track - how cool was that footage!). Holcomb has that everyman appeal thanks to the unflattering look in those aerodynamic suits, yeesh. But, he and his team, and his sled Night Train shined brightly in Vancouver.
***** USA Hockey - Silver Men's Hockey
-The stars of the Games, even with their Silver medal. They took Canada to OT in the Gold Medal game and inspired a nation with their grittiness and effort on the ice. G Ryan Miller was very deserving of the MVP award. They were the Dream Team of the 2010 Olympics, let's hope that they can now move the NHL in the right direction.
Also Considered: Apolo Ohno (2 Bronze Short Track), Shani Davis (1 Gold, 1 Silver Speed Skating), Lindsey Vonn & Julia Mancuso (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze Alpine Skiing), Bill Demong & Johnny Spillane (1 Gold, 4 Silver Nordic Combined)
International Stars: Kim Yu-Na KOR (Gold Women's Figure Skating), Anette Norberg SWE (Gold Women's Curling), Cheryl Bernard CAN (Silver Women's Curling), Simon Ammann SUI (Gold Ski Jump), Marit Bjorgen NOR (3 Gold Cross Country Skiing)
18 Yoder Awards
1) TO's Crybaby of the Olympics - Evgeni Plushenko (RUS)
-Plushenko do quad... Plushenko lose to American with snakes... Plushenko angry... Plushenko sad.
2) Sorry to See You Go - Curling
-Our favorite Olympic sport! Thank you to NBC for its extensive coverage of the cult phenomenon. Could we be seeing a curling boom along the lines of poker's rise? Let's hope so.
3) Redemption Song - Bode Miller
-An easy choice. Putting the demons of the past behind him and finally winning a Gold. His ride back to the top of the mountain (mountain... skiing... get it?) is what the Olympics are all about.
4) Glitch of the Games - TorchGate 2010
-As good as the Games were, it's easy to forget they were known as the Glitch Games early on. Mainly due to the epic torch fail at the Opening Ceremonies, which led to...
5) Image of the Games - Wayne Gretzky
Classic.
6) TV Personality of the Olympics - Mike Emrick
-The voice of the NHL always adds excitement to a broadcast and was perfect for the Olympic tournament. Doc is one of the most underrated broadcasters in sports and always does a great job. BTW, seeing Al Michaels and Bob Costas interact was awkward. There was definitely some alphadog tension there. Silver goes to the Curling team and Don Duguid, and the Bronze goes to that Bobsled analyst that always sounds like he's hepped up on speed.
7) Canadian Obnoxiousness Award - Whoever the ice dancing guy was wearing a Canadian hockey jersey Saturday night
-Yes, Canada can be cute with its mounted police, Celine Dion, and Cheryl Bernard. But at times, it was ultra annoying. Like the ice dancing guy with the hockey jersey at Saturday's Gala. It was a reminder that Canada went a little overboard with their medal quest - closing off courses and tracks to other countries, and being obsessive over their Own The Podium campaign.
8) Weird X Games Sport Now Masquerading As an Olympic Sport - SkiCross
-I propose that the next weird sport to make it into the Olympics be the snowmobile racing. Make it happen IOC!
9) Inspirational Moment of the Olympics - Curling Crowd Singing O Canada
-This was a pretty cool moment during the last end of Canada's Gold Medal win. Even though Canadians can be annoying at times, this was a unique sporting moment. The athletes stopped playing for the crowd to finish singing the national anthem, it gave you goosebumps no matter your nationality. FYI, it's not as inspiring when Matthew Barnaby sings it.
10) D'Oh Moment of the Olympics - Sven Kramer & Coach
-The Dutch skater won the 5000 and cruised to an apparent win in the 10000. But, his coach told him to wrongly switch lanes during the 10k and Kramer was DQ'd. The coach, Gerard Kemkers, is the origin of the D'oh! moment, but the athlete has to take responsibility and know where he is on the track. It's the Olympics after all!
11) Best Clutch Performance - Sidney Crosby
-Hockey's biggest star had a ho-hum Games until his OT winner in the Gold Medal Game. Not too often does the biggest star show up in that situation, but Crosby did.
12) Forgotten Story - Luge Tragedy
-Sadly, on the other end of the spectrum, Nodar Kumaritashvili's death before the Olympics seemed to have been swept under the rug. Give the IOC credit for remembering him during the Closing Ceremony, but the tragedy was handled poorly in the aftermath. The IOC blamed Kumaritashvili for the crash, not the track... and then tried to slow down the most dangerous track in the world. We want to see fast speeds and athletes pushed, but not to the point of no return. Racers still crashed and pulled out, but thankfully nobody else was seriously injured. In an otherwise fantastic Olympics, this tragedy can't be cast aside like it was by the IOC for the safety of future Olympians.
13) Best Finish - Women's 30km Mass Start
-Justinya Kowalczyk of Poland won the first Gold Medal for a female in her country's history, and won by .3 seconds after 30km of racing. To think that racers could be separated by that much after 30km is incredible.
14) Most Unlikely Gold Medalist - Steve Holcomb - USA Bobsled
-You tell me who the Olympian is...
And who the country music star is...
15) French Judge Memorial Trophy - The Canadian Guy Who Screwed Apolo Ohno
-A Canadian judge DQing an American skater to the benefit of 2 Canadian skaters, hmmm...
16) Team of the Olympics - Kevin Martin & Canadian Curling
-Unbeaten in the Games and the most dominant team of the Vancouver Games. Martin and Team Canada were sensational throughout the Men's Curling competition. Their strategy and shotmaking are second to none, especially Third John Morris' takeouts. These games were redemptive for Martin as well, who lost the Gold in 2002 by an inch.
17) Best Game/Moment - Gold Medal Hockey Game
-No doubt the leader in the clubhouse for the Top 10 Games of the 2010's. Zach Parise, one of the American heroes, scored in the last minute to send the game into OT. But, 20 minutes of 4 on 4 hockey was to Canada's edge with their skilled players. And, it was Iginla to Crosby that won Canada the Gold Medal. It was a game of great drama, great intensity, great players, and great effort. It was a game that symbolizes the best of the Olympics and all of sports.
18) Shuster Award - John Shuster
What We Will Remember... Hockey Takes Center Stage
-The defining moment of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics was the amazing Olympic Hockey Tournament. Since the NHL Lockout cancelled the '04-'05 season, hockey has struggled mightily on the sports landscape. The ineptitude of Gary Bettman and the hockey brass has been stunning this decade. But, the game was showing signs of life heading into these Olympics - the Winter Classic has been successful, stars are starting to be made, and there have been exciting Stanley Cups the past few years. But, hockey has been given an unbelievable gift in the drama and significance of the 2010 Olympics. The NHL can't ask for more than Sidney Crosby scoring the Gold Medal winning goal in OT against the USA. But, can they take advantage of such a memorable 2 weeks for the sport? We'll remember the USA's underdog team fight their way to a Gold Medal behind Ryan Miller, and we'll remember Canada saving the sanity of a nation by winning Gold. We'll remember one of the best hockey games of all-time... but we'll remember it even more fondly if that game and that tournament can bring hockey back to the center stage of American sports.
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