Figure Skating, Ice Dancing, Whatever
We were watching some ice thing on the Olympics last night. I think it was pairs figure skating, but it might have been ice dancing. When I asked Sharon she told me…obviously I don’t care that much…but I asked what the difference between pairs figure skating and ice dancing was.
She began trying to explain about the “different kinds of jumps, different turns, the…”
My eyes glazed over. All I know is that in both “sports” (yes they’re in fantastic shape, but sorry…it’s not a sport*):
- The men wear “fancy” outfits.
- The women wear outfits that look skimpy but aren’t.
- They do crazy things on skates that normal people can’t do.
- They skate around to music I’d never EVER listen to.
- The announcers’ comments are so stupid they actually lower your IQ.
Yep, the two sound wildly different, dont’ they? I suppose it’s entertaining to have on in the background, but the only thing I really enjoy about fancy ice skating in the Olympics is getting to hear people say “Dick Button” on TV because…well, if I have to explain it, forget it.
*Don’t worry, I’m not just picking on ice skating – there are lots of “activities” at the Olympics that aren’t “sports.”
My husband loves to watch “ice dancing” or what ever it’s called.
But really he justs loves to watch it when they fall…
My captcha is BROAD.
All I have to say is ice dancing/skating? Way closer to a sport than curling. CURLING! WTF is CURLING?!
What are your thoughts on synchronized swimming?
Ha..I suppose it depends on how you define “sport”. And because I am such a huge geek, I went ahead and looked it up. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sport Sooo…technically…yes. It is a sport.
Of course, I think most sports are weird and can’t figure out what purpose they serve. Other than being fun, that is.
Oh, come on Bill. You’re wearing a tiara on a run. How different is that from wearing a fancy outfit and throwing a girl in the air and then catching her?
You should watch *The Cutting Edge* (Moira Kelly and DB Sweeney; big chick flick) — your tune about it being a sport will change. I assure you.
I think synchronized swimming is not a sport either, although they (like the ice skaters) are great athletes. It’s too subjective, and there’s no absolute scoring involved which – in my mind – is required to make it a sport.
I think a lot of Olympic events are like that though. The most confusing ones are the ones like some moguls event we saw, where it’s a combination of subjective (the doing jumps of varying difficulty) and absolute (they’re scoring based on finish time). That’s a weird one. But in my mind, a sport should have a way to determine the winner that doesn’t depend on the judge.
Imagine if we changed the swimming events so that the guy who won only got the silver because a judge thought his feet weren’t together while he was kicking. Too weird for me.
All these people are in great shape, though, and are great athletes. That’s not a question.