Loved Torvill and Dean. Recently watched that performance again. Absolute perfection! They certainly revolutionized their sport. Chris Dean is brilliant.

I remember that Bolero performance -- I cried it was so perfect.

ETA - I just watched it again. Must have gotten something in my eyes. Thanks for reminding me of this.

"I was embarrassed that Pence did not stand up for the Korean anthem. Politics aside, it is just common courtesy to recognize the host country."

Exactly. Any official reason given why he didn't stand?

i thought the Opening Ceremonies were beautifully done. I now want a couple thousand drones and the talent to do what the Koreans did.

My Torvill and Dean memory is of their performance to 'Cecilia'. Happy skating.

Yes, those drones were just amazing! The entire ceremony was so well done. Wonder what they will do for the closing? I agree that there was a lot of beauty on display. All nationalities which was especially nice.

Torvill and Dean's Bolero was controversial, wasn't it? Their style of dance, "laying down on the ice", led to some new rules, but also to a rebirth of ice dancing.

As I watched the opening, with the children traveling through Korean history and culture, I thought how in America and Canada, we don't have the same depth of shared culture and history. Most of us don't have roots hundreds of years old here, and we come from so many cultures. Even within Europe, Scandinavian, Mediterranean, Balkan etc, history, are all different. And many of us now are "Heinz 57". It's just cool for me to think about that shared past.

Hmm, what IS the protocol for standing as the host country enters the stadium? Of course the host dignitaries stand, but does everyone?

I sometimes see Paul Wylie in my supermarket! He is still super cute and maybe 130 lbs. soaking wet.

When I went to hockey games in Buffalo they played/play both the Canadian and US National anthems and everyone stood for both. Here's some context:

"The National Hockey League decided in 1987 that both anthems must be sung whenever Canadian- and U.S.-based teams meet, cementing a practice that had been common since the 1960s. Major-league baseball and basketball follow the same rule (though it’s applied relatively rarely, each sport having only one Canadian team)."

Back in the day, most of the players were Canadian. That is no longer the case as there is a mix of American, Canadian, and European players.

We have men's hockey season tickets for the University of New Hampshire. When we play a Canadian school, usually during the exhibition season, they sing both anthems. Both flags are always displayed. And of course we stand for the Canadian anthem. Several of our players are from Canada.

I thought the issue was that Pence didn't stand when the Korean team entered; the anthem wasn't played at that moment. I hope that later he stood for the South Korean National Anthem! It won't be played at any ceremonies where Korea wins gold, they are playing a Korean folk song for that. But they did sing it for the raising of the South Korean flag, and I would certainly expect all dignitaries to stand. Did Kim Jung Un's sister stand for the anthem?

Pence's wife didn't stand either. The photos of them not standing were so charming (sarc). But I bet that the Americans in the stands did stand for the entrance.

This year, for some reason, I have little interest in the Olympics. In the past I would have a list of events and when they were being shown and then watch them. But it is very seldom when an event is now carried straight through from start to finish.

I am not a Pence fan and I think his snub of the 'Unified' Korean athletes was horrible BUT I have seen no report that he sat during the country's anthem.

Did he? Was the Korean anthem even played?

everything I have read states that he, and his wife, stayed seated for every group of athletes and stood only for the USA contingent?

Have I missed something?

inquiring minds.

No you didn't miss anything except that everyone in the VIP box, except for the Pences, stood when the unified Korean team came into the stadium.

Maddie lee, the South Korean anthem was sung by a children's chorus when the South Korean flag was brought in and raised. That flag flies as the host country flag. For medal ceremonies, because it is a joint Korean team, they will use the unified flag, and play a folk song.

I would hope that people didn't stand for all the countries, it took an hour! And I don't know if protocol/tradition calls for foreign dignitaries to stand for the host country athletes to enter. I've never paid attention to that.

I enjoyed the opening ceremony.....very creative. I pretty much just watch figure skating..... DD skated for eleven years.

Bpath....agree that something was lost when they got rid of school figures. There’s such a difference between the skaters now and the last generation....Boitano, Kwan, Browning, etc.....all had clean, deep edges.....only the ice dancers have that now because their scores are partly based on the quality of their edges. Torvill and Dean did revolutionize ice dancing....it was mostly ballroom style before they came along.

Nhbaskets...Kurt Browning is my favorite male skater too....he could do any style and was brilliant at everything. I really miss the “old timers.”

sable....i think like any sport they are always pushing the boundaries, hence the quad. Jumps are difficult to master which is why so much emphasis is placed on them. I agree the Protopopovs were very elegant and of course they were the top in their day, but I think their lifts and jumps would be considered very elementary and basic today.

I’ll be watching the team skating event in just a bit. I’m glad this has been added to the Olympics....a chance for more skaters to medal.

I watched Midori Ito's showcase dance from Albertville, I always liked her style.

We have a new fave sport: Slopestyle! O. M. G. Those guys are amazing daredevils. Fun listening to the Canadian announcer, lots of "gnarly" and "stomped the landing", It's a whole new vocabulary lol, and I still don't know what a lutz really is. We also like the snowboard racing, where there's several skiers racing each other down the hill, so exciting. Can't wait for that one.

Joanie, any thoughts on Tara and Johnny?

@bpathome - I don't know if the announcers touched on the story of Mark McMorris who won Bronze. March 25, 2017 he was backcountry skiing at Whistler and hit a tree. His injuries were so extensive he almost died. There is a really interesting documentary on his rehab.

I like Tara and Johnny together....they have a nice rapport. Yeah, Johnny’s a hoot, but I think his commentary is spot on....Tara too. It would be nice to see some other faces....it’s been Tara and Johnny for a few years now. Still think Michelle should have won gold over Tara!

A friend and colleague's daughter is competing in 1500m & 1000m speed skating events this week. Go USA!

That’s exciting to know someone competing. When DD was in college there was a girl in her small program who competed in fencing.

Ruby claire, wishing her smooth skating!

We had a grad student whose sister was competing in diving in London 2012.

Wow!

I'm watching the event now via live streaming and she just took the lead - very exciting! Keep your eye on Brittany Bowe :)

ETA: No medal but she came in 5th place and US best position in the 1500. Looking forward to the next races!

Made me laugh this morning, a Cape Bretoner commentating Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s performance, mixed with typical hockey commentary. Yes that is how they talk!

https://www.facebook.com/thetownheroes/posts/10155720970847561

oh robo - that was a hoot! Thanks for posting.

I need a tissue! That's a riot! DH was translating for me lol.

We watch alll the skating as my mother in law and her sister were skaters in the Bay Area a million years ago and part of the very inner circle of skating royalty at the time. Their best friends were champions and both killed in the plane crash that took the whole team in 1961. They were in France with Peggy when she won her gold. I will forever love the Moonlight Sonada routine by Gordeeva and Grinkov in 1994. I rewatch it every Olympics. Even though Grinkov flubbed a couple things, they are just so lovely together. Still my favorite skating outfits!!

How about Shaun White last night? You gotta love the snowboarders. At least, at the Olympics. Still irritating when skiing sometimes! lol

Watching the North Korean figure skating pair, who were lovely. The NK cheerleaders were there. Did NK not allow families to travel to the games?

OMG Robo that is great!!! That truly could be a SNL skit. I laughed so hard (of course the wine could have helped :-0 )

If you are on Facebook, check out the Norwegian Men's Curling Team Pants page. Their posts are cute, and the comments, too.

Robo, that was hilarious. Even my DH laughed and he doesn’t usually watch figure skating. I was very happy for the German pair last night. Their routine was exquisite. And so pumped still about Shaun White. Can’t discount the over-30’s this Olympics!

BP, I don’t think NK allows families to travel, only the athletes and coaches. It appeared to be very tightly controlled. It surprised me, though, that the hockey coach for their combined team was from the US and so was at least one team member they recruited. She is the adopted sister of one of the US. team members.

Outside, I think the combined team coach is from Canada. I did hear about the sisters, that is such a neat story. There is another player whose parents are Korean and the player was born and grew up in Canada.

There are a lot of athletes who compete for a country they didn't grow up in. I learned that every country sets its own rules for who can compete under their flag. Many also train (and live) outside of their home countries. And the North Korean pairs figure skaters train in Canada!

What I think is interesting in the skating world, actually all the sports, is how coaches from one country will be the coach of athletes from another country. Tonight I learned that Jeffrey Buttle (Canadian skater) did the choreography for Adam Rippon's (American skater) short program.

I always liked Jeffrey Buttle and it turns out he's getting quite a name for himself as a choreographer.

And yes, skaters and gymnasts train where the talent is. And the skaters will become training partners with skaters from other countries. But when you think about, fellow skaters become their families as they tour the globe competing against one another.

BP, thanks for the correction on the hockey coach.

I love watching the snowcross, so exciting! I like that in snowcross, if you wipe out at the top, it pays to get up and keep going because the others could wipeout en masse at the bottom, while you alone sail over the finish line (certainly would be MY only chance at winning lol).

Watching Virtue and Moir, the ice dancers who are also a couple, makes me wonder: in the Olympic Village, do couples share quarters?

Well there is this...

"Olympic athletes received 110,000 condoms — the most of any previous Winter Olympics — this year in PyeongChang. That’s more than 37 condoms per athlete, which are worth about $93,370, according to Korea Biomedical Review, a local news agency. The company Barunsengkak donated 100,000 of the condoms at the Winter Olympics, and the Korean Association for AIDS Prevention donated the other 10,000, the news outlet said."

Olympians are prepared

Whoa! TMI! (I hope they USE them. Is there such a thing as an "Olympics pregnancy", like after a long electrical blackout in a city?

so, I guess it doesn't matter if they are married...

Watching Lindsey Vonn just after her last downhill in competition, all I can think of is, I don't think I'd have it together enough to have my eyelashes on, and shadow and liner just so, before the ski of my life. She certainly is lovely and fast and strong! (I wonder how she will feel when she's 70 after all those injuries? I hope that didn't sound snarky, I just really wonder how all those injuries will fare in 35 years?)

Destined for knee replacements. Have to say I was looking at her eye makeup after she raced and wondered if it was put on afterward. Can you imagine getting an eyelash in your eye while going 60 mph? I'd venture to to say she is au natural when racing, then brushes out the braid and glams up after the race. That's why they wear goggles, right?

Ester Ledecka, the snowboarder who shocked everyone by winning the Super G when skiing from the 26th position (apparently she's ranked 40th in the world in this discipline) and skiing on borrowed skiis, talked about this. She said that she didn't even have her make-up bag with her for the after-race interviews like the other girls would have. She wasn't supposed to win.

She probably has her make-up bag for the snowboard races, there she is a world champion.

BP, I love the snowcross competitions! Reminds me of roller derby or motocross.

I wondered anout Lindsay Vonn’s makeup too. Did they take her behind the scenes and do her eyes?

Oh wow, did anyone see the gold medal finish of the women’s Nordic cross country? Jessie Diggins really put it all out there at the finish. I thought for sure she was going to fall in one of the last turns. Earlier I saw an interview with her skiing partner, Kikkan Randall. She is 35 and the only Mom on the US team. Alaska should be proud!

Oh wow, did anyone see the gold medal finish for the women’s Nordic cross country? Diggins really put it all out there. I thought for sure she was going to fall in one of those last turns. I saw an interview with Kikkan Randall earlier today. She is 35 & the only Mom on the US Olympic team.

I wonder how many Dads are on the team? I know of one, a skier, can't remember his name. Training takes such a big part of one's life, I'm sure!

edited to add, I just learned another skier is a dad, David Wyse the gold medalist it ski half pipe has two kids! And the bronze mentalist is only 16. Wow. Now I'm wondering whether, as those ski/board trick events mature, will the clothing become more sleek like skaters and downhillers?

In X-country, is it the foot that has to cross the line first, or the ski? I think it's the foot, judging from another close finish.

Tonight is US vs Canada in women's hockey. DH is Canadian, I'm American. Yikes! But, the game is on at 10:00 here. DH is taking a nap lol. I'll probably fall asleep by the 2nd period.

We survived the women's hockey still married lol! DH even made the coffee as usual the next morning as though nothing had happened. Quite a game. Okay, confession: I didn't make it through the whole game. Made it through two periods, caught Kate and Cheryl on the update, then sacked out. I did hear shouts coming from the living room, though. Now we are commisserating with Canada men who will play one more game, but for bronze. (And how Canadian that during the Olympics they have an actual daily program called The Hockey Show!)

Next question: who from these Olympics will be on Dancing with the Stars? Chloe Kim? Adam Rippon? I'd love to see Elana and Lauren, the bobsled team. They seem delightful!

I love the Olympics and have watched quite a bit. They showed the hockey game again yesterday. Even though I knew the outcome, it was still a nail-biter. That short track skating last night was also very exciting.

Why again didn’t we just ban the Russians? Haven’t at least 2 tested positive for banned substances? I am surprised it’s not more. Gee, what a surprise! (my sarcastic side is showing)

My hoser DH and I had a bet: if USA beat Canada in the gold medal hockey game, he'd finally watch Miracle on Ice. Well, we won! And he picked up Miracle from the library for our Friday viewing. But it was the 2004 Disney version with Kurt Russell, not the fresh-off-the-victory 1981 version with Karl Malden (and Steve Guttenberg? as Jim Craig!)

So, does it count? It did have some good extra features, the round table with Coach Brooks and Kurt, but the 22 year old athletes seemed to be played by 32 year old actors. Hmm.

For me, it's kind of like watching Apollo 13: you know how it turns out, but it's still exciting and brings a tear or two.