winter Olympics

Snowboarding at Sochi why did people complain and why did the biggest name in snowboarding let a lot of people down?….
Snowboarding always has me hooked and the fact this Olympics had some snowboarding events which had never been at winter Olympics before was just the icing on the cake slope style an amazing event which pushes snowboarders to the max with speed and tricks it’s just amazing to watch the top snowboarders doing what they do best Parallel slalom & giant slalom which puts snowboarders against the clock and against each other is another top event Snowboarding cross and halfpipe….. So to have one of the top names take part in the opening event and the 1st winter Olympics to have slope style was exciting BUT to have him pull out was disappointing now I am talking about Sean White.
Sean White the big name in snowboarding he has done a lot for the sport around the world he’s a multi gold medal winner in past winter Olympics and a massive name and medal winner at the X-Games now his main event is the half pipe so a lot of us were really happy and looking forward to seeing him perform in the Slope style event which was the 1st snowboarding event and the 1st event at the Olympics to start also this was the 1st time this event had been at any Olympics so it was a big deal to snowboarding fans that 1 of the biggest names in snowboarding was taking part. So imagine the outcry when Sean White pulled out of this event now I hear a few of you think ‘why an outcry’ well simply put he took the place from another contender now each country was only aloud 4 contenders in each snowboarding event Sean White took 1 place in slope style and then pulled out at the very last minute the outcry wasn’t because he pulled out it was the timing and his reason for why he pulled out. Timing was terrible he waited till last minute meaning USA team couldn’t replace him with another snowboarder which they could have done if they knew earlier. Reason now this is what really annoyed some people a lot his reason was because he had watched the other snowboarders in practice and saw he wasn’t up to speed meaning he knew he couldn’t win a medal so he didn’t want to damage his profile by being beat on the slope also he didn’t want to damage his ‘BRAND’ which has been made by him winning so taking all that in really annoyed people. Now what happened to him on the halfpipe was KARMA in action he never won any medal so I guess the old saying sticks here Sean White KARMA IS A BITCH.
Now that is just my opinion on that matter Sean along with other snowboarders did say that the course was a little sketchy and he wasn’t wanting to injure himself now taking that on board fair enough BUT if everyone thought that way then these sports would be a little boring.
Sean White said ” With the practice runs I have taken, even after course modifications and watching fellow athletes get hurt, the potential risk of injury is a bit too much for me to gamble my other Olympics goals on,’ White said in a statement.
Fair enough right BUT why wait till very last minute taking that place away from another USA athlete only 4 athletes were aloud by any country to enter any event Sean took that away from someone who would have loved to take part in that event now that is what annoyed most people the most yes Sean might have been hurt but so could any of the athletes taking part no one else pulled out only Sean.
Here is Sean White’s Statement make your own mind up I like Sean he’s amazing at what he does a true snowboarding legend just a pity we never saw him in action on more than 1 event.
Now something else which had people in UK complaining was Snowboarding commentary now I for one didn’t hear anything unusual but I love and watch X-Games maybe I’m immune to it or just maybe there was nothing to complain about yes they got excited yes they joked and said some strange things, maybe people didn’t understand the snowboarding lingo they were speaking, just maybe once or twice a comment was said against a none UK team member BUT saying all that to pick up your phone and complain is laughable really. Now I will start with the lingo yes if your not into or watched snowboarding events the commentary can sound alien, just like the curling did to me, at times but if you like what you see why not look up the lingo online that’s what I do, and that’s what I done with curling, when watching something I don’t understand I do a little research into it so I can understand it a little better. Now once or twice the UK commentary team did say some things about other countries riders know not everyone would know that nearly every snowboarder knows these commentators from UK there famous in there own right snowboarders are really close they know each other like family the UK commentary team for snowboarding was Tim Warwood and Ed Leigh, not forgeting Aimee Fuller who joined the commentary team after her event,

now Tim and Ed have known most, if not all, the snowboarding contenders at the Olympics since they were 13 14 yrs old if not younger like I said snowboarding is a close sport there like family not just UK I mean worldwide so to think that when they say stuff like “is it wrong to wish she falls here” is meant is wrong there joking there saying what most of us think yes Jenny Jones was in a medal position and saying what they said wasn’t meant literally it’s said in joke if she fell Jenny Jones wins a medal they didn’t actually want her to fall they just said it just like most of us were probably thinking it. Now for complaining about them getting excited is baffling so I will just say this……….if you complain about someone showing clear excitement and passion about something they love then you must lead a boring dull life..
Now I have to say Tim Warwood did say some amazing things while commenting and my best one had to be “SHE HAS A SMILE THAT WOULD START WORLD PEACE” amazing.