My mother is going to call me in about a week, excited as she always is, as the 2014 Winter Olympics will officially commence with an opening ceremony filled with pomp and circumstance to celebrate the sporting tradition of winter sports.
"Eddie! Turn on (insert whatever channel the Olympics are on in 2014) the Opening Ceremonies are on!"
It really doesn't matter what I'm doing at that particular time, I'm going to change the channel and watch the Opening Ceremonies. For what it's worth, I actually am not a fan of the Opening Ceremonies all that much, outside of the egregious fashion show that takes place during these events. But it doesn't do much for me, it's just a blah event. Call me a party-pooper, but I'm just being honest.
There used to be a day when my mother would make me watch the figure skating competition, and that was the time I can remember having a real crush on Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan (I guess I went through an Asian figure-skating phase as a youngster) as a kid. Hockey is always a go-to watch for the Olympics, because it's the only sport that I'm confident in saying that I actually know who's competing. Also, I can remember being excited about the bobsled, and this was even before Cool Runnings came into our lives. I generally think the slalom is pretty cool too, and I could even get hip the speed skating races. Those are alright.
The thing that actually intrigues me are the political issues that are floating above the surface of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Gay issues have been the primary focal point of discussion, but the fact that this Winter Olympics is by far the most expensive Olympics event of all-time (progressively speaking, this is understandable, but $51 billion for the lesser of the two Olympics?) and that terrorist threats are always abound in such international affairs have me more intrigued than who will possibly win Gold in Curling. (Okay, I do care about Curling. Greatest sport ever. Kinda.)
My enthusiasm for the Winter Olympics are low. Maybe this will change by the time they actually get here, and maybe I'll be sucked into some fascinating story lines not named "Lolo Jones" too. Realistically, I'll probably be watching a random Big 12 basketball game instead of whatever the heck is happening on the ski slopes. Sorry Sochi.
Now, on to the links. Happy Tuesday.
Historically Black College Football Programs Struggling to Keep Up – Al Jazeera America
Pele Biopic Will Hit Theaters Ahead of 2014 World Cup -- Remezcla
How Google Gets Its Piece of the Super Bowl Ad Blitz - Bloomberg Businessweek
37 Wing Recipes That Don’t Involve Buffalo Sauce -- Food Beast
Profit Was Not the Primary Goal For L.A. Kings’ Now-Dashed Plans for Culver City Ice Arena – Frozen Royalty
How the World Gets Drunk -- Priceonomics
The Technopus: How Silicon Valley’s Most Celebrated CEOs Conspired to Bring Down 100,000 Tech Engineers’ Wages – Pando Daily
The NCAA responds to Northwestern’s attempts to unionize -- CollegeBasketballTalk
On Kendrick Lamar Losing to Macklemore, WWE's Daniel Bryan and the Importance of Being the People's Champ - The Smoking Section
Eddie Maisonet is the founder and editor emeritus of The Sports Fan Journal. Currently, he serves as an associate editor for ESPN.com. He is an unabashed Russell Westbrook and Barry Switzer apologist, owns over 100 fitteds and snapbacks, and lives by Reggie Jackson’s famous quote, “I am the straw that stirs the drink.”