Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympics Blog - Days 2-7 (Or Days 2-7)

I can't think of better way to commemorate the 400th post of HardDoor than with a post that has absolutely nothing to do with either anime or boxing!! (Remember, this blog does have a little bit of randomness, or at, it is supposed to…)

To get serious for a moment, I cannot say I have been impressed by NBC's level of coverage for the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympics. When I heard that they were going to be offering an "unprecedented" 52 hours, I balked at that and originally started about that and the lack of respect for the Paralympians in the previous entry. But, then I saw when the events were being broadcast and decided to relent before I watched how they were being offered. Six days in, and unfortunately, my biggest concerns still came true.

The level of broadcasting reminded me of the old way the Winter Olympics were broadcast, where the less "sexy" sports were solely limited to the early morning live broadcasts with no repeat showings and the "more sexy"sports were saved for more favorable timeslots and primetime. However, here, it is even less than that, as there is no "primetime" to speak of either on NBC or its own sports network. Even the sets where the broadcast hosts conduct their duties from is just the same everyday set used for other events, with nothing fancy or theme-appropriate like the sets used for the Olympics. Some kind of decorum, a reuse of a few of set pieces, or even a change in the background light scheme would have been appreciated to make seem a little special. Instead, we seem to be stuck with a halfway effort by NBC, one that wants to boost the Paralympics' profile, but does not want to go all the way with it by giving it more airtime or repeat showings (primetime included). The promotion leading up to the Games has been much better than in the past, but the follow-through doesn't feel quite as strong, either.

The Paralympics have never enjoyed anywhere close to the same spotlight as its sister competition. Perhaps, that may have to do, unfortunate it may be, with either some people's discomfort with watching people with physical disabilities or with their automatic dismissal of them and their abilities due to a perceived lack of them. The level of competition, as well as technology, may not have been as high in previous times, either, but much has changed since then. The action and competition in the Sochi 2014 Games has been just as high as what was seen in the Olympics last month and equally compelling to watch, they are just contested differently. That this caliber of action is not meeting as many eyes as what might have possible is the biggest shame of all of NBC's coverage. Their campaign maybe well-intentioned, but it is ultimately self-defeating, though hopefully, they will give the athletes their proper due in the Rio 2016 Summer Paralympic. Hopefully…

With the lesser amount of events and the scheduling issues (I missed the early morning-televised events), I have less to chronicle per day this time around, so instead, this is my batch of thoughts from Days 2 through 7--Mar. 8-13--(which are, at least, in chronological order).


Days 2-7

--Interesting to see that ski runs across the various forms of contests are based on curves and calculations correlating with an athlete's level of disability (i.e.: Standing (one leg, prostetic, one arm, or no hands, etc.), Sitting (no legs or legs tucked under, etc.(?)). Never thought about any of that and that does answer a few questions, not to mention it sounds pretty fair…

--Considering all of the weather issues that occurred in the Olympics, it must really suck for the Paralympics to catch the warmer end of winter, particularly if you are one of the participants in the skiing events…

--As mentioned just as compelling watching these athletes compete as it is watching able-bodied ones. Athletes are athletes, regardless of the circumstances.

--The rise in competition quality over the years, as well as the maturation of the various sports and working out of their kinks, have also helped a great bit.

--Yeesh, that snow's like slush now…and are those markings from the skis, or is that dirt now? Because I'm looking around at the rest of the landscape, and it's starting to look like a national forest or park…

--The U.S. Paralympic sponsors love them some Rico Roman…

--Aggravating as it has been to miss most of the biathlon events, they really are not terribly different both in style and suspense from the able-bodied version…

--So…you thought that the regular version of cross country skiing was torturous enough, huh? Well, trying going 12km using your arms only! And did I mention that the snow's kinda crappy and unforgiving, now?

--Okasana Masters (USA), suffered from radiation birth defects, grew up near Chernobyl, was shuffled between numerous Ukrainian orphanages prior to adoption and had to get both legs amputated at later points of her teen years. From that to silver in the 12km-Sitting ski event must've been one satisfying accomplishment…

--It takes a certain amount of balls and trust to fly down a mountain visually-impaired and relying on your guide to help you traverse the course…

--Given how integral the guides are to someone's performance, I think it makes sense to give them medals, too.

--There's a slalom event? WOW…and there's a snow falling and fog over the course?!

--…And on top of that, some in the standing division have only one arm to work with and another may only have one leg…

--Given how much of a ***** the slalom can be, I can only imagine just how hard it must be to traverse it from the sitting position. It looks like they are trying to steer a sedan on a compact motorcycle racing course…

--See guys, you don't really need those brooms for curling…

--Liked seeing how someone is placed behind the shooter to steady their wheelchair in place when they attempt a throw. Sort of reminds of the Throne units in Gundam 00… (There's your 400th post commemoration!)

--Tatyana McFadden (USA), only a little over a year into her skiing excursion, was really pumping it out in the 1 km sprint-Sitting, but just got nipped out in the very final moments to settle for silver.

--Glad to see a Russian guy win the 1 km sprint free-Standing…

--Hey, look, a U.S. hockey team getting it done against a previously-undefeated Canadian team (3-0) to earn a shot at the gold medal vs. a one-loss Team Russia--and no attention for (any of) their efforts…

--Normally, I would get annoyed by seeing the same commercials over and over again, but given that these Citi ones have been promoting the athletes, as have been BP's and The Hartford's, I don't mind them too much (they also happened to be pretty good--Citi's in particular). That only these, along with Bounty, appear to be the only sponsors present is a loud-enough indictment…


EDIT [03/20/14]: Originally said the Russian sledge hockey team was undefeated, when it was actually beaten in the very first game versus South Korea. This has since been corrected.