ained during the harvest- go figure), and saying goodbye to Roberta who’s been an unbelievable host, mother, maitre d at our home away from home- the Pragelato Village Resort. Hard to believe that it’s already over- the experience very Survivor-like with many different personalities brought to close proximity for an intense experience, then disbanded. As expected, many fond memories.The K125 event was spectacular. Since attendance had been high the previous night for the qualifying event I was expecting our first full house for the final. Bear in mind the stadium only seats 8,500 (my recollection is over 40,000 in Lillehammer 1994) so it wouldn’t take much to sell out. Regardless, the “main event” had many open seats but still a great de
al of excitement and energy from the crowd. Norwegian Lars Bystoel whose patient and precise style has meshed well with the high altitude continued to ride this wave and finished bronze. The story of the night was a pair of young Austrians- Thomas Morgenstern (19) and Andreas Kofler (21)- who surprised themselves as much as the crowd with spectacular 
performances that clearly separated them from the competition. The younger- Morgenstern- ended up with the gold by literally the narrowest of margins- 0.1 pt, though many felt the judges were too harsh in penalizing Kofler’s slip on the landing in his last jump. Kofler is your typical class clown who told me he had never really committed to training until this year. He won his first world cup a couple of weeks before the Olympics and that momentum served him well. Morgenstern has been a highly managed Austrian property for a long time. He, too, has only won one world cup- but it was 3 years ago as a 16 year old! The promise of that early potential was paid in full at these Olympics. It was an anxious moment after Kofler’s jump as judges’ scores were tabulated and the pair celebrated knowing for sure they were gold and silver but not knowing who
was which. Morgenstern looked positively lost when he realized he’d won gold. I don’t think he could fathom the reality. Many may dream of Olympic gold but few dare expect it. Morgenstern’s father somehow made it out of the stands and on to the medal stand for one of the most heartfelt bear hugs I’ve ever seen.For the Austrians as a team- shut out of the medals in 2002 after the death of a coach gave the program a shock- the breakthrough of Kofler and Morgenstern was great medicine. Their good news roll continued two nights later when this same pair single-handedly pulled them to victory in the team event. Interesting item in this competition was the Norwegian’s decision to ski Tommy Ingebritsen, the only team member who had not skied in an individual event. It seemed to me that they were making a statement about a) their depth, and b) their sense of team. Admirable positions but positions that, in the end, cost them any shot at gold or silver. They finished a very respectable bronze, a great improvement over the 9th (yes, 9th!) place finish in 2002 (behind Korea, among others). Ironic, too, that the Norwegians crossed borders to hire a Finn, Mikka Kojonkoski, to lead them from the 2002 doldrums. I would say his job is secure for a couple more years at least.
Transportation has been a constant irritant at these games and it peaked for my family after the K125. Despite the modest crowds they waited over 2 hours for a bus home. The wait was the least of the problems as crowds turned ugly when temperatures fell and chaos built. In general I’ve found Italy only loosely managed. There’s a sense that everything will work
out in the end so why sweat the small stuff. This, of course, collides smartly with the expectations of Americans who tend to be a little more high-strung. And it was ironic, but probably not surprising, that the angry threats and screams from the crowd that night were not in French, German or Italian, but English. Yes- while there was indeed a lack of organization on the part of the Italian’s it was the impatience and arrogance of the Americans, as guests, who turned the scene ugly. There’s a lesson here somewhere.Another regrettable American scene was senior US Nordic combined skier Todd Lodwick’s ripping of team mate Carl van Loan for his performance in the NC team event. This sort of thing happens every day in sandboxes across the country but this was the Olympics and there wasn’t
much news-- especially for Americans-- so the microphones were on, and folks who usually get no notice were offered a voice and the result was in the papers. Nordic combined is the furthest thing from a team sport and the qualities that make a strong competitor are often the polar opposite of qualities that make a good citizen so the incident seems predictable especially with the pressure these athletes feel around the Olympics. News teams creating news in the absence of same; but something that NBC felt they had to follow up on since it had been in the papers. I was surprised that both Todd and Carl were willing to discuss the situation on camera. Both were extremely articulate and did a nice job of sharing their perspectives in a positive light. I was appreciative that producer David Gibson, avoided the temtation to throw gas on this fire and handled the coverage in so diplomatic a fashion. Many people around the venue felt quite judgmental about what had happened, but I don’t believe any of this showed through the coverage.My own TV bloopers were numerous and a couple I’ll mention. The first being a comment I made in the Nordic combined event on the normal hill: German Georg Hettich
won the jumping and was not expected to hold on in the XC to win gold. In describing him (and struggling for a strong metaphor) I said he flew like a bird but ran like a walrus (sleep deprivation). When word filtered back that he had indeed held on to win the gold, David kindly went and removed my comments before they hit the air. I was not completely saved, however, as a few nights later Nils (who grew up in AUT and speaks perfect German) was in a restaurant and shared the story with a group of Germans at the next table. He didn’t recognize Georg in their midst. A good laugh was had by all. Another censored effort was my attempt to paint ski jumping as the extreme sport that it is. My original comment was that ski jumpers were the most extreme athletes at the games but for the fact that they wear clothes that fit and speak in full sentences. Again, wiser heads prevailed. NBC is very much trying to draw the boarder audience and I of course und
erstand this. (Boardercross in the Winter Olympics!? Are you kidding me? What's next, roller derby?)A word on the US ski jumpers. Their performances on the hills of Pragelato were not what they’d hoped but they proved themselves to be great sportsmen and I applaud them for this. Every four years the media swoop in looking for heroes and it is always a disappointment to miss this opportunity to shine. Vancouver 2010? Let’s hope so.
As expected, the highlight of the games for me occurred well off the field of play. It was a subtle moment at the
top of the chairlift. A brutal day with heavy snow and fog so thick you couldn’t tell if you were moving or not- but we had persevered and made the most of it. We’d had a great lunch at the Gimonte hut with family and friends and wanted to record the moment. It was a group of Russians who were closest and it took some gesturing to communicate what we wanted but they got it. A photo was taken of our group, a return photo was taken of their group. Pats and handshakes and pins exchanged- many smiles. No common words,
but very common dreams: almost the exact same moment that I had shared 22 years earlier in Sarajevo as an athlete in doping control: a moment with no words needed, celebrating all we had and all we had in common.
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