Olympic Calamities

The games of the XXI Winter Olympiad are in full swing and they are, as usual, providing some world class entertainment. NBC ratings are up and the host country is finally winning gold medals on their home turf. However, these Olympics have been marred by calamities and tragedy.

No one will ever forget the fatal luging accident during practice when Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed during a training run down the luge track. He hit an exposed steel pillar while traveling in excess of 94+ miles per hour. This got these Olympics off to the worst possible start imaginable.

There have been numerous other foul-ups during this first week of competition, among them are complications with fan-seating at the snowboarding venue and Zamboni problems at the long-track speed skating venue.

These are foul-ups that the IOC absolutely cannot afford. The Olympics are held once every four years and the IOC has one chance to make a good showing of themselves every four years and these blunders are inexcusable. Hopefully there will be some stunning competition over the next week to overshadow these calamities.