EPIC sports fail

~ MaryG

I have a confession to make. We didn’t have a lot going on yesterday. We met with our financial advisor in the morning. (He annoyed me by referring to Kamala Harris as Ka-MA-la—mispronouncing her name in that dismissive, racist, sexist way that Republican men do.) Once we got rid of his bald ass, I decided to settle in and watch TV for hours. I really wanted to enjoy my favorite Winter Olympics event—figure skating. Live.

The men’s finals long program was starting at 12:30 and I was psyched. My husband, who is still strapped to a chair with a polar ice machine on his knee a lot of the day, watched with me. We really got into it. Yes, there were a lot of falls, but there was a lot of gorgeous artistry and crazy athleticism too. I cried when Max Naumov, the skater from Massachusetts who lost both his parents in the DC plane crash last year, went out and skated poorly, but made it through. For him, just being there at all was Gold. It was so, so poignant.

The entire afternoon was leading up to the “Quad God” Ilia Malinin who was definitely, positively going to win the Gold Medal. There was no way he wouldn’t, especially since the other skaters had fallen so many times and he is a once-in-a-generation talent. Even my childhood idol Dorothy Hamill was there to watch.

It was approaching 5pm, so I went ahead and had a gummy, just to enhance the experience of watching this young man WOW us—LIVE. I even texted my son at work to let him know that Quad God was about to skate. Ilia looked great—so relaxed—as he skated out to win his gold.

Oh my GOD.

I have never seen such an epic sports FAIL on a bigger stage in my life. (Granted, I’m not much of a sports fan, but still.)

Just Google it.

The Olympics can break your heart, if you let them.

13 thoughts on “EPIC sports fail”

    1. It’s awful! The only good thing is that Ilia—amidst his huge failure—showed unbelievably good sportsmanship. After finding out he came in an unfathomable 8th place, he stood up and very warmly congratulated and hugged the stunned gold medalist from Kazakhstan. It was very impressive.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. I didn’t see this live but my heart breaks for him all the same. To know you’ve done the same routine perfectly 100 times in practice… and then fail when it really counts must be devastating .
    😰

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I was devastated! I can only imagine how he—and his parents—must feel. But he showed unbelievably good sportsmanship. Make sure you watch for the hug between Ilia and the gold medalist, if you Google it.🥺

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. It’s rough! I mean, obviously, falling is part of learning how to figure skate. But when you think about how many times they perform this routine, ad nausea, and then to fall on the biggest stage in the world, that has to really mess with their heads.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to Rivergirl Cancel reply