Most of you probably know by now that the U S bobsled team won the gold medal just a few days ago at the Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. If you haven’t heard this yet, you must have been hiding under a rock; it's pretty big news. I must confess that I don't typically pay a lot of attention to the olympics, I've mentioned before that football is really the only sport I care about, and this year was no different. The U S bobsled team caught my attention this year for a couple of reasons, aside from winning the gold medal, I mean.
The captain and driver of the team, Steven Holcomb, was born in Park City Utah. He began as a downhill skier, an event he competed in for eight years before switching to the bobsled. What interests me about Holcomb, is that he suffered from keratoconus, the condition that began my eye problems fifteen years ago. If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll recall that keratoconus affects the cornea of the eye, making it cone shaped instead of round which seriously deteriorates vision. Holcomb’s vision was 20/500 which almost caused him to retire from the bobsled team in 2007. Instead of letting him quit, his coach found a doctor to perform a special surgery on Holcomb. The surgery had not been approved by the FDA yet and involved implanting lenses behind the iris of the eye. After the surgery, Holcomb’s vision was 20/20. The doctor who performed the surgery was also a retired bobsledder.
Also on the team is Curt Tomasevicz. Hope I spelled that right. Curt is a native of Shelby, Nebraska. He went to college at the University in Lincoln and is a former Huskers football player. I was listening to the basketball game, which they won 77 to 52, Wednsday night, Nebraska vs Kansas, and Tomasevicz was there, wearing his gold medal according to the announcer. When they announced that he was there, the large crowd gave him an enthusiastic cheer. That’s one thing I love about being a Nebraskan. There just aren’t that many celebrities out there who are native Nebraskans. When we do get one, it makes it all the more special.
The other two members of the team are Justin Olsen from San Antonio, Texas, and Steve Mesler who was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Let us not forget their contribution to the first U S bobsled team to win an Olympic gold medal since 1948. Apparently Germany has dominated the sport for several decades. It’s a proud moment in American history, and a proud day for Nebraskans as well.
2 Timothy 2:5 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.
Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Woohoo! Way to go Americans. (I guess) I'm not a "Yay,we won let me rub it in everyone's face," kinda gal.
ReplyDeleteI thought the man with the operation was a Nebraskan? Does it matter, he got the operation and now he sees 20/20. Amazing how money talks. We've sat here for years and no one told us there was an operation (albeit in the study phases) that could help you.
Yay, for the little guy. :-(
Congrats to your hometown, the new love of my life. :-)
I enjoyed much of the coverage. We used to be inundated by the 'up-close-and-personal' stories of so many athletes, and had to settle for very little actual sports coverage. This time we saw way more sports than we needed. Frankly I don't need to see the 25th skater, with no chance of medaling. Just not interested.
ReplyDeleteWatching the stocky driver of the bobsled set track records and win the Gold was fun. We want to see the very best - at the Olympics - not every single competitor who entered.
The death of a luger, while sad, was not worthy of so much coverage and misinformation. Another problem with the broadcaster attempting to give huge significance to a small moment in time.