Here's how I would have done it.' I think all the expert analysis is vital to the overall product because as you said, we don't all know these sports intimately well.Ĭonsidering the sheer number of winter sports presented at the Olympics (with even more added for the 2022 Games), few people can be experts on every event, which is where both analysis and recaps come in handy. 'Here's what the judges were thinking, here's where I disagree with them. I think you have to watch it with the volume on because those experts can explain. So I have found personally it is not a type of sport where you can just watch it passively. It's not just, 'This person went 130 meters, this one went 124.' There's judging as far as the take offs, and this and that. To your point, there's also a judging aspect of it. It's just people flying through the air, but it is not simply the furthest distance. They know what they're talking about.' I'm a huge fan of ski jumping. On the figure skating coverage, we've interviewed on our show Brian Boitano, Scott Hamilton. I think when watching these events to actually have former athletes who have done it, you can't put a price on that. As Adnan Virk noted, there was a deduction in ice dance in Beijing for a lift that went too long, and that point deduction knocked Americans Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue down from a potential silver medal to earning bronze. And I think for all of us, whatever it is in life, you can respect anybody who's an expert.įigure skating scoring can simply be hard to follow for any viewers who aren't experts in the sport, which is why commentators like former Olympians Tara Lipinski (who won gold in women's singles in 1998) and Johnny Weir are so valuable (and have not held back with their thoughts on Kamila Valieva being allowed to compete). So I think it's indispensable to have people who are true experts. There was a point deduction because one lift was longer than 12 seconds. That's a deduction.' Like the ice dance! Again, you mention figure skating, that's scored by judging. So I can't imagine if you're watching it live unless you're a real expert in it, which not many people are. To your point, a lot of it is based on judging. I'm reading the highlights the next morning, and of course very smart people are watching the shows and then telling me what to say. I have deep appreciation and respect for them, but I don't know what the hell I'm watching. I have not followed snowboard cross or any of those so-called X Games events. But some of those other sports are a little bit of a challenge.
Curling, again, I understand growing up in Canada. Again, in Canada, there's a rich history from Elvis Stojko to Kurt Browning. When I spoke with Winter Gold's Adnan Virk, I asked for his perspective on the importance of analysis for events like figure skating that are decided by judging vs. Then, of course, Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva's failed drug test has been denounced by former Olympians across the board.
Japanese snowboarder Ayuma Hirano was given a score that had fans and commentators alike criticizing the judges, although Hirano did go on to win the gold. Two of the most notable controversies of the 2022 Olympics have involved events that rely on scoring from judges' determinations.