Had to go the the sports section to get this:
"The ‘Sochi vibe’ is hard to pin down" by Shira Springer | Globe Staff, February 14, 2014
SOCHI, Russia — It was not clear why the cast of characters on the plaza seemed like good ambassadors for the Sochi Olympics. But much of what goes on at these Winter Games defies good explanation. Forget the so-called “ring of steel,” the Sochi Olympics exist in a bubble of quirky, often incongruous activity.
Like the U.S. government!
Olympians compete at impressive, modern venues while fans enjoy spring weather and uniquely Russian-style entertainment (more on that later).
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For all the concerns about safety and negative reports about costs, corruption, and accommodations, a healthy number of foreign fans adopted an adventurous, determined spirit and made their way to Sochi. Once here, they appeared to embrace the Games’s quirky, awkward, sometimes absurdist charm and pushed aside any worries about terrorist attacks....
Oh, yeah, has that talk ever died down.
Something in the works, or nothing in the works?
I suppose we will just have to live with the backhanded compliments and faint praise.
Said Kristin Caplice of Boston, “We haven’t had a single worry since we’ve been here.”
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Crowds are thinner
Inside the Sochi Olympic bubble, a knife store is open in a new mountain mall despite threats of terrorism, crepes with caviar are big sellers at food stands, a water-and-light display choreographed to “Swan Lake” precedes medal ceremonies, jazz musicians jam in front of the Iceberg Skating Palace, and a disco bar/steakhouse serves customers near a media hotel cluster.
A week into the competition, it remains hard to pin down the vibe of the Sochi Olympics.
In large part, that is due to a combination of security measures and the difficulties foreigners faced obtaining Russian visas.
Imagine how visitors to the U.S. feel going through the scanners and being molested.
While plenty of international flag-waving visitors make their way through the Olympic Park with special spectator IDs, the crowds are noticeably thinner than they were at other Olympics, and they are largely Russian....
As predicted.
With fewer people, organizers are working hard to pump up the atmosphere at the Olympic Park during the day, piping in music and spreading performance artists throughout the area: musicians, clowns, mascots, entertainers dressed in traditional Russian clothing....
“I was in China [for the 2008 Beijing Olympics], and there were a lot more people, but I feel it was more subdued there,” said Jeff Steffen of Park City, Utah....
Yes, I have fond memories of Beishing.
Hockey is rockin’
I didn't see the end of the game.
In the mountains, near the Olympic Park equivalent in Gorki Plaza, there was more of a ghost-town feel, as unfinished hotels, empty restaurants, and a yet-to-fully-open mall dotted the landscape. A woman walked around with an advertisement for a restaurant located on an even less-beaten path, trying to drum up business and giving directions in Russian to anyone who would listen....
But there was nothing to apologize for with the brand-new venues in the Olympic Park....
Like all the impressive coastal venues, the Iceberg created an intimate feel for spectators, with great sightlines from every tier.
That was also true inside Shayba Arena, where hockey takes place....
In many ways, it felt very much like an NHL game, and the same could be said for the Bolshoy Ice Dome next door. That was in no small part because the San Jose Sharks director of event presentation was on site to make the experience off the ice as entertaining as it was on the ice....
Yeah, even something the Russians did the U.S. had a hand in making it better.
Folks, this propaganda pre$$ in the $ports section is really too much.
Shining moments
I'm not seeing one in my Globe, sorry.
While there have been empty seats at some arenas — noticeably the uppermost corners of the grandstands at some freeskiing and snowboard events — and criticism of the halfpipe conditions and the slopestyle and downhill courses, fans who made the trek to the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park and other mountain venues had no complaints....
Only from the AmeriKan ma$$ media.
Sometimes, unexpectedly, a cool atmosphere can be found far away from the competition venues. Denise Shearer and James Trivoli of Pittsburgh ventured to a local bar Wednesday night and were happily surprised by what they found there. All televisions were tuned to the pairs figure skating final, with Russians the medal favorites.
I think the Globe has a drinking problem!
So many articles promoting con$umption of booze.
“These old men, 70 years old, were cheering for the skaters,” said Shearer. “In the States, you would never catch a bar of men watching figure skating.”
Added Trivoli, “Anytime any country was skating and they fell, the men would go, ‘Ooooh, ahhh.’ They were into it. It was awesome.”
The venues look even more impressive when lit up....
The Games feel the most energetic at night, particularly during the medals ceremonies that take place at 8 p.m. at the medals plaza....
Under the bright lights, the Sochi Olympics actually shine, all the quirks and absurdities cast into the shadows as spectators enjoy the celebration of sports that brought them here in the first place.
I wish the Globe could.
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I guess she is trying to make repairs after helping to wrecking the opening ceremonies.
You can add to that the comments I saw by Al Michaels before the U.S.-Russia hockey game this morning. He said the Russians have done a tremendous job and the feat of engineering to put the games together is a marvel (Globe has to rip it, huh?). He didn't even complain about the warm weather.
Pulled this up off the home page when I went to the Globe website this morning:
"Obama names delegation to Olympic closing ceremony" Associated Press, February 15, 2014
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says that former tennis great Billie Jean King, who couldn’t attend the opening of the Sochi Olympics in Russia because of her mother’s illness, will be a member of President Barack Obama’s official delegation to the Games’ closing ceremony.
Why don't you guys just stay home at this point?
Joining King will be American speed skaters Bonnie Blair, who won five Olympic gold medals and a bronze, and Eric Heiden, who earned five Olympic golds.
The delegation will attend athletic competitions, meet with U.S. athletes and attend the closing ceremony. The White House said Friday the delegation will be headed by Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and will also include Michael McFaul, the U.S. ambassador to Russia.
Related: Final Call For McFaul
I guess it was not.
King was selected by Obama to help lead the U.S. delegation to the Games but was unable to attend the Feb. 7 opening because she wanted to be at the side of her ill mother, Betty Moffitt, who died the day of the Olympic opening at her home in Arizona.
King and two other openly gay athletes — Brian Boitano and Caitlin Cahow — were named for Obama’s delegation at the opening of the Winter Olympics to show that the U.S. doesn’t make distinctions based on sexual orientation.
And to bend over backwards for the s***-f*** agenda.
Russia has been widely criticized for passing national laws banning what it called ‘‘gay propaganda.’’
Cahow, a member of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won the bronze in Turin and silver in Vancouver, says she’s experienced no backlash, adding that everyone has been ‘‘unbelievable welcoming.’’
Oh, yeah?
That goes against my jew$media narrative.
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