Deaflympics 2007: Sunday: 2/4/07

 Today I show up at the Steiner Ice Center at about 1pm and no one knows what I am doing or where to do. I wander around running into some friends and go watch curling. Well, I'd like to but because the person over the volunteers doing the curling hasn't given me any info I was not aware that curling practice is delayed for an hour. So I sit and do Valentines that I got at the grocery store. I gave them out to a few Russians and I talk to a Russian guy selling stuff. He told me that he was waiting 45 minutes for the Russia/Canada Hockey game. He seemed nice too. More wandering....

Curling practice starts and I watch it trying to figure out the game. It looks like bowling/pool/some other game I also don't understand. I spend the next few hours mostly watching that and some of the hockey game. So far I've figured out that they wear one rubber sole they slip on to help with traction on the ice. Other than that I have no clue what they were doing. I mostly talk to friends and check out the athletes.

I've never seen either live and it was interesting. The hockey players took every opportunity to beat the ever living crap out of each other, one guy even bled all over the ice which remain for a while afterwards. The guys would hug or slap each other on the back and then a minute later ram each other into the walls. It was like 'I'm passing someone in the hallway and for no apparent reason I'm going to full body tackle him into the wall'. The curling was less violent though. The hockey group was going nuts toward the end of the game so we had to keep them updated on the score. They tied so I guess all the fans had to go home disappointed.

More curling, I am going to die in that little room after falling asleep in the cold. I have on 3 or 4 layers and it's still cold. After a while the wander around watching the people in charge set up for the medal ceremony. The guy on the zamboni is driving around smoothing out the ice but aren't they going to have to do that again anyway? That sucks for him. After a few National Anthems a guy comes and sits down near me. He is from Germany and the Ski Official. Also he speaks way too many languages. He tells me about his sightseeing in Park City which consisted of the view from the ski lift and whatever he could see out the bus window. The schedule was very tight. He kept talking about the altitude and so I ask if he's been having problems with it and breathing but not so far. Apparently he hadn't heard this the altitude sometimes cause problems with athletes. Suckers. That's why you train at high altitudes duh. More medals and everyone is getting ready for the next hockey game but I'm dead so I go home. I taped the Superbowl to watch the commericals but fell asleep on my couch in the middle of it.