February 07, 2006

Roughing It In the Athletes Village: "Princessy" figure skater Johnny Weir calls his room in the village "cold and dusty," while skiers Miller and Rahlves take a BYO approach to accommodation. Jacques Rogge says his room is nice and comfy.

posted by Amateur to other at 01:01 PM - 5 comments

its athletes like Miller, Rahalves, and Weir that give the USA the reputation for being soft, and spoiled competeitors that have the best of everything and can't make it in "tough" conditions or under pressure.

posted by stolenbase7 at 02:10 PM on February 07, 2006

Apparently some Austrians don't appreciate the austere arrangements either.

posted by garfield at 02:33 PM on February 07, 2006

Honestly the only two complaints I've ever heard about an athletes' village are (1) it's too noisy, and (2) it's too far from my venue. In the quotes given -- not necessarily the whole story -- Schoenfelder doesn't complain that the village isn't comfortable enough.

posted by Amateur at 02:44 PM on February 07, 2006

Note to self: Avoid describing own needs as "princessy" for any reason, even if I get angry when my aromatic bath beads were overlooked on an out-of-town trip or I can't find my apricot facial scrub.

posted by rcade at 02:47 PM on February 07, 2006

I just can't help but think about how "soft" we all have become in just a mere few decades. I try to imagine what a hard trip just getting to the Olympics must have been like in their early years. Now, it's "OMG, I can't have my own pillows!?!?" I mean c'mon already. I may be a bit "old-fashioned" but the stories about guys stayin' out all night before the SuperBowl, or a whole team crammed into a couple of hotel rooms the night before a championship ... those are the kinds of stories that "should" live on forever--not the ones about a gold medal performances under optimal conditions. Maybe it's just me though?

posted by Spitztengle at 07:02 PM on February 07, 2006

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