9 Olympic Quick Hits, Including Team USA’s “Dumb and Dumber” Gloves
1. The 2018 Winter Olympic Games officially began on Friday in PyeongChang, South Korea. And unfortunately, Team USA entered the Opening Ceremony to the Psy song “Gangnam Style”.
It was sort of relevant because Psy is South Korean, but then again, it would’ve been LATE to have done this at Sochi during the 2014 Winter Games. (Here’s video, and another clip.)
2. Team USA wore these GIANT brown gloves during the opening ceremony . . . and they reminded a lot of people of the ones thatJim Carrey wore in “Dumb and Dumber”. Polo Ralph Lauren is the official outfit designer for the U.S. Olympic squad. The gloves are retailing for $995.00 online, but are currently listed as “out of stock.”
(You can see the gloves side-by-side, here and here.)
3. Speaking of the Opening Ceremony, Vice President Mike Pence was there, standing and saluting Team USA. But he stayed seated as everyone else in the VIP box stood to applaud when athletes from North and South Korea entered the stadium under a unified flag. (Here’s video.)
It’s very possible that Pence was protesting some of the injustices happening in North Korea, and decided to make a political statement by refusing to stand at a major sporting event. Which is interesting.
4. Meanwhile, a President Trump impersonator met up with a Kim Jong-Un impersonator . . . and THEY seemed to be getting along well. But they drew too much attention, and were escorted out of the opening ceremony.
(You can find some amusing photos, here and here.)
5. Comedienne Leslie Jones launched her social media commentary on the Olympics . . . just as she did two years ago for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. And so far, she’s been outstanding. Her Twitter feed is @LesDoggg.
(You can find some of her highlights, here and here. WARNING!!! Some of the videos contain profanity.)
6. There was a sort of ‘Wardrobe Malfunction‘ yesterday, when South Korean ice dancer Yura Min struggled with her costume while performing with her partner Alexander Gamelin. They’d just started their routine in the team competition when Min noticed the clasp on her back was undone.
The side kept slipping down over her shoulder, but fortunately she avoided any significant exposure. Although that took some skill. They actually improvised a little to prevent the top from falling off . . . but they finished ninth out of 10 teams.
(Here’s video.)
7. North Korea sent some very over-the-top cheerleaders to the Olympics. They were apparently called the “Army of Beauties.”
8. YouGov.com has an Olympic survey that includes the 15 most popular events, for both men and women. Men like Bobsled, and women really love figure skating.
9. People are making fun of Katie Couric for “reporting” that the Dutch are good at speed skating because skating is an important mode of transportation in Amsterdam.