Olympic TV heaven, almost

A few days ago I was planning to post about how great it was to be following the Olympics from Sweden. We are 7 hours ahead of Vancouver, so everything xc ski race is live in the evening, from around 5 P.M. to 11 P.M. No commercials and complete start-to-finish video feed. Multiple channels, so if an important Swedish curling match is on one channel, the other is free to broadcast more nordic skiing. Could it get any better than this?

Watching skiing at the bar, Hotel Scanic Lugnet, Falun, Sweden.

And then I tried to find the Nordic Combined team relay. Sweden did not field a team. There was no coverage to be found. I have read about the US/Austria battle in the final lap, but have yet to see it.

That aside, it is such a pleasure to watch the nordic races on TV here. After dinner, a large group of masters skiers in Falun for the Masters World Cup gather around the large screen TV in the bar to watch the Olympic racers do their thing. Per Elofsson, a former World Cup sensation from Sweden, provides expert commentary. Before the race, there is a significant amount of time spent discussing what we will see, and who the favorites are. After the race, there is video replay and analysis of crucial moves, missed opportunities and comparison of fast skis, etc. Pretty much like watching a NFL football weekend. But with skiing. And no lite beer commercials. Or any commercials.