Turning Point

Once upon a time, when I could do stuff in winter, I loved Nordic skiing. Under the influence of a couple of more athletic friends, I even did some citizen racing. Yesterday was something we talked about and dreamt about. But if anyone had said that there would be a day in my lifetime when Americans would have realistic medal prospects in not one, but two, Nordic events, on the same day, they would have been put into therapy. If they had gone on to say an American would take a Nordic medal away from one of those events, and that three of the top six finishers in that event would be Americans, they would probably have therapy for life. And if this prophet had said the event would be Nordic Combined (ski jumping and cross-country skiing, if you don't watch the Olympics), psychiatry would have invented a new psychosis.

It's happened. Johnny Spillane (silver), Todd Lodwick (4) and Billy Demong (6) fulfilled fantasies for the small culture of American cross-country skiers that have been just as potent, and have lasted exactly as long, as the Red Sox World Series drought. Just as good, the prospects forced American media to cover both events in depth and in real time. Save for the brief period following Bill Koch's 1972 silver in straight cross country, American TV has generally sneered at cross-country skiing and, if they covered it at all, did it on C-Span at 3 a.m.

The flat races are still to come, and one can hope for further success. It's important to observe that these things don't happen out of the blue. The slow process of building interest, then teams, was beginning when I raced in the late 80s and early 90s. I suppose too that the endemic pissing contests that were crippling the U.S. Nordic programme have been at last resolved.

I'm pleased that the Canadians got their first gold medal yesterday, but it's the Nordic Combined performance that gives me lasting satisfaction.