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Golden opportunity

At the risk of losing all credibility with the Y chromosome club, I’d like to discuss one of those faux sports on display over in Torino right now - figure skating. I’m one of those people who thinks the attraction of the Olympic Games is the storylines and subplots of the individual athletes involved, not so much the actual events. I mean, c’mon - curling? Please. I could curl. Truth be told, I don’t really find myself too excited about any of the actual sports themselves, unless I’m nursing a fat hangover. Speed skating is kinda cool, I guess, and downhill skiing was supposed to be fun for the American team this year, until Bode Miller did his best to make sure we never root for him again. The luge and the bobsled events look like they’re a blast, but are those guys really athletes? Seriously, did you see Georg Hackl’s love handles?

And don’t even get me started on hockey. Yeah, the Miracle on Ice was pretty cool, but again, it was a great story.

So that brings us to figure skating, the event that pretty much defines the Winter Olympic Games, for better or for worse. While I can name maybe three figure skaters who aren’t called Katarina Witt, I think most of us knew at least a little bit about the Michelle Kwan saga going into these games. There’s something appealing to any sports fan about an “aging” legend chasing one last shot at glory, and Kwan’s withdrawal pretty much sucked all the drama out of the American figure skating story.

Enter Emily Hughes.

Known primarily as 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes’ little sister, Kwan’s absence provided Emily with the opportunity most Olympics enthusiasts thought she righfully deserved in the first place. Hughes is admittedly a long shot to finish anywhere even remotely close to the medal stand, but who don’t like a good Cinderella story? Her older sister shocked the Olympic world four years ago with her improbable performance to seal the gold medal for the United States, so who’s to say Hughes the Younger can’t start building her own legend with a decent performance in the 2006 Games? She’s got one helluva long shadow to crawl out from under, but hey - that’s the beauty of competition, right? Even in a “sport” criticized for being more flash than substance, the fact remains these skaters are, at their core, tremendously gifted athletes who must step up to the plate when their number is called. Hughes, who just turned 17 a few weeks ago, has a chance to create something of an Olympic family dynasty when she makes her debut tonight. With all due respect to Lindsey Kildow, I’m hungry for these Olympics to generate something buzzworthy, and if it takes a ladies’ figure skating all-American underdog girl to do so, then I’m all for it.

No, seriously - I’m a dude. Promise.

Go Emily.