Like a dog running in his dream, this is how I watch figure skating. Spread out on the couch with my legs twitching. I can't help but get in to it. The lutzs, axels, that spinning thing where they curl up into a ball. It's all so exciting. I've never felt this way about the sport (and yes it is a sport), maybe it's the Olympic fever talking, but I'm hooked.It started with the pairs and has now moved on to the men's. There's just something so honest and earnest about these skaters. They make mistakes, a lot. It's crazy to think after years of practice, they still fall. But they do and they get back up like nothing ever happened. I just love that moment when a pair's skater falls, they stand up and join their partners hand. There's this look that passes between them. The 'it's ok, I fall all the time too' look. It's touching.
The music can be brutal and the programs are often a bit too long, but judging from the coziness of my couch is one of my favourite Olympic moments. It doesn't take long to become an expert. Just listening to the commentators mock the tackiness of an outfit, or the quality of a landing, has taught me all I need to know. I'm not sure this new found passion will persist post Vancouver 2010, but I'll definitely try out these moves when I'm on the ice, or maybe lying on the sofa.