4.7. The Winter Olympics Episode

what is up party people it's another episode of nobody asked us with des and care presented by brooks running i have olympic fever des do you yes i do i do it's great it's um what a great start huh? Just right out the gate. Good stuff. Yeah. It's so funny how like Adam and I were like, we don't have, we are not going to get invested. We don't have the time to be invested. And yet we watched the entire opening ceremonies. We had the TV on all day, Saturday and Sunday, and we've already found our people that we're following and it just ropes you in and it's the best. I mean, that's why the Olympics are so great. Oh, for sure. I mean, I think there's just, it's a reason to root for the country. You feel like you're being pulled together for something good. Um, and yeah, I don't know. I just feel like it's healing. It is healing. It's like, you know, coming together to support people we don't know, we get, I'm so invested in this team, this mixed, mixed, I don't even know what it's called. The curling team, these Corey and Corey from Duluth, Minnesota. I've never met either of them. My mother-in-law was like, do you know them? And I was like, no, I don't know if her own friends are going to do. But I want to. Like, I'm obsessed. I've never met these people. And now Adam and Colt are obsessed. And I just had a friend that texted me and she was like, oh, my gosh, I watched the piece that you shared on threads. Now I'm obsessed. It's just like, that's the best of what the Olympics can be, right? Is it's like, you get invested in these people. You want them to do well. You also have a bunch of people on social media who are suddenly Olympic experts when they actually don't know what they're talking about. But it's just fun. You know, it's like, yeah, you just get so excited. And like the stories, I am just like hook, line, sinker for all of those stories, like the packages on people. I'm like, oh, now I love them. I have to know how they do. I have to follow it. Yeah. I mean, I think the storytelling is so fun. And it's not like there's anything crazy unique. Like they're all good, you know, individuals. But like the fact that it's, you know, work hard, be kind of anonymous for a long time, and then you have your moment and then you do what you do at the moment. I like, even if that stays the same throughout them, it's just, I feel like those are so compelling because you just want to root for these people and become a fan. Like you said. Yeah. It's been, it's been fun to see the little snippets and then you have superstars that you know everything about already and people who are just getting their first shot at it. And yeah, it's just ropes in. I'm always reminded watching the winter Olympics. I'm like, I'm a, I'm a wuss. Why is that? What makes you say that? Just because it's cold or? No, because they're like flying down a luge track or going, you know, 80 miles an hour. Breezy Johnson hit 80 miles an hour in her gold winning run or like whipping themselves up in the air and doing a bunch of flips and landing on skis or snowboard or, you know what I mean? It's just like, or on skates. It's just, I'm like, I'm a wuss. I'm not made for winter Olympic sport. Yeah. It's definitely the extreme sport. Yes. Yeah. Like you have a few cross country skiing is not as scary, obviously curling, probably not as scary, but the vast majority of events I'm like, these people are wild. Yeah. And they're like the, the sheerest thinnest clothes you could possibly imagine, but they're like throwing themselves through the air. Crazy speeds. You're like, I think you need more on, you need more on to do that. There's been a fascinating story on the, like the safety, like measures they use now, I guess we can get into this later, but kind of like so that's cool. Like innovation. That's actually innovative. Yeah. Yes. Thank you. I read that about her that when she crashed, like, yeah, there's like a, a little airbag vest essentially that goes off, which is like so cool. And also I was watching, I grew up loving figure skating, loving it. And I was a figure skater for a little bit, but not for that long, just a few years. But I used to watch it and you'd have to wait to the end to see the scoring. You just have your fingers crossed. And it's still like that because you have the artist part judging, but you get to see the technical stuff in real time now. And I'm like, that is innovation that's helpful, right? They have a little box and you're seeing what they're getting on each thing. and it makes you feel like you know what you're looking for. It makes you feel like you know what you're watching, even though you don't. It gives you an understanding of the sport and the technical sides of it, and you can start putting the numbers with the actions and not just assuming or guessing, and then at the end you're like, wow, I was way off. I thought that was amazing. Right. You're going to look on the tree, add something, but it's still like it was a surprise at the end. And the score is, unless they fell out of your face, you're pretty unaware of whether it was going great or horribly. Right. Yeah. It's like, that's innovation that's helpful, you know? And it makes me think about running, like, how could we innovate in a way that helps people understand what's happening in a way like that, where you don't understand the sport in the nitty gritty level? Like, I would never know what a certain jump is worth in figure skating, except for they tell me, and now I get to see what they scored on it in real time, you know? So I don't know. It's just cool i think yeah yeah i think it's an interesting thing and like we talk about all the time where you don't want to get too complex on the nbc broadcast because like you're just inviting new people in but i do think if you had splits with the leaders and people could see that like okay this lap relative to this lap or this part you know you just giving that comparison point would be interesting and i don't know if splits would get too into the weeds but i do think you could add something i have right i definitely think i could add something like we've had these meetings. And like, so one year we were getting like the distance behind the leader. And then one year we were getting like their miles per hour. And I'm like, that is not helpful, you know? And they're like trying to tell me like, no, it is. It's interesting for your average person. I'm like, no, I need the splits because if I get the splits, I can tell a story, right? I can say like, they're actually slowing down now and regrouping or someone just put in a surge. And so it is like this tug of war of like being in the nitty gritty and like knowing the sport so well, but also wanting to invite people in, but also not wanting to dumb it down so much that your hardcore fans are like, this is dumb. I never heard a single splitter. I never heard, you know what I mean? It's like this interesting battle. But yeah, we had that thing for a couple of years where it was like how far behind they were the leader. I'm like, it's five meters. Who cares? Right. I remember calling races and I'm like, I, I, this is frustrating. I don't even want to see that. Miles per hour or like plus miles per hour. I'm like, guys, go down to your local track, get on your bicycle. Nobody wants to hear that. Nobody wants to hear that. No. Yeah. It definitely has gotten me thinking though. It's, I don't know. The winter Olympics are just so, they're so interesting. And like, there's so much like fearlessness that goes into the athletes and yeah it's crazy yeah I like watching the track stuff too like they've had the 3,000 and the 5,000 like speed skating on and they I don't know I was watching one last night it was like head-to-head you know so it's like two we got one-on-one but like could you incorporate something like that into the ultimate world championships or something you know what I mean like let's have yeah yes the fastest time wins but it's head to head matchups and like, you have to be aggressive. I don't know. I just think it'd be like, you could play around with some of the ideas that they're using there. Um, yeah. Cause that is interesting. Right. About like speed skating is the gold and silver medalists don't go head to head. Right. Right. They just all race and then it's the time. And so you, so there are not, there aren't really tactics. I mean, there's tactics as far as like the 5,000 was on the other night and we were like, that looks like hell. That sounds so hard to skate 5,000 meters. But, um, but it's like, there's tactics as far as like, Oh, I want to be able to finish stronger this or that, or I can't go out too hard. But like, you have to skate as fast as you can or you're out. There's no like, Oh, there's going to be a cat and mouse game. And so I can sit back and wait. Now you do see that in short track and the short track skating, right? Because they have like four or five people in a final or six people, maybe even up to. And that event hasn't started yet, but that event blows my mind. They're just like walking and then all of a sudden someone goes and they all go. And it's, yeah, it's like crazy. But like the long form speed skating on the regular tracks, like there is no, oh, I'm going to sit and wait. It's like, you just got to go. It's like swimming, right? Like, yeah. If you head down, you're looking, just your lane, you can maybe look across, but you're really just trying to go as hard as you can, which, I mean, I guess it goes back to like, we are against time trialing in general, I think, but at the same time, everyone kind of wants to just time trial. Not in the championship races, but it would be interesting if like you had, I don't know, maybe like a BU indoor was just like, okay, let's just try this format. I'm sure no one would. It would be interesting. No, probably not. yeah yeah it it's just cool to see how other sports are done right it's like so different than track and field and road running and um they're all great obviously but it's fun to just see just different sports man like i oh i have two dogs with me that's his freya come here Frey. Come here. They're waiting because they know they get a you know what later. Oh. A W-A-L-K. Yeah. She's just kind of like walking around. No, no. I don't know what I was saying. Sorry. It doesn't really matter. No, it's okay. Both the dogs are here. Frey and Luna are hanging out because it's so nice out here, does it? It's 66 degrees out and sunny. That's crazy. We will take 30 of that, please. I know. I wasn't even going to tell you. Like I got a little tan when I was running today. It's like crazy. And we're going to pay for it in the spring, but it is really nice out right now. It's crazy. I'm slightly jealous, but I'll be out of here soon. So that's good. You'll be out of here soon. We'll talk about that. Okay, wait, let's talk about two kind of interesting storylines from the Olympics. Yeah. Do you want to talk about Lindsey Vonn or do you want to talk about the pee-pee first? Let's talk about the pee-pee first. Okay. Okay. So I'm like obsessed with this story and people asked on my social if you and I would talk about it. And I was like, oh, yes, we will. Is this the doink? Doink around the world? This is not the football thing. This is not the bull halter. Okay. So they are fitted to the speed suits based on their anatomy and everything. And you can't have extra material because it works as like a sail or like a wing. It helps you go further. So there was already some controversy, I think with the Norwegian team, where they were, after the suits were inspected, they were like putting a couple more inches of fabric in at the seam and it was helping them go farther. And so the coaches got banned, but the athletes didn't. But now there's this thing where, this is so crazy to me, before they get measured, they're injecting, and I can't say this word, hyaluronic, hyaluronic acid into their peeps so that it's bigger, so that they can have a bigger suit. And then their peeps goes back down to size, but they have like extra windspan in their suits. I'm obsessed with this story because to me it just shows how insane people will cheat at anything are they like fully nude when they get fitted for the suit i don't know i mean they just put like some kind of cap on you know what i mean like can you use like a prosthetic instead of inflammation I shouldn't have questions. They're injecting this into their beeps. Like that has to hurt so bad. And it's like so that they swell up, right? Yes. Yes. So that when they're measured, then they can have a bigger suit. And then the swelling goes down and then they get the advantage of the bigger suit. I'm just like, when I'm like, people dope all the time. I'm like, this absolutely proves it. I mean, people are willing to enjoy their peace. This is a win at all cost. At all cost. Yeah, I mean, my goodness, what's that going to do later on in life to these poor guys? I don't know. That can't feel good. No. Yeah. I don't know. I don't even know what to say about this. I mean, yeah, it's a win at all cost. Olympic glory. It's not like prize money. there can't be great prize money there can't be enough pain so it really is like just glory which also when you talk about the pros that's one thing and i think there's just a crazy amount of cheating and doping and all that but take that to the amateurs who it's like why would they cheat there's no prize money they're not making the olympics and you're like well like there's just something about the glory um yeah i would say doping is prevalent and that is a great and like owning people dope to own Strava segments and stuff like people are crazed yeah yeah okay well that I promised some people we would talk about I don't really know what there is to say about it except for that it's my mind better areas I mean I don't know is it like best to have that extra flap like in the crotch is that yeah because that's it helps them like it catches the air and then it colt said it was like feet that it helped you do better but i read it was just inches but like anything matters you know colt was trying to tell me it can make you go like nine feet further and i was like i don't think they're i don't think it's that much of a difference but you guys can let me know that i'm wrong um but yeah like you would think armpit but yeah that has to be like fitted right can't you like make your butt cheeks bigger that seems like it would be less that would be like flappy maybe that wouldn't help you but you're just trying to get like material right like you're stretching yeah like your butt was bigger like maybe yeah but the wind is like under you so you need it on this side i think maybe we should have like a ski jumper on they can explain it to us how do we get the is there another way to get the flappy like the extras i just yeah or like your quads or something I just think that that sounds painful. It sounds horrible. So yeah. Okay. Well, I don't really know what else to say. We discussed it. Okay. So the other thing is before I even saw anything online about it, Lindsey Vonn, we all know she crashed and tore her ACL all the way and had no ACL essentially and was like, I'm still going to race. And before I saw any discussion online, you texted me and you were like, oh, where are all the, she should give up her spot people. And like, they came out of the woodwork. So it was maddening watching this whole discourse And then she decides to ski She skis the day before She gets two runs On her second run she has the third fastest run of the day So like she in medal contention, right? And then I was telling you earlier that I told Adam like, oh, she was holding back. Like she's going to be all out tomorrow. Like she's going to like crush this. She's going to win. And I was like, or she's probably going to crash. And then I feel like had jinxed her. But also I just think that's her personality, right? So she did. She went out super aggressive, lost a little bit of control. Her pull went through the gate, horrible crash. Her leg is broken. But then all these people came out of the woodwork again, like, see, and she, someone else could have gotten experience in this and that. And well, I want to hear your thoughts. I mean, I think you already know where I stand on this, but I will say she certainly wasn't there to get 10th or you know like right finish or have a fun time she was there to win or crash like that's what it was going to be and I think that we all yeah you just know that from her career and how she always raced and she's had a crazy amount of injuries because of that but she's also had a crazy amount of success so I mean I don't think it was surprising at all. I don't think the ACL had anything to do with it. I think her mentality had everything to do with it. It was like, you saw her come out the gates and it was like, there's no hesitation and there's no second place. It's all or nothing. That's just how it looked, like it's super explosive, aggressive. And yeah, sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't. Like, I don't think that had anything to do with her injury. And as far as experience, I mean, her situation was a little different. My understanding is they're not really an alternate situation available. So it was like, she's the one and she's going to do it. And she qualified, which I support all of that. And honestly, if she's, I mean, what's her ranking right now in the, in the world cup or the international? I think she was six. She's like, she's one of the best in the world. So it's not like she's taking, like if you don't want her competing and representing the U.S., you have to take her off the throne. You got to make her lose her standing in that top six, top 10, whatever it is. She is one of the best in the world. So she deserves it more than anybody else who is not better than her, unfortunately. Right. The best way to take that spot is to beat her, is my two cents. Right. Yeah, I have another question for you, but I totally agree with you. People saying she's taking a spot. No, that's her spot. And it's her choice if she's going to use it or not. She already earned the spot. She's not taking anything from anyone, right? So then another argument that I saw going around was that this was a bad precedent, especially for girls, to watch and learn how to ignore your body and push through pain to a point where it could be detrimental to your long-term health. Do you have any thoughts on that? That's – I feel like – and this is going to be, I'm sure, controversial because this isn't everything. But I don't think elite sports should ever define health and wellness. Like there's nothing healthy about being at that tip of the spear. There's nothing normal or applicable to like a lot of normal, regular people. Like what you do at this tip of the spear and that's like just clean sport, but really fine, like tuned and dialed in. And then there's a whole nother, let me poke a needle into my penis so that I can fly. Like this is not stuff that, you know what I mean? Like this isn't stuff that you look to as an example for how to live healthily. right and I think you have to separate that from like what is an example to everyday athletes and so yeah I don't know I guess I just would look at it and be like okay this is like very rare air she's doing something that most people just can't do and so you shouldn't try to mimic that or emulate that or any of that it's just like be impressed by it be in awe of it um and if you find yourself getting towards that level then you have to kind of reconcile the difference between the two but for most people it's like you're never gonna have to deal with those problems i don't know maybe that's going around or maybe i'm too aggressive about it but it just seems like they're very different like pro sports are not healthy in my opinion yeah i think i think you've talked about that on the pod before like to win at the highest level like you have to make choices and you are like so training your body in a way that probably isn't healthy, right? Like, and the miles you're putting in all this stuff, whatever it is, I think you've made that point before. And I think you make it again, like this isn't a youth sport, right? This is like the tip, like the absolute tip of the iceberg, the highest you can be. And I think what bothers me about it is if like, she gets to decide she's not like, she's not saying I'm doing it. Cause I'm a badass. She's like, I think I can do it. And that's her choice. It's her body. It's her choice. It's her career. And there was the snowboarder, the 17 year old from Vail. I can't come up with his name right now, but he got fourth. And then afterward he said he, he broke his arm and had surgery 10 days ago. And people didn't say what he shouldn't have out there. The reaction was, whoa, that's incredible. I can't believe he did that with a broken arm. And so there's a little bit of it to me that feels like it's like a gender thing too. Like the criticism of, you know, I think Bodie Miller won the Olympics on a torn ACL as well. And that was like added to the lore of the story of him winning the Olympics where I don't remember people being like, he's setting a bad example for young children that are watching this. It was like, he's a badass. Wow. That's incredible. You know? And I just, yeah, Carrie struck. I mean, I watched that in my mirror. Yes. Yeah. I mean, she had to land on one foot and it was crazy. And I know a lot of people have gone back and said that was abuse and this and that, but if you actually talk to Carrie Strug, guess what she says? I'd do it again. That's what she says. And so it's like, yes, you can look up to the Olympians and all this stuff, but like, they're not the same as your high school daughter or, you know, like whatever level they are the best of the best. And one thing I'll also say as someone who's been on two Olympic teams, so many of the people there are injured. Yeah. So many people are injured because it took everything they had to get there. And they're riding this line because they want to be as fit as possible. And you'd be shocked at how many people are actually carrying pretty serious injuries at the Olympic games. You know, I think it's been fascinating to see some of the winter Olympic athletes kind of say stuff now. And it's like, yeah, no, I had this, or I was dealing with that. Or, you know, it's, it's actually very common. And again, I mean, I think, I guess it's like, if what kind of message do you want to give to a younger athlete, high school collegiate, it's like when people ask it, what do you say to someone younger? How do you get there? It's like, yeah, have fun, make sure it's enjoyable, make sure it's sustainable. And then as you get better and better and closer and closer to this level, I think then you start having those hard conversations, like how much work are you willing to do? How much sacrifice, air quotes, are you willing to make? And those things start becoming like real topics. I think prior to, you know, making a team or, you know, even the trials, it's like, make sure it's sustainable and fun and you're, don't abuse your body for this. Cause it's, you know, you want to be able to, particularly with running, it's like, you can do this for your whole life and like the health and wellness and mental health component of it. It's like so great to risk it all for maybe, I don't know. And I guess I wouldn't want to tell someone what they should or shouldn't risk, But I think it's a real conversation as you get close. But for most people, it's like, just enjoy the sport. That took us on a tangent. Sorry. Yeah, that's a good tangent, though. Yeah. Well, I hope that she heals up. I feel sad for her that that was the way she, you know, this is her last Olympics. She came out of retirement for it. And I just feel sad. Did you watch it, like, replay in the morning? Or did you wait till the evening? I missed it. I got up like 20 minutes after it happened and it was all over the internets. And then they weren't, I could, they weren't showing it. They kept showing Breezy Johnson and then they kept saying, um, and they were showing the woman who got fourth, who was also a U S athlete. And they just kind of were talking about it and they showed like a still photo. So then I, but then I ended up finding it online. It was really bad. She was like screaming. It was bad. We watched the morning we're nerds but we watched the morning um session and they did like a nice profile on her and like went back to her hometown and all of these different things and then i felt like they were a little bit more and maybe i'm wrong maybe we can look at it later but i feel like they were a little more critical of breezy johnson in the morning session and like how that run went and how it looked and then there was some commentary on like how the tv handled the accident whether it was like too much you know i mean i'm assuming like this was pretty fresh getting on air um because they left like a 20 minute window where it was like we're not showing it or anything but they're talking about it or they had her mic'd up and things like that and then the evening session i feel like they cleaned up the conversation on breezy it was a little it felt a little less critical um and then tightened up you know the story around lindsey but it was interesting to see the two, like what you have to do in real time, how you manage that situation, how you cover an injury, which we talked about, um, in the steeple, I think it was Girma. Yeah. Girma. Yeah. Like how that worked out, you know, in the evening when you get to like, kind of clean it up. So, um, I just saw that and if you had any kind of thoughts about how television would handle that. Yeah. Well, so when it's happening live, listen, like, and this is a criticism that we take at NBC even in the track and field too. Like we have people who America has gotten to know, right? So obviously like Lindsey Vonn is a huge story coming out of retirement, 41 years old, giving herself one last chance. And so I did see a lot of criticism after the morning of how much it was focused on her and not on Breezy Johnson. And it's interesting. I didn't watch the evening stuff. So, but I guarantee they did clean it up because what you do is you film it live and you're showing it live. And then like, this is what we did in Paris and you do the best you can. Right. But then like things happen, like for instance, Cole Hawker wins the gold in Paris. It's unexpected. I mean, not to you and I, but to a lot of people. So then we go back and we clean up the footage or we're allowed more time that we weren't, that we didn't have before. And you can reword stuff. And I'm sure that they probably did reword it a lot and tried to focus back on Breezy and maybe redid some of the calls. and that's kind of part of the game is like those packages that the the primetime show at night is supposed to be the best cleanest perfect version and but that's because they've gotten to see everything and now they can package it and format it that's why la will be interesting yeah everything's just gonna be live live live there won't be time to clean up stuff like the evening session is the evening session and people are seeing it and you don't have four hours quick clean it up and repackage it and make it prettier and smooth better, you know, like runs more smoothly. So I can see how that definitely, I didn't see that. So I, I didn't, you know, I was like just following it loosely on social when I got up, but I saw a lot of comments about that, about how like breezy Johnson didn't really get any attention. It was all on Lindsey Vaughn. And, um, so that's interesting that you noticed a change and I promise you it was different. I promise you they went into a booth and they cleaned it up yeah I mean I thought it was fair in the morning I just think they were like he kind of even laughed about it I don't know who was calling it but he was like I've always been really critical of Breezy and like she's giving me a hard time about that but this was a great run like at the end of the run when they see the time and um but then it felt like it was even more like tightened up in the in the show um what about the injury like coverage as well? Like when you've had injuries like that, where it's pretty traumatic, like what is protocol for that? Can you just explain to people like how you talk about it? Um, what's do's and don'ts? Yeah. I mean, you never like assume that, you know, what happened, right? So it's like, even if they're gripping up their hamstring, you're not like, Oh, it looks like they pulled their hamstring. You can just say like, Oh, they're, they're, their hand is down at their hamstring. I wonder if it has to do with that. Like you never guess what actually happened to the athlete unless you know for sure what happened. Um, and like, I think Paris steeplechase is a good example when it's like a traumatic fall where someone has to like, for instance, Lindsay being airlifted or Gurma having to go out on a stretch. I mean, he was unconscious, right? So like we did not show it and, um, and we didn't go back and replay it or anything like that. And my producers showed it to me on only my screen. Like, so we have all of these screens and only on my screen so I could see it. And it was not something to be shown, especially at that point. We didn't know if he was going to die. Right. We didn't know if he broke his neck. Showing that again. Yeah. No. Yeah. So yeah, we didn't show any of it. And I mean, obviously when it happened, it just happened, but we didn't go back and show. And there were, there were some people that were like, I can't believe you guys didn't replay that, but like we had no idea, you know, no idea. Like, yeah. Um, if he was going to survive it and like, so stuff like that, it's like, it's not, that's not entertainment. That's like real life. Right. And, um, it was interesting because I was so upset after that and Sonia was really comforting. Sonia has a husband who played professional football. I think he won two Super Bowl championships with the Giants. And she's like, in football, we see that stuff, you know, but in track and field, it's very, very rare. I mean, you know, I think of that guy, I can't think of his name right now, who, who collapsed on an indoor meet. I know you're talking about, but that bothers me. I can't think of it. But like, that was just jarring, right? Because we just don't see that stuff as much in track and field. So I just think it's like a respect for the athlete and especially like the thing that I saw, Lindsay fell and then she was screaming in agony and you don't know what's wrong, you know? So it's not good to speculate or try to guess or like show it again and again. It's like you got to kind of move on from it. It's pretty serious here. We know that. I also think the other thing with being on the mountain and it was so close to the top. It's a super steep. Obviously everything's a bigger kind of situation when you're, you know, that high and you can't ski down. And so I think to make, like if anyone were to make a judgment, like you need to show it again, or you should never show this again or whatever it is this much like guessing is like just problematic because they're obviously going to have to get her out in a way that seems so much bigger. So if you start Yeah. Connecting those dots when you don't really have the information. It's like, wow, they're taking her out with a helicopter. This seems like a massive deal It must be huge It like could be pretty minimal but situation on the mountain requires something that looks you know right Obviously it was somewhere in between there but I think everything just seems so much bigger when you're like, well, this is a crazy evacuation. Right. Like if you can't ski down, you can't ski down. So. Right. I know. And there was someone that after her that also had to be airlifted out. So that's like and you're right it does seem so much bigger and scarier because it's not that run is so long it's not like you can just walk over and grab her you know i'll just limp down like like on yeah yeah that's not gonna work yeah well i hope she gets better soon and it's just been interesting following the the praise and the criticism of lindsey but yeah i I think, I guess I would put a bow on this with that's one day of her really long career, like one really long career. And I don't think it takes away anything from, I hate the word legacy because like whatever. But from her career, it's was incredible, has been incredible. And like even the coming out of retirement to try and go one more time has been fascinating to watch. And she's just icon in the sport. So it was cool to get to see her go one more season. Yeah, I agree. She like, I really love watching her and Jesse Diggins in cross country because, you know, they're gonna like leave it all out there. Like Jesse Diggins crosses the line and she's like comatose, right? Because she just never holds an ounce back. And that's what Lindsey Vonn's like in a very different sport, but same way. Like it's all going to be left out there. I just respect that so much. Like there's just no holding back. they're just completely in the moment. And that makes me respect them because it's so hard to do that. It is so hard to not let anything else filter, but just be here right now. And so I just really respect her and, and Jesse, like for the same reason, basically, they just, they just go for it. Yeah. Impressive. Especially after having that success too. It's like, no, I'm going to do the same thing again. Really cool to watch. Before all of that was the opening ceremony. Where'd you watch your film? What'd you think? What'd you think of the fits? Favorite moments? I don't know why Canada's getting so much hate for their puffy coats. I kind of like them when they have the big maple leaf on the front. They're getting dumped on on social media, but I don't know. I think they're kind of fun. I love the opening ceremonies. My favorite thing is the torch being lit. That was like, I have very vivid memories of watching that. Obviously nothing will ever top 92 Barcelona with the arrow, but I live for that. That is like, it makes me feel like how I did when I was a kid, which is just like anything's possible. It's so beautiful, everyone coming together. So we are early go to betters here. So we watched a lot together, the three of us. And then we went up to our room and we were all kind of getting ready for bed and watching because they still hadn't lit the torch yet. But then we saw it. And then, yeah, I just, I liked the outfits. It was interesting because for the first time, any athlete, no matter where you were, you got to take part in the opening ceremonies, right? Because usually it's just the one main venue, but I guess there was like four different places where people could still walk in and get some applause, even though they weren't in Milan. So I actually thought that was amazing. Like a solve way. Right. Like how, how's that not happened before? It just makes sense. Like they're up in the mountains. They can't be there. Um, but no, I liked it. I like, I liked all the fits. I'm trying to think there's like nothing that I was like, Oh, that sucks. I was like, love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Yeah. Do you feel like, I feel like this has been a topic of discussion. Has, um, Polo been the U S uniform sponsor brand for too long? Do we need a new designer or are we loving polo? I mean, someone posted like every opening ceremony outfit throughout the years. And I'm like, we moved away from like the cowboy hats and jeans, which I kind of like, but I don't know. I don't have a problem with the polo outfits. It kind of is like iconic, kind of just like fits the American whatever, but I would be fine if someone else went for it. I guess I don't have a really strong opinion. So what do you think? I don't have strong opinions, to be honest. I like the fits. They look super classic. I agree that the upgrades have been nice throughout the years. I do think we have competent US designers who could probably do a great job. I'm indifferent. I think I like them. I was impressed. Yeah. I thought they looked good. Is there any piece you would get? You're like, Ooh, I'd rock that. I mean, I was loving their white jackets. I was like, give me one of those. Like, I don't know where I would ever wear that with like the toggle button, but I was like, I mean, I can go in the soda and just wear it. It makes you feel like, I do like seeing all the red, white, and blue because, and like, it's so patriotic. Like that's what I wanted when I was a kid. I remember I went to train at the Olympic Training Center and I bought this American flag jacket. I dreamed of earning a kit for so many years. And I bought this jacket and I loved it. But then I ended up barely ever wearing it because I was like, I want to earn this. And then my mom was like, we spent so much money on that fucking jacket. Why are you wearing that jacket? But I was like, oh, I feel like an imposter a little bit. So when I see all the uniforms, it brings me back to the first time I made a team and I got my kit or like the first time I got to walk in the opening ceremonies and it's just, I love seeing all the red, white, and blue and all the classicness to it. And like, yeah, you can kind of, it changes and it gets better, but it's like always still kind of that like, you know, polo classic look, but I'm not opposed to like a mix up or like, you know, shake it up at all. It's just, yeah, I don't really have a strong opinion. I just like seeing the patriotism across all of the countries and like their outfits, like no one missed, like they were all great. Yeah. I think, um, you kind of hit the energy and the excitement around it. We're going to go back to opening ceremony, but because this is such an uplifting moment now feels like a good time to announce the winner contest. What do you think? Can we do that? Do you want to do it? Yes. Stephanie McCann. I hope I say your name, right. Congratulations. You are a lover winner. They're going to be emailing you. You'll probably get it before this comes out. But you entered and you won a free lever. So that's awesome. And thank you to everyone that entered. Like that's great. And sorry that you didn't all win. But you can still use our code. Nobody asked us to get a pretty significant discount. And perhaps more contests ahead. So stay tuned for that. Keep listening and you may have a shot to win. That was good. Thank you, Jess. Okay. That's exciting. What an uplifting moment for her, but also those team uniforms and that energy of the opening ceremony. You did a couple opening ceremonies. How many or how what was that like? Give us some. We talked about this on the last episode because we did the Sarah Spain interview. And I sort of liked this topic because you had some behind the scenes info that I thought was fun. So give us some highlights, lowlights and maybe like a nugget of something that people just would never know. Okay. So I didn't go to the London opening ceremonies, which you were at, because I didn't want to stand on my feet and I had experienced it. And I just was like, I felt like it was going to zap energy. But in 2008, you couldn't have paid me money to skip it. It was like an absolute dream come true. And we were wearing suits and it was in Beijing. It was very hot. And then we left like four hours before it started. And then at one point, they took the track and field team down to this gymnasium. And then they told us like, the president is going to come through. There will be no individual photos. We're going to take a group photo. And I kid you not, George Bush walks in and comes straight over to me. And he's like, you must be a marathoner. And I was like, I'm not. I'm running the 5,000 to 10,000. He was like, but distance. And I was like, yeah. And I was like, can we get a picture? And he's like, yes. So we take a picture. And then he goes, Laura, you have to meet this woman. She's running two distance friends. So I get a picture with Laura Bush. And the whole USA track and field team is like so annoyed. Because we were told no individual photos. And then after I meet her, he's like, oh, you got to meet my dad. My dad's going to love you. So then I met George Bush Sr. and got a photo with him. And so there's this little thing going on. Everyone is just like, are you kidding me? And so then we got the big group photo. Anyway, it was a thrill. And politically, I actually voted for Bush. I don't know if that's controversial. My politics have changed over the years, but I was thrilled to meet him. Anyway, so I got my pictures with them, which I was getting daggered because they told us very specifically. But he came up to me and then he introduced me to his wife. digital camera analog it's just like a oh it like a camera camera like I had a camera um and then and then after that they brought in the men's basketball team to meet the president and so then they were hanging out for a while so I got my picture with a bunch of them which was actually really funny because we're all the best at our sport but the entire track and field team was like, Oh my God, about meeting the men's basketball team. I don't know. It felt a little like, uh, um, so we got a bunch of pictures with them. I like, I got a picture with Kobe and LeBron James. And then yes, we talked about this a little bit on Sarah's podcast, but not neither of those, but a different basketball player who I did get a picture with. And he got a picture with me on his phone. We started talking. He was super nice. And then he was like, let's exchange numbers. And I was like, oh, he was like, what are you doing later? You know? And I was like, oh no, no, no. And then I was like, I'm married, you know? And he was like, different zip code. He's like different continent, you know? And then I, at first I was like really flattered, right? Cause I've seen this guy on TV a million times, but then I started to feel like, and I remember Galen was like, dude, she's like really happily married. And he was like, so he's like, where's he? Is he in China right now? Um, and anyway, yeah, it was actually, then it got gross. And then he wanted me to come up and like walk by him at the opening ceremonies. And I was like, it went from being like fun and feeling flattering to being like, yeah. Yeah. Um, so anyway, that happened. And then we're out on the track and it was so hot and we started taking off our blazers and we were completely sweated through our shirts. Like you could see our bras, you could see everything. And then yes, as I said, on Sarah Spain's podcast, people were just peeing all over, just looking one way, someone's peeing, looking the other way, someone's peeing. And Dathan Ritzenheim and Jorge came prepared because Dathan had done this in the 2004 Olympics. And he had like a little bag that you peed into and then it made it hard. Oh, God. And then you could just like throw that away. Just like a chunk. And it was so gross and it smelled. But it was all worth it because this famous Chinese gymnast ran around the outside of the stadium, like literally suspended and lit it. And guess what I did? I cried like a baby and I had my little camcorder like recording it. It's like the worst footage. But all of it, it's like, it was, it was so freaking awesome. You know, like I've, I've wanted to see this my whole life. Like my whole life, I would be like, I'm going to go to the Olympics someday, whether I compete or not, because I want to see the torch be light. And it was just like, I got to see it. It was so freaking awesome. And so it ended up being like an eight hour ordeal by the time we like went over there. It might've even been longer than that. By the time we went over, had to wait, finally got on the track. Then the whole opening ceremonies, all of this stuff happens. It might've been more like 10 hours. So I was exhausted by the time we got back to the village. I mean, it was like, I don't know. I don't know what time, probably like 1am. And I was like super dehydrated, but it was so worth it. And I'm so glad I did it. But that's why I chose not to do it in London. Cause I was like, that definitely took energy. and I don't, I was older and I can't afford to give it. So tell us about, cause you went to London opening ceremony. Yeah. Yeah. Tell us about it. I think that's interesting. I think they're all so different. That's the other thing. Like you can have an experience and like Dathan and Jorge were like, Oh wait, I've learned, let's do this. In London, it was so close. The athlete village was so close to the stadium that it actually wasn't that big of a task. We were Like we just walked over so you don't have to get on buses. You don't have to wait around. It was just like meet out front way too early. And then we started like gradually walking over. But also I think it's really interesting. People watch the ceremony and there's all these things going on. And it's like this great artistic display. As an athlete, you have no clue. Like you maybe pull it up on your phone now and be watching it as you're waiting to walk in. but like you walk into the stadium or at least in London, you finally get in there. Obviously they go alphabetical order. So we're going to, us is going to be late. You get in there and it's like this spectacle and you're like, just got dropped into the middle of the middle of a movie, like Fantasia. And you're like, I don't understand what's happening right now. Like this, but we're also close to the end. So the torch is lit pretty like close afterwards. But yeah, it was kind of chaos. Like you just get into the track and people are mingling everywhere. You're like, I don't know what's going on out there. I don't know where any of the U S athletes are like, you're just kind of bumping into people chatting. Um, yeah. Organized chaos, but it's fun. Good experience. It's definitely worth doing. How was the torch lit in London? I don't remember. I don't either. I just remember what it looks like. It was like the like spheres all around or whatever. Um, like a big ball of yeah like I don't know I don't I don't remember how it was lit though I think they just walked it up did you yeah that's fine probably someone important it's like it went like it went on the water it was on a boat for a while oh that's cool and then I think they just walked it into the stadium lit it and then did you do opening ceremonies in Rio I did not same thing yeah I think once If you have the experience, you're like, okay, that was awesome, but I don't need to do it again. And with the marathons being so late in the program, you have to commit to being there really early. I think I did put on the outfit and we went out to a dinner at a nice place or with a couple of friends or whatever and watched it. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. Yeah, that is true too because the opening ceremonies is at the beginning of the games, obviously, and the marathon always ends it. So if you're going to do that, you're kind of like, then you're in the Olympic village a lot earlier than you need to be, right? And out of your element a lot earlier than you need to be. And there's nothing wrong with that, like if you want to do it, but it also, yeah, you just make these like calculations as your career goes on and you're like, no, I'm not going to do that. Or no, I'm definitely going to do that. Yeah. Do you regret skipping London? Is any part of you like, oh, I should have, or was it race day? I don't regret opening ceremonies. I wish I would have done closing ceremonies. Like Adam went to Sydney and he did opening and closing. And he had such a good time at closing. And like athletes had just let their guards down so much. And he like got really close with a few athletes that he would never like like he and Stacey DeGuyla got like really close And it was like everyone had just let their guard down It done Everyone like breathing this big sigh of relief And I thought about doing it in London but none of my teammates that I was training with at the time on Schumacher's team who had made it, we're going to do it. And then I was like, well, I'm just, you know, because the marathon was not the end in London. Yeah. It actually was the first day of competition. Like the men, the 10,000s were the night before. Yeah. And so I was kind of like, oh, then I'm like making my family stick around. And, and that's like, it's not like this heavy regret that weighs on my heart, but I'm like, I should have just like done my little thing with my family and then come back and done the closing ceremonies. I should have just done it. Yeah. I think I did closing in Rio and it was fun, but like people are done. And if you're obviously an individual sport, I was like, I don't really know that many people. I don't feel like being extroverted. So I was just like sitting and dancing. It's super loud. And I was like, okay, like I'm going to walk up and sit with people I know. Um, so it's fun, but it's, yeah. Well, that was that I get it. Cause I would, I didn't want to go cause my teammates weren't going, you know, Adam is believe it or not way more extroverted than I am. He's like, sure. I'll go do that. That sounds like fun. Yeah. Um, yeah. I have a question for you. Okay. So I'm watching the opening ceremonies and I remember this about Paris too, like so much culture of Paris, like they were going on the boats, they were passing all these iconic landmarks in Paris. And then, uh, with the Italian opening ceremony, it was just like all this culture of Italy, like even like from designers to music, to all of this stuff, to comedy, to opera. Like I was thinking, what is the U.S. going to do? Snoop. He's going to leave Hitler and Snoop Dogg. I was like, wait, our culture is so like, is it just going to be all Hollywood stuff? Like that's at the Paris closing ceremonies. Remember Tom Cruise like came in and I was like, America is so much more than Hollywood. Yeah. So I just was having all these thoughts of like, what are we going to do? Our history is so short compared to all these other countries. And yeah, it just made me start thinking like, what are we going to lean into? I mean, it's probably going to be, well, I won't say probably, hopefully. kind of melting pot, right? Yeah, I hope so too. Hopefully it's not, this is an LA games. It's like, this is the US. The US, yeah. Not that there's anything wrong with LA, but that doesn't represent the entire US, you know? Right. I mean, sure, obviously they'll have a part in it with Tom Cruise, I'm sure. But hopefully it's not like that. It feels so specific to this one town. Right. I know, I was like thinking of all the dancing and the music. I'm like, what will they do. I mean, it'll be exciting, but I was just like, we don't have like this rich cultured history, like some of these other countries and like these iconic, like I'm just thinking about Paris and they're going past the Louvre and they're, yeah, they're showing the Notre Dame, all this cool stuff, you know? And I'm like, what do we have? I mean, yeah, I don't know. Hollywood Walk of Fame, like, I don't know. It'll be interesting. Did you have to make a mission in high school? The mission? The missions? The California missions? Like, I mean, it's like Catholicism, I think. But like the missions, they set up and they try to convert. They're in California. It must be a- Did you? Yeah, you pick one and then you build it. And maybe it's an elementary school. I think that sounds more appropriate. Oh, no, I've never heard of that. Yeah. What did you do? I don't remember which mission I built, but you construct it. That's cool. Yeah. Little does. A little Southern California history, learn about the missions. Anywho, I digress. Okay. So just a quick question, because Barack Obama did not come to meet everybody at the opening ceremony. So did you go to the White House to see the president after the London games? I don't think I did London. I think I did Rio. Yeah. Okay. See, that's a regret of mine is that I didn't go. And I was like, kind of wanted to go. I definitely wanted to go. I wanted to like get my quick pick with Barack Obama. And I really wanted to go, but like I was like very tired and Colt was still really young. And this is one thing I very much so regret is I said, I'll do it after Rio. He'll still be president because like he was, it was an election year, but he was like crushing it. And I was like, he'll be the president in Rio and I'll do it then. And if I have any advice that's to anyone, it's you never know what tomorrow brings. And I never could have imagined that I wouldn't make that third Olympic team. And then I didn't get to meet Barack Obama and I regret it forever. And yeah, I definitely regret that. Double dip too, because it was a Biden, Biden-Obama. Yeah. Yeah. I do remember Obama recognizing Jared Ward. And I don't know if he has like a piece in his ear of someone or like how much he studies, but he was, he looked at him and he was like, you're the marathoner. You ran a PM. That's amazing. Like, I remember your mustache. I'm like, holy shit. He's watching or someone's telling him right now. Like. Yeah. I want to believe he's watching. Me too. That's, I'm going to close. I mean, I, I freaking love Barack Obama. He's the one that shifted my political beliefs. So anyway, um, that's cool. I'm so jealous. I really wish I would have done that. I'm just like, what was my problem? I was like, I'm so tired. I'm so like, I'll just do it next time. And it's like, I didn't get it next time. So yeah. It is like a ceremony too where you're like, it's going to be a whole thing. You got to go out there. Like, I don't know anybody. I got to, am I going to be roomed with somebody? I don't know. Right. So it's a, it's a commitment, but I will say that one was definitely, I was glad I did that. Yeah. That's so cool. Yeah. Good job, Des. Thanks. I'm proud of you. All right. Well, lots more games left to go. Any events you're excited about looking forward to, or you just kind of go with it, roll with it. Well, right now the curling team is competing. And if they win this match, they go to the final, the gold medal match. So I'm like very invested in that now. And then I'm a big Michaela Schifrin fan. So I'm excited for her to start. And I loved Jessie Diggins. Like I'm obsessed. It's probably creepy for her. She listens to our pod though. So hi, Jessie. She probably won't listen to this right away, but she listens to our pod. And I just am a huge fan of hers. I'm like just so impressed with her and how she is able to push her body. So I can't wait for her to get back out there. What about you? Anybody you're excited about? Yeah, I mean, I think you can, I'm not as invested in the curling, but the other two for sure. um and then also anna gibson and schemo oh yeah super fun yes like from like her first time doing the sport um to potential to medal for sure because yeah they could win it who knows um but that's so and you know debut in the olympics for the event we'll see how that that goes that'll be fun but it's been fun to watch i mean even like the biathlon the crowds are crazy like it was so loud. It's so packed out there. It just looks like a fun scene. So yeah, it'll be on pretty much until it's over. Okay. Wait, before we go to a top five, you're running this weekend. I am. You're running. It's not your first 50K. No. But it's not a road 50K. It's a trail 50K. It's your first trail 50K. Yeah. I'm excited. Are you excited? I'm not very fit. So hopefully expectations are tempered. I did do 22. I don't think expectations are tempered. I hate to say it to you. People are so pumped that you're ready. That's hilarious. Not good. I did 22 miles on the treadmill yesterday, which was a lot. Whoa. Yeah, a lot of treadmill miles. So I think if I can get to 26, like with my legs under me, I'll be really happy. And then whatever happens after that happens. But yeah, I like I'm excited for it. It'll be fun to like mix it up in the scene. I'm really excited for the 100K the day before to just see how that unfolds. Like really good fields for the golden tickets. Yeah. You guys know about those things. Big deal in the trail world. So I'm told. How many do they give out there? I think three. Okay. Three. So that'll be fun to watch. And then, yeah, running the 50K. I know it's like, it's net downhill. Okay. I'm a little worried about it because I wanted to get some good downhill work in, but I've just been on the treadmill so much. So I want to get through 24 to 26 feeling good, but I also don't want to blow out my quads so that the next three days I can't walk. Right. I'm still training for stuff down the line. So it's going to be a balance, but odds are I'll just blow out my quads and deal with it. I'm excited for you. Besides knowing it's a little bit net downhill. Do you know much about the course? Is it very technical? I don't think so. I think it's pretty runnable, but every time people tell me that I get on the trail and I'm like, fucking liars. This shit's hiking. So I'm expecting the worst, hoping for the best. Yeah. I leave on Wednesday. Okay. We're going to be up in Sedona with my sister and her husband. And so I might drive down and just get on some of it just to see what I'm working with. So you race on Sunday? Sunday. Yeah. Okay. Okay. That's so exciting. You're like officially dipping your toes in. And I know this isn't like something you're like really ready for or trained for, but that's why I'm actually excited that you're doing it this way. You're like just going, getting in the environment, feeling it out, and it's going to be so cool. Good stuff. I'm excited. And it's Arizona. I know the Arizona trails, so be familiar for the most part. Super cool. All right. Well, we can't wait to hear about it next week. Yes. Next week with my blown quads. But first, let's top five it. Let's go. Okay. All right. I have a couple. All right. Fire away. Start off. Start us off. Okay. I'm going to start with Jody Allen, who's the owner of the Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks, that won yesterday. And I don't think I've ever seen a woman lifting that championship trophy in my lifetime. So good for her. It was awesome. I was cheering for the Seahawks because our friend Trevor loves the Seahawks. And then I was at a Super Bowl function where everyone was cheering for the Seahawks, but she made it easy to cheer for them. And it was really like iconic to see like a female owner holding that trophy. So shout out to Jodi Allen. That's a great one. I'm impressed that you watched and engaged. I mean, I mostly was there for Bad Bunny, but he did amazing. The game was pretty boring, to be honest. It was not the best of games, but halftime was awesome. Yeah. Okay. Let's see. I got nothing. Man, this is bad. Do you want to do another one? I have one other thing written down. Okay. Sure. Okay. Femme Cabol, who we know as a 400 hurdler, a couple-time world champion in that. She said this fall that she was going to move to the 800. And I've been wildly invested in this. I don't even get to call her races. But just the way she runs the 400 hurdles. And every time she anchors Netherlands 4x4, she runs with such patience. She doesn't go out too hard and then die. And so I was like, I really think she's going to be a good 800-meter runner. I really think she has what it takes because she knows how to hold back. So she ran her first 800 of her life and ran 159.0, I think, and set a national record. And I think she has a lot more in the tank. The pacemaker was out way too hard. She kind of was with the pacemaker. On her third 200, she slowed down to a 32, but she closed in a 30. That just doesn't happen very often in the 800. So I'm like, it was cool. And I'm excited to follow her. her journey now. I can't think of like an athlete that's moved from like a sprint distance to the mid distance and like a hurdler to the mid distance. So it's going to be an interesting storyline. Yeah. I feel like that hurdling component adds like another layer because it's 400, but no, there's something else to it. I think that'll be fun to watch. I hope she doesn't end up being like an amazing 605 meter runner. I know. I know. But that's where the question is, can she go that extra length, but fun to watch. Good start for her. Um, all right. I'm going to go back into something we just talked about, but Anna Gibson, uh, just an incredible Brooks athlete with a ton of rain. She competed at the 1500 meters, uh, Olympic trials on the track, which is crazy that those fields are so good getting into the, you know, the meat in that event is hard. Um, and then she obviously runs the majority on the trails and yeah, she's been great in the mountains and the trail stuff but just to step into a new sport and get to go the olympics and that is really cool and um her photos from the opening ceremony have been pretty epic and i saw today i think they posted um a little filming thing going on with snoop so anna's out there just uh mixing it up with snoop and getting ready to compete in the olympics so that's pretty cool that is so cool I saw the like funniest meme it was like skimo it looks like what my parents used to tell me it was like to go to school like trucking through the snow it made me laugh really hard I was like that's so true but what a cool event and um like basically yeah they like run up the hill and then ski down it yes it's insane you could jump into that now Yeah, probably not. it's been so fun watching Duluth represented like that. So good job, Corey and Corey. And I hope you guys go all the way. Legit. I love it. All right. We'll keep on the theme. I'm going to go with two skiers, uh, Lindsay Vaughn and Michaela Schifrin, I think just pushing the sport forward in different ways. Um, but also I feel like there could be this weird competitive, like I'm the show, I'm the show, but they've managed to, um, both be the show and push the sport forward for each other. And I think that's, I mean, we just see so much success on the women's side in skiing. And now you see Breezy Johnson having a go at it and these young up and comers. We had a fourth place finish and it's just exciting. So, um, different realms for a little bit, but also just people that you can look up to in that sport. I love that. Perfect. All right. Good luck, Des. Have a good run. Thanks. Bye.