Olympics 101: Sledding, luge and chocolate curls

It’s that time again.

I remember as a kid being glued to the TV in 1972, watching Mark Spitz (my future husband, or so I thought at the time). He was my favorite Olympian. He was handsome, talented, won seven gold medals, was planning to go to dental school, and he was Jewish — a great catch.

Can it be that it’s been 42 years since Mark Spitz won everyones’ hearts? Thirty-eight years since “the Dorothy Hamill” wedge haircut was the craze, and we got to see the Hamill Camel? Twenty years since Tonya Harding arranged to have Nancy Kerrigan’s knee cap smashed so that she couldn’t be chosen to the Olympic team that year?

We cheer, gasp, shed a tear and hold our breath as these disciplined athletes compete. Four years of training over 12 hours each day, and it all comes down to milliseconds sometimes.

Although the Russians have spent over $51 billion, that didn’t ensure that everything was going to run smoothly. Reports have been rampant about mishaps.

One of the major gripes that seem to be universal is the dismal state of accommodations in Sochi. Visitors, journalists, and athletes have been tweeting about their troubles, from plumbing disasters to having stray dogs and construction workers wandering through their still unfinished hotel rooms. Those lucky enough to score a finished room had issues as well. Some had no water, doors, light bulbs or electricity.

Bobsledder Johnny Quinn just might take home the gold for the worst Sochi experiences. First, he gets out of the shower to realize that his bathroom door (yes, he was one of the lucky ones who actually had a door to his bathroom) was jammed and he had to break through the door to escape. As if that wasn’t enough, he and some members of his team were stuck in the elevator as well.

Among some other complaints:

“My hotel room has no water. The front desk said ‘If the water is restored, do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous'.”

“We have no light bulbs.”

“We have no electricity."

There were actually tweets of people willing to trade their light bulbs for a door, ala “Let’s Make a Deal” Olympic style.