I’m not a religious person,
but for a moment, watching the Olympics on Friday, I was convinced there is at
least a Goddess of Divine Retribution and Justice, one that WHACKS smart-assed
show-offs. Any of you who watched the
Olympics on February 17th probably witnessed her hand. For those of you who
didn’t, let me set the stage for you.
There is a new event this
year, called Snowboard Cross or Bordercross – it’s like a motocross on
snowboards. There is a long, winding
course, with jumps and moguls, not unlike a giant slalom, which four competitors race down simultaneously.
The first one to cross the finish line wins.
Two Canadian women, Maelle Ricker, and Dominique Maltais were in the
final and experts predicted these top-rated women would take Gold and Silver. Competing in the final medal-winning heat
was an American, Lindsey Jacobellis, and a Swiss girl, Tanja Frieden.
Unfortunately, very early in
the race, Ricker wiped out badly and was unable to recover. Shortly after that,
Maltais went through a fence and took out a spectator, but was able to recover
and get back on the course, though very far behind. This left the American, Jacobellis, far out in the lead. So far
out in front, that she couldn’t even SEE Frieden behind her. She started “tricking” off the jumps –
grabbing her board, doing twists. On
the final jump before the finish, her hubris caught up with her, and I’d like
to think that because this is the Olympics, so did the Greek Goddess
Nemesis. As she grabbed her board and
attempted a backside method grab with a flashy 60 degree twist, she lost her
balance, and came down hard on her ass -
a fall we can only hope punctured what was clearly an inflated ego.
While she was trying to regain her feet, the Swiss competitor, Frieden sailed
past her to victory and the Gold medal.
Jacobellis had to settle for Silver and chagrin, while Maltais took
bronze.
It warmed the place where my
heart used to be. We might have only taken bronze, but the cocky American girl
paid the price for being a show-off, and tasted Divine Retribution and Justice.
Heartlessly,
-Natalie
