Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony Review
The Olympics in Beijing are officially here and we're back to review the Opening Ceremony in classic Off The Podium style! Was this an opening ceremony that we can finally enjoy for once or was it once again a bit of a let down? Why did we enjoy kids falling down too much? What segment are we really starting to get sick of? What did we think of the flag bearers and why were the uniforms amazing this year? As well as the opening ceremony we also talk up some of the great events we have seen so far, including why Australia is going absolutely curling crazy and why we love Dean & Tahli so much, what the hopes are for both Australia and Canada to hold onto our lead in the men's and women's moguls and also just why our first ever DAILY DALE might go down slightly interestingly today. It's an action packed episode you won't want to miss, so get to listening!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.
BEN WATERWORTH: It is Off The Podium, An Olympics Podcast coming to you today for the start of the Beijing Olympics. They are here. Get excited. You can tell from the excitement in my voice that I'm extremely excited. It's got nothing to do with the fact that I'm recording this at 1:35 a.m. in a hotel room where people are probably sleeping around me and don't want me to be too loud. But the opening ceremony is done. We are here at another Olympics. It's exciting, the real Olympics, the Winter Olympics. And it is gonna be an interesting one to talk about, as they always are, and to help dissect the opening ceremony, to dissect what we've seen so far, and look ahead to what we've got coming up in the next few days. It is Emu Plains, number one expert on all things snowflakes. It is Mr. Jarrod Loobeek. Jarrod, imagine that we had an opening ceremony like that. Imagine, imagine.
JARROD LOOBEEK: So unexpected the choices, no predictability in there at all. It didn't fall back on any tropes that we've seen before. Yeah, what an opener.
BEN WATERWORTH: What an original idea for an opening ceremony. Look, I will say, obviously, we are very excited the Olympics are officially here. And I will say this, it wasn't as bad as Tokyo. So that was something. It, I think was slightly better than Pyeongchang, which was something. Don't know how I can compare it to Rio. Like, I didn't hate it. But again, maybe we're just in this period of the Olympics, whether this is all we're going to get for opening ceremonies. I mean, they can blame COVID as much as they like. But I mean, again, Rio and Pyeongchang weren't exactly over the top amazing extravaganzas that we've had in the past. And COVID didn't exist back then. So better than Tokyo, not as good as 2008. How's that for a summary?
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, I feel that's fair. I feel to me, this is probably on par, I want to say with Pyeongchang. I just thought it was underwhelming. Underwhelming, somehow it still felt like it was too long. But at the same time, there weren't enough opening ceremony segments. It was all kind of like the formal bits that they have to include. I feel like there was no real wow factor to me. The best part of the ceremony was the opening bit with the sync to light tubes, where they're doing that kind of spring section. But then after that, I just felt like everything fell flat and nothing was exciting at all.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think it comes down to the format. We talked about this in Tokyo where it's, hey, let's do a little bit and then let's get straight to the Parade of Nations. And then it's like, oh, great, let's get the athletes in. And I like the idea and principle, but I think the problem that people don't foresee with that is that we like to be entertained for like an hour or so, get some cultural elements, bring in some stuff. Don't just be like, here's a bit of light, let's bring in the athlete because we love the Parade of Nations, but at the same time, it does go on for a bit. Particularly when you want to see your own country, you want to see a couple of others, and then you want to see the host country. We're not here for as long as we are for the summers. There's only 90-odd nations compared to 200 nations, so obviously, it's not quite the same. But it's tiring, a Parade of Nations. So by the time you get to that and then you get back to some cultural stuff, it feels off. And I don't like this format of bringing the athletes out early, if this is what it's going to mean, because it's what we said with Tokyo. Where was the cultural element? We had Beijing only 14 years ago, so it might be a bit repetitive. But the US has hosted how many Olympics close to each other in a space of certain years in different cities. They used to make them feel that Atlanta was different to Los Angeles, Salt Lake was different to Atlanta, like they do it. So, yeah, I don't know. It just felt like there was just something missing again, didn't it?
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, I think you're right. It's a weird order. I feel like they just need to cut down the speeches. I think they could just do away completely with the Olympic anthem that just needs to go or just be played while the flag is being raised, but just do a shortened version. And we don't need... I'm sick of also children's choirs. It's just such a go-to. And the fact we had a children's choir followed by children singing again straight after. I was like, just do something unique. I'm so just over like children being like overexposed and just the face of everything. I'm like, get some people with actual talent out there to do something interesting.
BEN WATERWORTH: And I've got to say this right now, Jarrod. On behalf of Australia, I think we need to apologise to the Olympics. We started this trend with Nikki Webster 22 years ago, and every Olympic opening ceremony since has gone with this theme of the bloody children. So Nikki, we love you, but like let's bring her back for Brisbane and we'll retire the concept. So that's it. The children are done. And one thing that I'm really getting sick of, and I know it's the world we live in, but can we stop with this, we're all in this together crap and the unity and let's all, you know, show basic people coming together to celebrate harmony and imagine we're all one person, even Thomas Bach Olympic champion fencing his air going, like there will be no dis... Like I actually think that was a threat. He wasn't just like, yes, we are here to get to talk. He's like, if there is discrimination in the village, you will be shot. Like, these are, this is the Olympic f***ing games. I'm sitting here for two weeks to watch the best athletes in the world. These are better human beings than any of us can ever be. They're fit, they're competitive, they're attractive. They're the best at what they do. This isn't the time to be like, oh, we're all one people, we're all great. No, I want to watch these Adonis of men and women compete out there and kick everyone's arses so we can sit here in awe and be like, wow, Jesus Christ, there are some great people in this world. Maybe I need to rethink my life a little bit. That's what the Olympics are to me sometimes, come on.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, I feel like it's such a marketing position and it just comes up over and over and over again. I'm fine with it being in the ceremony and a reference to it. They've added in together into the Olympic Faster, Stronger, Higher together or whatever, which whatever I'm fine with, but just the fact that it was brought up so often throughout the speeches and then through the commentary of every segment was like, this is how many everyday people doing this. And I'm like, well, whatever, they're everyday people who've trained to walk out to do this opening ceremony thing. It could just be an actor, and we wouldn't know that it's an everyday person. It's just really rammed down your throat throughout. And I am with you. I just want to see people be super competitive, the best of the best. It's great if there's this mentality that once it's over, they're all friends or whatever. But during the competition, I want to see them going at it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly. And look, we get the message. It's understandable. But at the same time, it just becomes preachy. Like we get it. We're together. There's issues. It's always like we understand it. I don't think there's somebody watching these Olympics. They're a massive Olympic fan like us. And they go, I get it now. We're meant to be together. Oh, thank you, Olympics. Like, I mean, it's there. Like this is where the opening ceremony's going back to the cultural element. I mean, think back to Sochi. This is Russia. This is like, you know, the most expensive, not just Winter Olympics, Olympics ever. They spent, you know, like $50 billion, whatever it was. And it's like, fuck you, we're Russia. Like, look how amazing we are. Like, that's what I was expecting from this. This is China. They're like, yeah, fuck you, we're China. Like even London in 2012, we're just like, oh, we're British. Look how much we've done for the world. You know, like we just haven't had that since Sochi. Yeah, you know, I mean, Brazil tried to. They were like, look, we're poor. We've got these like shanty places in Rio and we've got a hot model. That's what we do. And I'll stop killing the world because we've got a rainforest and it's important to us, even though we also chop it down, but hey, we'll blame the world. And then I barely remember Pyeongchang. Tokyo, there was a person on a treadmill. And here we had Beijing. So yeah, like, look, I don't know. I'm glad I'm not as angry as I was with Tokyo. That's all I'll say. Good fireworks. It's expected from China, I guess. They invented them.
JARROD LOOBEEK: This is true. I feel like as well, we're going into this horrible phase where they're so reliant on the LED lights and the overlays and the technology. And it's just, it's become too much that I'm like, I don't know, there's no point. I feel like for the audience, there's no point going there. It's no different being there to watch you on your TV. There's no sense of atmosphere, because it's just like this overlay and this LED. And it's just, I'm glad that we got kind of, I just think like, imagine London putting on their Olympics now, and you wouldn't have got any of that, like all of the great stuff of like belaying the turf and like the industrial revolution, all this stuff. It all would have been LED, and it would have been so like flat and boring and bland. And I get that like, it's where we're heading and this, that, whatever else. And I'm fine with it being included in some sense, like the backdrop, like vertical panel of LED was fine and interesting, but then just all the overlays across the floor throughout like the whole thing, I was just like, get like an original idea, do something different here. It was just really boring. It's almost like in films, how like the special effects, like they age like really badly.
BEN WATERWORTH: 100%.
JARROD LOOBEEK: And then you see older films where they've used animatronics or like puppetry or like whatever, or like costuming rather than CGI. And like, it stands up better than like the new stuff because in two years time, it's gonna look like terrible. And I feel like that's this as well. I'm like, just go like, go old school and put some more like time and effort into it that way rather than just relying on technology to carry you through.
BEN WATERWORTH: Completely agree. I am a big advocate for bringing back the props. I want inflatable kangaroos on bikes. I want inflatable beavers and mounties back, you know? And I mean, even what you're saying, I mean, London is probably still my favourite opening ceremony I've ever seen. That industrial revolution segment just gives me chills even watching that. So I'm 100% with you. And look, I don't know if this is, I think it's a mixture of, yeah, modern technology. Definitely COVID, I think, sadly, like, I mean, I think Tokyo would have been better, and I think Beijing would have been better. You know, Pyeongchang obviously was heavier line, which kind of leads into the fact which I never thought I'd say this, and I don't think you'd ever hear me say this, you know, six years ago when we first started. It's over to you, France. It's over to you, Paris. And like, I mean, maybe it could be a thing. Our last three Olympics have all been in Asia. So I mean, you know, we're gonna go to Europe for the first time for any Olympics since 2014 in 2024. So maybe it could be a little bit different. I mean, I think we're all in agreement. Our last somewhat decent opening ceremony was Sochi, and that was in Europe. So, you know, and then obviously we have Italy for the winters and then the US and then probably North America for 2030, then over to us in Australia. So we'll, you know, save it all up. So yeah, it's interesting. A couple of things that I also wanted to touch on. That torch, the flame, you know, we talked about lighting bing duen duen on fire. Should we run, Ron? Things like lighting an athlete on fire. That might be the most underwhelming cauldron I have ever, like it wasn't even a cauldron. It was, here's the torch, I'm gonna put it in a snowflake and we're gonna lift it into, I'm going, okay, what's happening here? Like something's gonna happen, okay. And then they're like, this concludes the opening ceremony. And I'm like, I'm sorry, what? You just put a torch in a snowflake. Like, what the fuck was that? I mean, seriously, Jarrod, what the fuck was that?
JARROD LOOBEEK: It was so bad. And I was the same, I was waiting for, I was like, okay, so like the border of the snowflake is gonna catch on fire here. Like something's gonna light something up. And then, no, it's literally just the torch in a stand, in amongst like the, the cool part of it was the fact that they had used like the country sign to make this like largest snowflake. And also like Australia just getting like random screen time the whole way through was just great coming out near the end because you're in the centre of the snowflake and our flag was on screen during the speeches. But yeah, I was just like, there's gotta be something more than there was. And I was like, what? Yeah, you're right. It just wasn't a cauldron at all. There was no lighting on the cauldron at this opening ceremony.
BEN WATERWORTH: You would remember 2008 when you're the guy running along the fricking roof, right? And you kind of had the ribbon cauldron. I mean, the one that I actually really didn't like, but in hindsight, it looks brilliant. I remember actually not liking the London cauldron. Like, I mean, the idea behind it, when you had all the country things and you had like the kids lighting, and I was kind of like, oh, that's a bit underwhelming. But I mean, now that looks like fricking brilliant compared to what we had. But like, again, think about Sydney. Think about fricking Barcelona. Think about Athens, with the giant kind of cigar thing coming down. Even Sochi, and even fricking Vancouver, when they didn't have one of their bloody things moving up. I mean, even, you know, Tokyo and Pyeongchang weren't that bad. I mean, we never really, I think, sat here and rated the cauldron lightings. But yeah, that is the worst I have it. That wasn't a cauldron lighting. That was just, we can't be fucked building a cauldron. Let's stick the torch. And like, I guess in all fairness, again, this was a three-day torch relay. A three-day torch relay. Where the biggest news was Jackie Chan carried the torch on the Great Wall of China. That was literally the biggest story to come from this torch relay. And I look, I honestly cannot remember who we predicted would light the cauldron, but somebody from Nordic Combine did. So I'm happy. So that was the win for me, I guess.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, it was just, that was odd to me as well. I get that it was the first time that they qualified in like the event or whatever, but it just was weird to pick a real like no name to light. Like you wouldn't have, you wouldn't have, you couldn't have guessed it. It was even weirder than Brendan being the flag bearer for Australia.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, we'll get to that.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, it's just, I just can't get over that. That's the cauldron. Rios was better, everything was better. Like it's just, it's the worst cauldron of all time.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm calling it now. Bugger my idea about Bradbury and Kieran Perkins, the cauldron in Brisbane. Dean and Tahli for the cauldron in Brisbane. I mean, Tahli's from Brisbane. Dean's halfway there. So I mean, judging on first to qualify for a spot, unless we get a ski jumper between now and Brisbane, Dean and Tahli for the cauldron come Brisbane. I mean, they're taking Australia by storm right now, so why not?
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, but I mean, I suppose the pressure's on if they can actually get the stone to light the cauldron. A bit of missing those final shots on the pressure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, too soon. We feel a bit bad for that. We'll talk about them shortly. But I guess, I mean, the Parade of Nations, yeah, the flag bearers. First of all, congratulations to Team OTP. Three of our former guests are flag bearers official, including both for Australia. Let's talk about them first. Obviously, the choice of Brit Cox, I think, literally comes down to the fact that, you know, she is competing on the weekend. I think she was a shoe in for it, but ultimately, you know, probably that's the reason why. I think we all mentioned Laura's name as well, going in kind of as the reigning world champion and dominant force she's been. So solid choice. But when I saw, okay, this is no disrespect to Brian Carey. He's a three-time Olympian. He's our first ever figure skating flag bearer. Great. And a great guest. I really enjoy talking to him back before Pyeongchang. He's a super nice guy. But how is he the ch- Like, it was so random. Like, I don't, like, I literally had a joke message with Greta Small, saying like, hey, well, you know, if Britain, you can take over. I'm like, in all seriousness, I would have predicted Greta Small over Brendan Carey, because Greta carried the flag for the Youth Olympics. So, yeah, I don't, like, I feel like I've been disrespectful for him. I mean, great honour, you know, again, three time Olympian, don't take that away from him. But could you have ever imagined that Brendan was going to get the nod?
JARROD LOOBEEK: No, I feel like this is the issue with the whole dual flag bearer thing, especially, I suppose, more so for the Winter Olympics, where there's less athlete options. It's just the fact that it's two people, they're kind of obviously, you know, wanting to keep it like fair to both genders. They want to male and female. And then like the fact that a lot of our male athletes have either carried it before the opening ceremony or the closing ceremony. I just feel like they ran out of options. And then you have the added thing of the athletes competing the next day, who probably aren't going to want to come out to the opening ceremony because they're preparing for their event. It was just, it's just a weird situation. This is why I just wish that we would go back to just like, just go back to a single flag bearer. Although I feel like they did handle, I mean, they had warning, but I feel like all the flag bearers at this time handled the dual flag bearing slightly better. It was less awkward than at the Summer Olympics. I feel like they kind of sorted out whether both of us are going to do it, are we going to kind of switch halfway? There was like a lot of different strategies to how they did, and it wasn't as terrible as last time. But I just, just go back to a single flag bearer and just, it'll avoid all this scrambling of who are we going to pick here.
BEN WATERWORTH: Just one quick question, folks. I don't know if we talked about this the other day. Your thoughts on the Aussie team uniform. I'm a bit of a fan. I like the camo.
JARROD LOOBEEK: I think it's one of the better team uniforms we've ever had.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah.
JARROD LOOBEEK: I like the camo. I like the indigenous artwork on the gloves. I think it's just like a great combo. And as opposed to previous uniforms, this one is, you can tell it's Australia because of the colours, and also like it's not clashing in any way. It's just a nice combo. I agree.
BEN WATERWORTH: And I'm definitely with you on the indigenous designs, just on the gloves, but like Dean and Tahli on the uniform. And I don't know if this is an AOC decision, or it's just a difference of supplier. Is it carbon sports? I think of the winter supplier, whereas obviously ASICS is for the summer. That's why can't we buy the Australian winter uniform? I know I talked, I think, last year about how they released the individual sports for Tokyo. I'm like, do it for the winters. I want minority combined t-shirt. And obviously they haven't done that. But I feel, again, winters just get a little bit ripped off that you can't buy one of the team shirts or the team jackets, because to me, they look 10 times better than what we had in Tokyo. So, yeah, out there to the AOC, if it's up to you or Carbon Sports, release a merch for the Australian team. Come on.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, definitely. I want a curling shirt. And I feel like they sell out like that.
BEN WATERWORTH: With personalised, like in the back, or just get a Hewitt or Gill one, you know, who needs to get your own name? We should mention with Canada, actually, we haven't actually mentioned with this, what, nearly, you know, 20 or so minutes into this episode, we haven't even mentioned the elephant in the room. The fact that a certain person isn't with us. You and I literally are doing this at like two o'clock in the morning. And the guy who, you know, decent time for him in Canada, Colin, Colin actually has COVID. So him and his wife, Jamie, and I don't know if the kids have it, but they've been struck down with COVID. So he hasn't been doing too well. So he said he's going to sit out for a couple of days. Hopefully might be back on the weekend. Cause I don't think he'll want to miss moguls for the world. So one of us had to get it eventually, Jarrod. I don't know if you've had it actually. Have you had it? No, you haven't. I've done four tests this week. And I know I haven't got it yet. So definitely not, but we're thinking of you, Colin, you know, cause we have to do all the hard work now that you're not here. Jesus Christ.
JARROD LOOBEEK: It's just going out in solidarity with all the flag bearers who couldn't be there because they were quarantining at the time.
BEN WATERWORTH: We're talking about America, but one volunteer from Nigeria is walking out, the proudest moment of her life. It's like, I don't know, that's just Jenny from Reception. It's just going on. Jenny. Just FYI. Frank's out sick. He's got COVID. Traditional Nigerian names. It's just, can you carry the flag for Nigeria? She's got to have that on a wall for the rest of her life, isn't she? She's just an admin.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Oh, you know it. Absolutely.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, good for Jenny. But yeah, Collins, Collins, very big fan of Nigeria and the team USA when it comes to that. But Canada's flag bearer. So again, another Off The Podium guest, Charles Hamblin, one of our predictions getting there. And Marie-Philippe Poulon, the captain of team Canada in the women's ice hockey. Now you want to talk about competitors. Oh, I can't do it the next, because you know I'm competing the next day. She was part of a lazy 12-1 win yesterday, and they're on the ice again tomorrow. But I guess they literally are playing in the city, whereas Britain's obviously, you know, a couple of miles out of the city competing for the moguls. But yeah, look, Canada came out. I'm just, I'm kind of with Colin. Colin, not a big fan of the Lululemon gear. It does look like they're wearing about 20 different layers that are all over the place. And it just looks very basic. And this is, this is very Lululemon, isn't it? It's like, look at our great product. It's a bit of red with that weird logo and a maple leaf. Pay $800 for it. I mean, not my favourite team, Canada uniform, but great that we had Charles out there with Marie-Philippe, who's a legend of Canadian ice hockey.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, the uniforms just look uncomfortable. Like you say, too, like way, just way too many layers. And even the scarf was just really bulky. And it was weird and kind of clipped together. Like it wasn't like a real scarf. I don't know what the deal was, but it was odd. But Jacqui Cooper, she's a fan of Lululemon. That was her favourite uniform of the night.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, no, Jacqui was going off for the Lululemon actually. I'm actually disappointed that you can't buy team Canada uniforms at Lululemon here in Australia. So that's the thing. I know when I was living in Canada, you just go to the bay and just buy whatever you want to. But I'm sure they're selling out like hotcakes over there at Lululemon. And still go there. I don't know if you ever seen lineups here, but I just, I never got over the fact you'd go to Lululemon in Canada. I was like freaking going to a nightclub. There was a person there with a clipboard and a headpiece letting people in one by one. I was like, Jesus Christ, Lulufucking Lemon. Team USA were another one that were hit with COVID. Their bobsledder, Elena Mayer's Taylor had to withdraw. So she gave it to Brittany Bow, big speed skating chance there. But I do love the fact that John Schuster, one of their curling gold medallists from Pyeongchang, got the nod. So good at curling, taking off in the US. I'm a bit disappointed with the Czech Republic. Where was Esther? Sorry, but like, what the fuck? I mean, what did Channel 7 talk about for the entire time Czech Republic came out? Esther. So who does everyone talk about when it comes to Winter Olympics and Czech Republic? Esther. Okay. So what the fuck? Czech Republic. You're not going off for a good start there. Obviously, we didn't have Tonga, sadly. So we didn't have our man, Peter, out there going there, but we got American Samoa going out there on the shirtless front, which can I say, his name is Nathan Crumpton. He's in skeleton, good looking rooster, competed in Tokyo as well, but similar to the whole kid thing. Like, it was cool the first time, cool the second time. Then we came to Tokyo, and we had what about three different shirtless guys? Like, yeah, I think scrap the shirtless guys. And I say, Paris, 2024, the French are very open-ended. Topless woman, just free the nipple. That's just being completely progressive. Do it that way, create the shock value, boom, done. But yeah, were there any other flag bearers or any other notes for you from the parade of nations that you wanted to mention?
JARROD LOOBEEK: I just loved the amazing uniform talk that we got on this tangent of what's your favourite uniform. And they were big fans of Iran for some reason, which I didn't quite understand. It was pretty basic to me. But personally, I think East Timor was up there with the feathers. And then like Mongolia was just on point. It was classy, it looked good, it was cultural. It was like that to me was like the outfit of the night.
BEN WATERWORTH: I have to say I was disappointed. I know New Zealand is just traditionally a black uniform. It doesn't really differ. But what made New Zealand for me, they had the traditional Maori sort of uniforms and the flag, which I think they had in Tokyo for me. So they were pretty good. The Mexicans, I like the Mexican outfit. The Germans at first, I'm like, bit basic, but the more I looked, I'm like, okay, don't mind this kind of black with this yellow sort of thing that you've got going on there. The one that I saw a lot of people complaining about on social media, which I actually was a fan of, was the Italian poncho. I didn't mind the Italian poncho. I mean, I think the Italian and the French had very similar designs because they just wore their flags on them. But I don't know, there's something about the Italians and the Olympics that they just kind of, they pop. I mean, did you like the Italian poncho?
JARROD LOOBEEK: I don't know, it wasn't my favourite, but I like points like it was something different. So like it stood out, which I feel like is what you want. Like you say, it was their colours because it was just literally the flag. And I mean, the high neck piece. So they didn't even need scarves. They're just high collar.
BEN WATERWORTH: It just went with it. China, actually, I like that kind of real striking, like bright red sort of mixed with some of them wearing white in there as well. So that looked really, really cool. I also loved the, obviously the placard things that form the snowflake at the end, but I love it. Like each one walking out, it was just kind of like boxing ring girls holding the signs up. And the poor women had to hold that, I think the whole lap around the bird's nest. I don't know if they stood it, like I have no idea. But I mean, it was very like a rigid, like, you know, at least give them a stick with it, right? And you could probably remove the snowflake from the stick. Like, were they going to the gym every week, working on those arms for a while?
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah. There was like lots of moments throughout the ceremony where there must have been like very strict instructions, because the equivalent of the holding the snowflake was the men with the flags during the speeches having to smile the whole way through. And I was like, this speech has gone on for 10 minutes. This guy's mouth muscles must just be like shot at this point.
BEN WATERWORTH: I was actually going to message you when Thomas Bach, Olympic champion fencing, started talking and saying like, Jarrah, we might as well just start the episode now and do it now. By the time we finished, he'll still be speaking. I mean, I would have loved to have known what the Chinese guy was talking about. Didn't get any word on what he was saying. Do also like how Xi Jinping just didn't leave his seat until he just probably said the words like Beijing. Even Putin, I think, stood in the middle of Sochi, didn't he? Like, I mean, even freaking Putin did. What's wrong with you, Xi Jinping? Like, get up and get to the middle of the stage. I'm sure even Trump would have done it had America had the Olympics at some point, you know? Like, god damn, I'll tell you one thing. If Biden's still in power come 2028, that guy's going to be pretty old. He'll be out in a wheelchair probably in a Zimmer frame, but he'll still fucking do it. He'll forget where he is halfway through. Do you think Scomo was still being charged in 10 years' time?
JARROD LOOBEEK: I mean, you know what? With Scomo, nothing surprised me at this point. So he well could be, but as long as he doesn't phone that in, like he phones in so many other things in life, I expect him to be standing for the entire ceremony.
BEN WATERWORTH: I expect him to probably be calling in from Hawaii on Zoom while the Australian of the year stands next to him, not smiling.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Either that or investigating his heritage over in Scotland.
BEN WATERWORTH: One more thing I wanted to add of the opening ceremony is it wrong that my favourite part of the opening ceremony for the kids falling over in the montage? Like that was hilarious. It was cute. It was really cute. But it was, I just, I just loved the fact that you literally had a good two minutes of little kids face planting in the snow.
JARROD LOOBEEK: No, I think that that was out there for me as a pilot as well. And it was, we haven't had that before. It was unpredictable. So, but it's been done now. I don't need to see kids falling over in Paris as much as it brings me like enjoyment. I don't need to sit again. It's been done. Move on. But although if you are going to have some kid segment, that's, and you're going to repeat it, do that. Scrap the choir, scrap the individual child running around. If you're going to have to repeat something with kids and you want to put kids in your opening ceremony, that's the way to do it.
BEN WATERWORTH: You do realise if when it's in Paris, I'll be running away, not falling over. So also interesting that the Chinese decided to go like, hey, we're so open to the West. Let's play all this famous Western classical music, which really seemed very Chinese to me. I mean, I've never been, I can't say I know China for playing Western classical music, but did that make you feel part of like this unity thing, Jarrod hearing all these classic European classical tunes? Like where was like a classical version of Land Down Under, or You're The Voice? That would have made me feel a bit more included.
JARROD LOOBEEK: You know what? It didn't make me feel included, and it bugged me because I feel like they're stealing Rock's Thunder with Tchaikovsky as the national anthem, and now it's just classical music everywhere. Like that's not going to stand out at all when that's played. To me, this was an odd decision and another let down because like it's during the Parade of Nations, there's not a whole lot of chance during that segment to show off like your culture, but you've got like the music playing the whole way through, like that was your way to do it. And they just were like, no, we're not going to do that. We're just going to play this boring, like we're not boring. It was actually okay. The classical music throughout. But yeah, it just was an odd choice when I'm like, here's your chance, like play some music that we haven't heard before.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'd still know Tiësto doing a DJ set like he did in Athens. I mean, I've got that album. I've literally got the Parade of Nations album that he released. It's epic. You know, I want Tiësto back for Brisbane. I don't know, he'll probably be dead by then. He's kind of getting on a bit. But I don't know, who's like a classic Australian? Bring back DJ Havana. I don't know if she's still around or Road Traders. I'm sure Sneaky Sound System, they're not doing much. Pop Bellies. I mean, bring back all the classic, you know, late noughties Australian dance acts that were famous for Five Minutes. I mean, they're probably in Eurovision. I mean, I looked at who's competing for us in Eurovision. Jesus Christ. They run out of... There's a TikTok artist competing for us at this Australia decides, Jarrod, what the hell's going on? You and I will be out next year, I think.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, you're right. They should have, the pop-bellies and the rogue traders, they would have been better options for Australia decides.
BEN WATERWORTH: Geez, geez. Colin did message us to say that his thoughts on the opening ceremony, he said, Overall, it's still the best in Sochi and maybe even London. Nowhere near as good as 2008, obviously. I would agree with that. Like, I still am torn whether this was better than Rio or not. And I wasn't a fan of Rio. So, but I still feel Rio at least had a bit more cultural stuff. And it was, you know, like, again, I feel you're not gonna remember this. When we're talking in Milan, like, just like we are with Pyeongchang, it's like, well, what happened in the Beijing one again? Like, kids falling over and the green light thing. So, yeah, maybe we just give up on opening ceremonies, right? I mean, hopefully, we'll do one for Birmingham again this year. Hopefully, you know, I think the last good opening ceremony I saw was Gold Coast 2018. So, you know, bring on Birmingham. If their fucking handover video was anything to go by, it's gonna be shit. Before we get to some of the results and look ahead to the day, and Colin's got some other comments and some other segments, I apologise. I should have opened up with what we're doing sort of newish for these games. And that's having an each day, we're celebrating a former athlete, an Australian athlete. And I put this to Colin too, that he can bring one up every single day. He hasn't sent me one, so Colin, oh, I've got COVID, I can't do my homework. Day zero is officially now known as Vic Ekberg Day. Now, for those who are going, oh, Vic, favourite ever Aussie Olympian, he competed in 1960 in Squaw Valley. He was a member of Australia's only ever ice hockey team that didn't do exactly brilliantly in Squaw Valley. But hey, like if this, can you imagine come Milan, if we qualify ice hockey to see how curling has taken off, it would go off. But Vic actually was Australia's first ever winter Olympic flag bearer. We didn't have a flag bearer at the Winter Olympics until 1960. So there you go. So we are celebrating Vic Ekberg Day, the very first ever Australian flag bearer. I mean, you're a mad Vic Ekberg fan, Jarrod. So when you saw this, you were stoked.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, finally getting the recognition he deserves.
BEN WATERWORTH: Absolutely, absolutely. And I should say that we're doing this as a bit of a tribute, 20-year tribute to the great ice stream, Roy and HG, of course. And every day during their coverage, they would dedicate a day. I remember Cedric Sloan Day was their day where they had the cross-country skiing pole through the seagull, and they would put that pin to every single guest they have on there. So sadly, we don't have a Vic Ekberg pin that we can give to any guest that can appear on this show throughout that. Now obviously we do, generally every day, we do a what did you watch type segment. We've had a couple of days' worth of competition here, Jarrod, because we haven't had a whole lot of choice, but can we just talk a bit about curling? Because Australia has gone curling crazy, and this isn't even joking, seriously. Australia is hooked. And can I just say about bloody time? Because I think we've been selling curling, and it's not just us. I mean, most of the world, we've got a Canadian on this show. I mean, he knows exactly how good curling is. But how have you been enjoying it? Have you been watching every single match and on the edge of your seat, watching Dean and Tahli out there just lose every single match on the last throw?
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, actually, I saw three out of the five. And oh, heart breaking, you know? That's just, I don't know, I love them so much, because I love curling and them being our first curlers, it's just like a special spot in the heart and seeing them lose match after match. I mean, forget about the match against the Czech Republic, but losing the others just like one point each time. And I feel they've, like in nearly all their matches too, they get down like an early deficit and it looks like, oh, they're down now, and they don't give up. And somehow they're able to pull it back. And then it just always gets down to that last end. And then it's like, no, like not again, like one point. But they're just, I don't know, they're legends. And it's just, it's amazing that they're the first, but it's also just so weird because this has got to be the easiest sport for a country like Australia to like get people involved in and behind for the Winter Olympics and the fact that it's taken so long. And we've got like these, this almost like entrenched history in like sports, like aerials and like these crazy things that you think would like need snow and slopes and reliable snowfall. And then curling, which you can just do like on a rink is something that just we haven't got behind before, but I'm so glad that it's finally happening. And they're due a win. The fact that they've done so well against like these powerhouse teams, like against Sweden and the Brits is just amazing, but they're just due a win. And I feel like once they get the win, then they might start to get some momentum.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which you got to look at it in the fact that so close in obviously four out of the five games, literally losing them by one point. To compare it, look at Italy, the other, one of the other countries making their mixed double. And they've ranked one spot ahead of us in the world. So they're very on par. They're the only undefeated side, Italy. And that very much nearly could be, I mean, we could be four on one based on it. You know, obviously the Czech game, we weren't really in it, but it just so close either way. And the last game that we had against Britain, reigning world champion, sorry, let me rephrase that, Scotland, they are the reigning world champions, and we took them to an extra end. I mean, the USA one, I think was the most unlucky. We had that in the bag. And then the last slot, the last shot by Vicky Persinger was pretty incredible for her to take that win. So, whereas the other ones, I think we're always fighting back to get into it. But the thing that's so great about them, and I know we sort of discovered a lot of that when we had them on the show last year, is they're just so damn personable and damn, and even when they're like, you could never tell they're windless, zero on five, and they're making jokes in the middle of it, and just they're so calm. And even when Dean would like, oh, I'm sorry, he'll apologise. And then even Tahli, it's so fascinating to watch. And one thing that I actually really appreciate about seeing their family members, and I'll talk about Dean's dad in a sec, but it's like the Summer Olympics, it's almost like the families are almost trained to be around the media. So they're all like, you know, Steve Titmuss used to be a newsreader, so he's very savvy, he knows what he's doing. Whereas like so many of their winter families, they're so loose. They're just so just like Australian. Like it's just fun to watch them. But it's crazy. Have you seen much, I guess, even with your friends and family or sort of people there in Sydney about like how much people are really getting into like curling? Is this a talk of the Lubik household or the Lubik friendship circle?
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, everybody, it's mostly like everybody at work, I think is just excited for the Olympics to be back. And then the fact that I think it really helps too that the curling is on earlier before we get like this influx of all the events. It's been kind of really the only thing going. So that's why everybody's watching. And like we were joking today, of like next like team work outing, like is team building experiences. We've just got to set up a curling rink in Penrith, take over the ice rink and put down the dots and set up the lanes and just go for it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which it's, I mean, obviously the push is to get this dedicated curling rink. Obviously, it would definitely be called like the Gillan-Hewitt curling rink or something along those lines. But yeah, people don't realise or have seen that I am working for Channel 7. I've sold out. I'm working as a researcher for them during these Olympics since I'm in Melbourne. And what's really great about that experience is obviously I'm on the same site as the commentators, so therefore I've had the honour to chat with Stephen Hewitt, Dean's dad, several times. Great conversations. And the best one I had with him was I literally was coming out of a studio for a rehearsal. And as I was walking out of the studio, he was leaving the commentary box. This was straight after the loss to, I think it was a Sweden game from memory. And no, it was a China game, actually. And straight away, you're just getting that reaction. Like, oh my God, how are you feeling? And he's kind of a bit like Dean. He's just kind of like, you know, you could tell he's a bit disappointed. He's kind of like, oh yeah, no, like this. And he's even literally saying like, well, I could have done this and this. And one of the real fascinating things he said to me was that if you watch, he could tell that they weren't going to do too well at the end because of the way they were gripping the stone. And that basically the way, I think he said that he had taught them, he said, it's like a toothpaste. It's like a tub of toothpaste. You hold it gently so you don't let the toothpaste come out of it, but you can see them gripping it tighter. So therefore that is, you know, costing them a little bit. So it's just, it's fascinating. And it's so amazing to be able to do that. And just where we're recording, where sort of the studio's base is right down near where the ice house is here in Melbourne. So they're having watch parties there, and they're just like, curling is going off. And they actually have at the ice house on a Monday night, a come and try curling night. And I believe that myself and some people from where I'm working right now are going to be going along to give it a try. Because everyone is hooked. I mean, it's fun kind of being there to watch the reaction of people watching curling. It's amazing. So if I end up going on Monday night and we record that night, I will tell you how wrong we all are. And that's my dream of when I said I wanted to grow up to be the first Australian curler, that I would have been well off. Because I've heard how much Dean is panting in those fricking ends, and I think I would be screwed. So do they have a come and try? Do they do curling there at the rink in Penriff?
JARROD LOOBEEK: I don't think so. I feel like hockey is more like their go-to sport. But I feel like surely now, if they're not getting it behind it, they should because there's money in it. But- Yeah, just, I think, go for it. It seemed like the most, like I said before, it's just such an accessible sport. And I'm sure there's more to it when you get out there, and it's a lot more complicated than it looks on the TV. They make it look easy. But it's like, if you can push a stone, like at least you can have a try at it. If you can sweep, you can have a try at it. It's not one of these extreme sports where you're probably not gonna break something if you give it a go without knowing what you're doing. So yeah, I think there's gonna be a huge surge in support, and hopefully we do get some dedicated venues for it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, on just what you're saying, somebody said to me yesterday that it's basically the only winter Olympic sport where you cannot kill yourself. So, I mean, you probably could if you put one of them on your head. But just, I mean, on that, obviously, yeah, Australia, zero on five, the only team without a win. So we're obviously last in the standings, and pretty much all but out, although we've got four games left. And I mean, one positive thing is there's been a lot of, you know, back and forth between some of the teams. So for example, we're technically only two wins off being in contention. So if results went our way and we won the last four, it could be Italy undefeated. Britain, world champs, are second on three and one. Canada lost their first game, but now three and one themselves. So that's good there. Sweden sitting in fourth, and China in fifth, sort of an unknown team going into this. So obviously the top three go through automatically to the semis, and then fourth and fifth play each other for that final spot in the semis as well. So Norway, Switzerland, silver and bronze from Pyeongchang, Switzerland, with the silver, Norway with the bronze. They're currently sitting second last and third last. So interesting going on there. But as you said, it's great that this is kind of there. It'll be done over and done within a couple of days. But I think this is the best form to get the exposure, because as you said, it's kind of all we've really got to watch at the moment, obviously. Other big ones for Australia and Canada. I shouldn't just single this out, because obviously we have in both the men's and women's moguls, number one in both an Australian and a Canadian in the women's, Jakara Anthony Shatitin, 83.75, a score that's even better than Mikhail Kingsbury, and we'll talk about him in a second. So she goes straight through to the final, as does four-time Olympian, robbed a flag bearer and two-time Off The Podium guest, Britt Cox. She's through to the final, which we're obviously very, very happy about. Sophie Ash, 13th, currently, should make it through to the final based on that score, and then Taylor O'Neill didn't finish, and it doesn't look like she'll compete in the qualifying tour. She has re-injured her knee, so it looks very unlikely. What are your thoughts on this one, Jarrod? I mean, is this a good omen for Jakara, or do you think she's peaking too soon?
JARROD LOOBEEK: I feel like it's hard to say, but it was just so impressive. Although to me, the worrying thing is, I know each course is different, but the score that she got, she could have won the gold at the last Olympics. It was just so far.
BEN WATERWORTH: She would have gotten silver in the men's. She would have gotten silver in the men's competition. That's how good her score was.
JARROD LOOBEEK: But I'm hopeful. I think it's a good sign to just be, like, if it was me, I wouldn't have to be there. You want to be finishing first, so you don't want extra pressure. But I think you just be relieved. Like, if you're straight through to the final, you don't have to do that extra run and worry about it. It's good. It's just these Olympic sports. I always forget how high stakes some of them are. We're just like, it's just one attempt. Like, at least I suppose in this, you've got the other attempt for the people who didn't qualify. But then after that, it's just cutting down each round. It's like, yeah, imagine if you had this in summer. The long jumpers get one jump. That's it. My jumpers, you knock off the bar, you're out.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's just as crazy. In some of the events, we're seeing that with alpine skiing. Like downhill literally is one run this time around. There's no one, two, or three. And it's literally, that's one run. That's it. You're done. I mean, 100 metres. Imagine that. No, no, fine. No heats. Boom. Just the fastest time is the winner. Reigning champion, Prynn Lafont is through. She was in second, and Colin very, very happy because one of his dream girls, Justine Deferlapointe, gold medallist for 2014, reigning silver medallist. She's through intense. She just knocked out her sister, Chloe Deferlapointe. But you would again think with that score that she would go through another Canadian, Sofiane Gagnon, 14th, just behind Soph Ash. So again, you would assume she's through. So qualifying to and the finals are on Sunday in the men's, I mean, no surprise who's number one. The esteemed Mr. McHale Kingsbury defending champion, basically the goat of moguls again, made it look effortless. And I do like he's a head of Walter Wahlberg, Wally Wahlberg from Sweden, such a Swedish name. So good for him. And from the Australian perspective, Brody Summers narrowly missing out on automatic qualification, 11th, Cooper Woods in 14th, James Matheson, not the former host of Australian Idol, the mogul skier, 20th, and our great wide hope, Mr. Matt Graham, silver medallist from Pyeongchang, did not finish, but we'll have an opportunity. I mean, he's coming in with a pretty nasty injury that he only got about like 10 weeks ago or so. So just for him to be there is pretty awesome. But thoughts on the men's? I mean, this is one part I actually missed, Colin, because I mean, he would be pumping Mikhail's tyres up because he loves him to almost as much as he loves the Deferla Point sisters. But any thoughts on the men's moguls, which obviously will be probably on air tomorrow night, possibly calling that one.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, I mean, it was just, it was an impressive qualifying run from Mikhail. I feel for him, like with Jakara, I had to toss it up, like, oh, is it good for her to qualify first? I feel like for Mikhail, like he's used to it, like that's where he'd want to be, throwing it down early. And then as for the Aussies, I just, I don't know, I just have a hope that they'll get through. I think, might we say like it's gonna be a tough one, but I reckon we can sneak through.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think the thing that I'll say about, which, you know, obviously we're talking up a lot of our medal prospects is, I mean, Matt Graham's name is getting mentioned, but I think our people are being a bit more realistic on him, just based on the injury, which I think is fair. But I mean, gosh, if he makes a final, I think that's a victory in itself. I mean, I don't know if you saw some of the images of kind of everything that he had going on, but yeah, it's kind of pretty spectacular that he's managed to even get back into this place. But yeah, we will probably be on air tomorrow night recording when it's on, and similar to what we did back in Pyeongchang might be, obviously commentary may be being a little bit more limited. These games might be one of the ones we do. The only other one really we've got sort of results from a lot of training runs happening. Alex Falazzo was out there on the loose track today. Some of our female ski jumpers from Canada are out there on the training tracks as well today, but we had the team event in the figure skating start today. And sadly, none of our guests on Off The Podium have made their respective teams. So Eric Radford or Jason Brown, not on either Team Canada or Team USA, but Team USA are currently leading that one after we had the Men's Short Program and the Ice Dance and Pairs Short Program. They are head of Rock and China. So USA, Rock and China, one, two, three. Canada in sixth. The Ukraine and Germany have both been eliminated. And Australia, DNQ. So we are not in that event. Did you see any of the figure skating? Did you see the esteemed Nathan Chen shitted in there and kind of just put a marker down on why he can win probably a couple of gold at these Olympics?
JARROD LOOBEEK: I did. It was impressive. I feel like there were some dodgy costumes in there, which I didn't appreciate.
BEN WATERWORTH: Give us some examples. Come on, Joe. What were your least favourite ones?
JARROD LOOBEEK: Did you see? I can't figure out if I hate it or love it. And now I don't remember what country it was. But one of the pairs, the Ice Dance, did a routine where one of them was dressed as the Joker and the other one was Harlequin.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, I didn't see that.
JARROD LOOBEEK: What is going on here? I did appreciate that one of the teams danced to Switzerland's song from Eurovision last year. Really? So that was extra points for that. But overall, it was just fun. I love the commentators, too, for this event, just because they're so posh. And I don't know if he's the same lady who does the gymnastics, but I just always lump her in with the lady who does the gymnastics and the lady who does the equestrian. And they're probably all different, but I don't know.
BEN WATERWORTH: But I think the gymnastics, I can confirm that I have power to do that. I'll check for you, Jarrod. I'll come back to you on that one. But I think it is. I don't know about the equestrian, but I know what you're saying there. I mean, that would be skilled if it was. Like, oh, hello, look at the dresser. I don't know, look at the quadruple double twist on the beam.
JARROD LOOBEEK: It's just the same vibe throughout.
BEN WATERWORTH: Triple lux. Yes, exactly. Exactly. I only saw a few of the men's short program. But the one thing I loved is the Kiss and Cry obviously incorporates because it's the team, right? Very Eurovision, the Kiss and Cry with the way they had the flag and everything. It's kind of a little boost when they go on there, like, you know, 12 points Sweden. Like, so I don't know, does that get you pumped up more for Eurovision when you kind of see that Kiss and Cry?
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, I think anything that's a reference to Eurovision is just amazing. The fact that we got in the music and then the Kiss and Cry zone. I do love that some teams are a lot better at doing that little dance while they're waiting for the results than others. The Italian team were particularly bad and out of sync waiting in that zone for their scores. But yeah, I think it's a nice feature to have the whole team there rather than just the skater and the coach.
BEN WATERWORTH: I might have another Eurovision reference coming up for you in just a moment. Other segments before we look ahead. This is going to be a fun one during the Olympics. Commentary fails. Let's leave with Colin first, because Colin sent us a couple of gems from the CBC coverage watching it. So he said, the first one he said, For the first time ever, I wish I were hearing your commentary over CBC. It's just been constant political commentary and any excuse to take a shot at China. They've even apologised for a picture of the PM, I'm assuming that Justin Trudeau, and assured the audience this was not the choice of the broadcaster. Okay, fair enough. Another one here where apparently there was a line of commentary which said, Hey, Trinidad and Tobago, my dad's from there. I've been there once, beautiful place, beautiful people. I almost died there, almost drowned. But that's a story for another time. I really hope another time comes soon because I want to know what happened there. And then the same guy apparently said, Switzerland very recently hosted the games in St. Moritz in 1948, only to quickly correct himself and say, haha, I guess that was more than half a century ago. Now, look, I just want to say I saw no, no fails tonight. Channel 7 were brilliant. How amazing Matt and Alistair and Jackie were. Just fantastic. I don't know, I don't have the facts to back this up, but I think Alistair could be the very first Tasmanian to ever call an Olympic opening ceremony. So congratulations, Alistair. But oh, Channel 7 on point. Perfect. What a network, Jarrod. So good.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, no flaws. Everything actually correct and accurate. Great focus on the national uniforms. Like I've already said, I did appreciate getting everybody's thought on what was their favourite. Such an important talking point. Didn't miss too many flag bearers, which is always a positive. Got most of them. I did appreciate the when Sweden came in, and there was a comment of Sweden. Long pause. They're no slouch. And that's all that was said, which is great. I'm glad that we're talking about Sweden, given they got us in the curling. I don't know. It was just an interesting one. It's a fun one. I do really want to see in the future. I think Colin mentioned that their broadcasters do it, but they just need a title or a placard over the top just for each country, just literally says who the flag bearers are, what's their sport. Include whatever else you want to include on it, like the main facts when they debuted at the Olympics, whatever. I just feel like if it's there, then there's no like, yes, we want to hear the commentators say it, but then if they miss it, it's no issue.
BEN WATERWORTH: One thing I'll say that I've learned from my esteemed career working there is that it is actually really interesting to see obviously the extent that goes into providing facts to the callers. I mean, that's literally my job right now is to provide facts, and it's a blast. It's really fun finding it, and I've already had a few moments where I found something, and then that's then passed on. I'm working with Joanna Griggs, so if you're tuning into the day coverage, you will see it. I've literally passed on like a stat or a fact, and it's kind of cool when like she will use that. Like it's, I mean, it's literally my job to do that so that she can have that. But then you're kind of like, okay, well, I'm glad I found that cool little fact. So it is interesting to see it in person. So, but yeah, this is going to be fun over the next few. Jarrod, like I will say this right now. If you find things like you can, like I will not be commenting on it. I wonder who will have this job in two weeks, okay? But you go to town. Because as far as I know, you don't work with Channel 7, do you? I mean, maybe you do.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Not currently. Not as far as I'm aware, you know?
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, I mean, based on the history in this show, it doesn't matter what you say about the network, you get a job there. So I mean, it kind of works. Now, I don't know if you were aware that we were going to be doing this today, because we did do this back on day zero back in Tokyo. So I don't know if you've got one prepared, and I'm kind of springing this on you, but it's time for Athlete Of The Day, which of course is now Daily Dale, the esteemed Dale Begg Smith, the legendary Dale Begg Smith. We're naming this after him and his honour, 2006 moguls, men's gold medallist, and silver medallist in Vancouver. My nominee, and look, I'm going to be honest, this is a bit shallow. This is not something I like to do, really doing this based on the looks of a person. But I'm doing this based on the looks of the person. I was hooked to watching something today, Jarrod, where I just, I could not stop staring at the beauty of one person. I honestly was just staring and going, this is one of the most beautiful people I've ever met. And I thought, well, they probably could even be literally at Eurovision based on how things are going. And also I think that they could be in movies. And it wasn't just me saying this. There were many people around me saying how very attractive this person was. I'm putting up the Swedish curler of Oscar Ericsson. That man is gorgeous. Bond, Superman. I mean, seriously, I don't swing that way generally, but I might for Oscar Ericsson. So I hate to be the shallow person on the show. He's a pretty good curler as well. But Colin's listening to this right now, throwing chairs already. He's like, oh my god, they've started. Did you have a nominee, Jarrett?
JARROD LOOBEEK: I didn't, but I can second everything you said about Oscar because the same conversations were had in our household. Just actually, do you know the Swedish curling team in general? You know, it's a perfect. Outside of them, I feel like the only option is, and I don't know his name, but the Nigerian flag bearer who is isolating in his hotel room because he's got COVID, I feel deserves a shout out.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, you know, Colin would hate that. That's like French boxer territory there going on. I think he'd appreciate the sexy Swedish curler over us doing it to a guy that didn't even show up. I mean, I legitimately wanted to nominate Dean and Tahli, but I can hear Colin screaming at us right now. Like, god damn it. Oh, you should be putting up John Morris. He's a two-time gold medallist. I'm going to sit here for 10 minutes and say, John Morris, John Morris, John Morris.
JARROD LOOBEEK: We haven't nominated any Australians.
BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly, Colin. It's day zero, and we haven't nominated a single Australian. We've gone the perv route, and we've put up... What am I going to write on social media? Oscar Erickson is today's daily winner.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Impressive game, beating Australia by one, beating renowned curlers from Australia. World heavyweights by one point.
BEN WATERWORTH: Without Oscar Erickson's skillful sweeping, they would have been staring down the barrel of defeat.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Didn't even look like he was struggling when he was sweeping.
BEN WATERWORTH: No noise at all. Dean's panting, whereas he's halfway down the rink going, what a loo, down in the...
JARROD LOOBEEK: To be fair, I feel like they didn't have to sweep as much either. So maybe the weight on their shots was a bit better as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: The Almeida Deval, the female half of the Meeks curling. I had to look her age up. I thought she was 12. She's 24. I'm like, okay. I just want to say, while we're just on the subject of looks, Amos Mosina, the Italian, I think he's in the wrong... He's feeling rugby. That guy is built. He is a tank of a man. And John Morris, I believe, is 43, looking good for your age, John. So can I just say that? Doing well. But all right. Congratulations to Oscar Eriksson, the inaugural recipient of the Daily Dale. And as we said the other day, more esteemed than winning an Olympic medal. And I mean, the Swedes on track, they're in fourth. They could potentially come away with the medal. So maybe we get Oscar on the show and stare at his beautiful, chiselled face and be like, geez, would you want the Daily Dale or Olympic medal? I mean, I don't know. What would you rather, Jarrod?
JARROD LOOBEEK: I feel like the Daily Dale. I kind of feel like it's a bit more achievable, too, given the requirements. They're all over the shop. You don't have to win the event. You could just be in it and be good-looking.
BEN WATERWORTH: And look, I'll say this for one thing. There are 15 Winter Olympic sports. Over 17 days, it will be doing this. I reckon we can push for an athlete from every single sport to please Colin. And Australia is in 10 sports, so we know that at least seven of them won't go to Australia. So look, there you go, Colin.
JARROD LOOBEEK: This is just preemptive, too. I mean, Sweden could win the curling. It's a possibility.
BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Exactly.
BEN WATERWORTH: And based on our track record, the day zero athlete of the day will become a guest on the show. When we had Ezra as day zero, she came on the show. So now maybe we'll get a translator for Oscar going along with that. I don't know. We'll wait and see. One quick thing before we look ahead to day one. Obviously, we didn't really get a chance to do much in Tokyo when it came to things like fan messages. We can't submit things. Well, we can, but it's different. I don't know if you've seen on olympics.com.au, they do have a fan messages wall. But I think unlike past ones, these are monitored. One big one that we've had, we've had a few sort of Jess Foxes come out, a few of the Summer Olympians have come out and celebrated, but freaking Hugh Jackman has come out and sent a video of good luck to our... I don't even know if he did that for the Summer Games. So good on you, Hugh Jackman. Come on, Ryan Reynolds, where's your Team Canada cheering on one? There you go. Australia's got one up on Canada. But have you been paying much attention to these because it's hashtag chasing winter, and you can of course also just submit it online. But this time around, you can actually send videos and photos and everything along those lines. So have you been paying attention to these?
JARROD LOOBEEK: I've caught a bit of them. I am loving the Summer athletes doing their version of the winter sports in kind of their front yards and cul-de-sacs.
BEN WATERWORTH: Jess Fox doing biathlon.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Yeah, that to me is the highlight so far. But I do always miss the old fan messages, especially winter, because I feel like that's where we got them through. And my message to Cam Bolton about boring the Segway in Latvia. It's just like a highlight of my life, really. And I just love that it was approved.
BEN WATERWORTH: Cam still talks about that to this day. That one fan.
JARROD LOOBEEK: You can pass on that fact. According to a fan message, it must be true if it's a fan message.
BEN WATERWORTH: I got to say some of the words I'm looking at here. So just the pictures. And again, there's no context to these. I've got a picture here of an elderly woman in a leopard print shirt, holding up a glass of wine. Doris is loving the curling. Good for you, Doris. There's a picture of just Brendan Carey standing there, cheering himself on, I guess. He's like, hashtag chasing, we're gonna go Brendan Carey. Like, big fan. Actually, there's a picture of a bunch of curlers at the ice house with a big Go Aussies scarf. That's pretty cool. There's a dog in an Australia scarf and a hat. But there's actually some written ones here. These are kind of just what you expect. There's no like, hi, Kalani. Remember me? I met you in a Walmart that time. So Felix Wulmer says, Hi Tess, I'm guessing Tess Cody. I'm very excited. Good luck in the Olympics. And I hope you do well. I am very proud that you're my cousin, because you teach me that I should never give up and want to be like you because you're my hero. Lots of love, Felix. Go Tess. Lots of love from Ben and Beck too. Granny so proud of you, Tessie. XX, address to Tess Cody Snowboard. Thanks for clearing that up at the end. Oh, there's somebody's done a drawing here of Bing Duen Duen. And they've even included, it looks like, is that the mascot from Vancouver and Pyeongchang? They've included like Su Rong and Boorang here. Like they've included, and the Sochi Bear. Jesus, this kid loves their mascots. Good for them. Did you appreciate the neon inflatable Bing Duen Duens during the opening ceremony? I thought they were pretty cool.
JARROD LOOBEEK: I did, and I appreciated a couple of the figure skaters had them when they're waiting in the team zone, which was good.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'd say should. More Bing Duen Duen. I do love it. I love how people are literally sending in photos. It's just a picture of them. Like we've had Doris. We've just got Karen. She looks like a Karen. She's just sitting there in a nice little blue blouse with a necklace and an eyewatch or whatever it is. She's just smiling at the camera. There's no message saying like, go Dean and Tahli or anything. It's just, hi, I'm Karen. I'm out at the RSL having a good drink and having fun. So, either the AOC are running out of fan messages or someone's using the Chasing Winter hashtag wrong. Can I just say, I've used Chasing Winter plenty of times on our posts on social media. Where's our free promotion Off The Podium? Just, you know, this is, thanks AOC, like for just ignoring us. We've given you a lot of freaking publicity. God damn it. Tomorrow, first day of competition, six medals will be decided, and plenty of Australians in action. When it comes to the medals being decided tomorrow, we of course have the biathlon, the mixed relay, the cross-country skiing, the women's skiathlon, which will be the first one that will be decided tomorrow afternoon, the short track speed skating, the very first mixed relay in that. We have the ski jumping. Our Canadian girls will be in action there, the women's normal-heel individual, and the speed skating women's 3000 metres. Irene Wurst is in that one. We're excited to see her out there. Just on those medal ones, and I'll touch on the Aussies and Canadians in just a second and the other events as well. What are you pumped for? I mean, biathlon and cross-country, come on. Tick them off your bucket list right there, because they're the ones to get on board tomorrow. I'm just saying that.
JARROD LOOBEEK: It's true. Also pumped, you know, we've talked about it already, but the moguls is going to be a highlight. Although I feel like more so on the Sunday. But yeah, just... And I mean, you can't go past the short track speed skating either. Just such a good event. Hoping for some thrills and spills, because that's what I'm really looking forward to.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, and I think when it comes to that, obviously, you know, it's a new event. It's a mixed relay, and we know Colin will complain about it. But yeah, I have very fond memories of relays, obviously, after Lillehammer. All Australians do, even though I think we all remember just Bradbury winning gold 20 years ago. But obviously more history. The short track is great. It is really fantastic to watch. But also ski jumping. I mean, you and I, do you remember getting hooked with me back in Pyeongchang? We were up late watching that, and I actually really do love the ski jumping. I think I've got much more appreciation now that we've had plenty of the guests on the show. So we'll be cheering on Abby and Ali tomorrow in the women's ski jumping there. So we'll be watching out for them to see how they go. But yes, as you said, Australian perspective, obviously, I think we're keeping an eye on the men's moguls for a medal potentially. But Tess Cody hitting the slopes tomorrow in the slope style, which of course she has a genuine medal chance to go in that one. So it will be interesting to see how that goes. Alex Velazo, of course, in the luge, hits the track tomorrow in runs one and two. So we'll be keeping an eye out on how he goes with that. Dean and Tahli also have two games on tomorrow up against Norway and Italy. Not that there's probably any realistic chances, we said, but if there's gonna be any, you've got to win these two games. You know, Norway, again, not too far ahead. So that's still been Italy. Someone's got to beat them eventually. So you watch, it'll probably be us for that one. I will say just in terms of Off The Podium, guess before I quickly go over some of the other Australians and Canadians, Tahli and Dean, obviously in action tomorrow. Charles Hamlin, flag bearer, will be in the 1,000-metre heats. Again, we assume, I'm just kind of judging this on what he's gone on in the past. And also possibly in the mixed relay as well. Scott Gow, our Canadian biathlete, will be in the mixed relay tomorrow as well. As I said, Allie Ludditt and Abby Strait in the ski jumping. And also should mention in the men's ski jumping, there will be some qualifying rounds tomorrow as well. American Casey Larson will be out there as well. And as I said, Alex Falasso. Casey Wright will not be in the skiathlon, as she said on our interview, an exclusive for Off The Podium. She's not competing in that. Jess Yeaton will be, though, for Australia, but a lot of people are still saying that Casey is going to be in that tomorrow. She is not doing skiathlon. So just to clarify that. Just I've got a little specialist here because this is Colin's job, but he's not here. I've got COVID. Just looking through some of the Canadians. I mean, we shouldn't really mention the ice hockey. The ice hockey has started. Canada at 12-1, lazy win that they had the other day in the women's. So very heavy on them. And Switzerland too, not such a bad side. But they're on the ice again tomorrow against Finland. So that actually is a big match. Finland beat them in the 2019 World Champs. And if you know anything about women's ice hockey, Canada does not lose that often. And if they do, it's usually to America. So if they get beaten by somebody other than America, it's a big deal. That's tomorrow. Also in curling, Canada will be playing both Sweden and the US. There you go, big rivalry there. And look, this is like the Summer Olympics or Australia. There's too many Canadians going on tomorrow. Macau, Kingsbury lock in a gold for Canada tomorrow night. So we'll be having colon on celebrating, hopefully live with that one to talk about that. But Canada's in the biathlon. You'll see them in the mixed team relay as well. They've got some luge going on there. Reid Watts is their luge there for Canada. So let's cheer him on. Go Reid, go you good thing. And in the men's ski jumping, we've also got Matthew Sukup and Mackenzie Boyd-Klaus. And in the speed skating, women's 3000, they've got 3 Isabelle Weidman, Ivani Blondin, and Valerie Maltais all hitting the track as well. So I've probably missed a few. This list is what I'm reading right now there with that one. But yeah, lots of stuff happening tomorrow. Jarrod, what do you most say? Obviously we just talked about the middle ones, but obviously outside of the middle ones. Again, I said there's some snowboard happening tomorrow outside as well, which is not a middle event. But the luge, of course, we love the luge. Anything else you're looking forward to tomorrow?
JARROD LOOBEEK: You know, just a bit of everything, I think. I feel like the curling tomorrow. I've got a good feeling. We're going to get that first win. I just know that, yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, in Norway or Israel? I'm calling it. We're beating Italy. We're going to be the first side to beat Italy. Because, I mean, they're only one spot ahead of us in the world rankings. We should beat them on paper. All on ice, I guess you should say. But yeah, I'm with you. Let's beat the Italian rugby player guy. Guy's scary. Not as good looking as Oscar, though, clearly, when it comes to that. Big thanks, everybody, for tuning in. Obviously, we're putting this up very, very late. It's very late for us right now. It's nearly 3 o'clock. We're about to go to bed. Gentle reminder, if you like listening to the show, we're out for a sports podcast award, sportspodcastawards.com. Register, quickly vote. Done more voting for us this week, have you, Jarrod? You know it. Good to see that we are still leading. Still leading. Can we maintain our lead for the entire Olympics? That's the challenge, because this is when we should be getting votes, right? Because people are listening right now. So we'll keep that. Also, social media, Off The Podium, on Instagram, Twitter, and, of course, Facebook, on YouTube as well. No video interviews during the Olympics. We don't have time. You don't want to stare at our face. You only want to stare at our guests when it comes to that as well. And I will say, a few other maybe, might have some surprise guests on the show during these Olympics. So stay tuned. Stay tuned. Stay tuned to Channel 7. Watch their fantastic coverage every single day, and particularly Joanna Griggs. What a host. Just watch her on air, I believe from 10.30 or 10. I should really know that, shouldn't I? Recapping the opening ceremony. So if you didn't get enough of it tonight, then at some point in the morning on Channel 7, you will see a great recap.
JARROD LOOBEEK: And I'm pretty sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Thank you for that, Jarrod. Yeah, you're not working here anymore, you're late. She got the research wrong, you're fired. Jarrod, thank you very much for joining me at this wee hours of the morning. Appreciate it.
JARROD LOOBEEK: Thank you, it's been fun.
BEN WATERWORTH: And to everybody listening, thank you for tuning in to Off The Podium. Big shout out to Jason Momoa, and as always, go left. What an episode, you loved every single second of it. It's Ben again, just quickly reminding you once again, if you want to help us win a Sports Podcast Award, sportspodcastawards.com, register to vote, click on Best Olympic and Paralympic Podcast section, listen to the other nominees, and then go, hey, Off The Podium's awesome, they're so good. They put in so much work and so much effort, and we just love them, and they deserve to go on the podium for once. Ben's awesome, Jarrod's awesome, Colin's okay, but he's also kind of awesome. We'd really appreciate it, and particularly if you've actually listened to the rest of this and ended up here, because generally I assume you've well and truly tuned out by now. But seriously, if you're at this point of the podcast, then you're a true listener, and that means that you're a true fan, and you should vote for us. sportspodcastawards.com, do it now. We will thank you forever, literally ever, like every episode moving forward. We will thank you forever. sportspodcastawards.com. All right, thanks for tuning in. We'll speak to you next time on Off The Podium. I'm really gonna go now. Bye.
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