I'm just wondering...are people in Spain following the Winter Olympics at all?

Tara

Hey, a Spanish ski-jumper won one of the first Gold's of the SLC Games. Thats more golds than Sweden and Canada combined! Viva Espana!!

It's not as popular as in the States and the Spanish team sent was pretty small. We are more of a summer games country.

That's always intrigued me, since outside Switzerland, Spain is the most mountainous European country...more than Austria and many other ski "powerhouses". There's always plenty of skiing in the winter, and Jaca (Huesca) is still trying to host the games, if I'm not mistaken...

During my visit last year, I noticed that Granada is trying to get the 2010 games, which would make sense with the Sierra Nevadas there. Is there any word on that? Any chance of Granada hosting??

It might seem silly, but it is hard to be interested on the games, when everybody is so busy living "Operación Triunfo's aftermath"! Although it ended on Monday, it's still on every tv channel all day one way or another, including the news. The last OP program was the most watched in 10 years on Spanish tv, that means since 1992, which probably means since Barcelona's olympic games' opening ceremony!!! (this is MY guess)

Only the controversy about the possibility of ruling on "indecent postures" in figure-skating is getting some attention.
I'm afraid that the fact that the skier who won the gold medal the first or second day of competition for Spain has a German origin, and is a nationalized Spaniard, takes the "thrill" out of it for most people.

Hey Pim!

Today at work we've been talking about this issue. "What do you think about the gold medal that the Spaniard nationalized German (Jon Muller) has won?"

We have drawn some conclusions and the main conclusion is that we are happy for the medal.

This man wasn't a good sportman three years ago and Germans didn't want him in their team. So he become spaniard and after becoming spaniard he has started winning everything. In all the interviews he says that he's spaniard and he ONLY speaks in Spanish even in german interviews because he says that he NOW is spaniard and he must think in the future not in the past.

There is an opposite situation: the swimmer Martín Zubero. All spaniards are happy when he wins one medal and all say that he is Spanish ... but ... he's spend all his life in the US and he just don't know speaking in Spanish!. Therefore, if he just speak a little Spanish it must be because he doesn't "feel" very spaniard. He just was born in Spain.

At this moment I prefer Muller than Zubero because I think that the important thing is not where are you from but where you "feel" that you belong to, and Muller seems to feel more spaniard even that most of us (spaniards) but Zubero and many as him are spaniards due to the country where they were born but not due to what they feel.

What do you think about it?

It wouldn´t surprise me if Johann Mûhlegg won several gold medals in the Olympic Games. He´s one of the best right now.

Spain, although not prominant in skiing, like most European nations, had some pretty darned good competitors in the past. As an example, Francisco Ochoa, who won a gold medal in Alpine skiing back in 1972.

But the success rate of getting medals started to dwindle along the way, and by the 90s, there hasn't been too much representation in conventional events, but from what I've seen, and heard, there's a "new breed of ski and snowboard kids" who are starting to show real promise in some of the newer events, like half pipe on the snowboard, and moguls on skis.

I have a hunch, by the next Olympics, Spaniards will have plenty to cheer about when their athletes hit the slopes. It will be nice to see them have a bigger presence again. I think they only sent five athletes this year - not certain though.

Wolf

With Martin Zubero I got the best of both worlds...an American who was born in Spain who then "became" Spaniard for the Olympics competition...what's not to like? I felt like him winning was a victory for both countries.

If the Spanish Olympic Committee needs me, I'm available for their hockey team. I'm sure a few years of HS competition make me better than most, and a lock for the team. Then I can live in Spain!!!