On the Other Hand

The horror stories of unfinished hotels, construction workers sleeping in journalists' beds with stray dogs pooping on the floor, brown water from the bathroom taps, the side-by-side toilets and general Russian incompetence are pretty commonplace on the web these days. All the crybaby journalists, who are here with nothing to do before the Games begin, need to write something. Hey guys, It's Russia! It’s certainly easy to look to the underbelly as print deadlines approach. Thank heaven the competition starts tomorrow. Yet I really do hope that CNN gets the 11 rooms they reserved 7 months ago. Word is that their hotel may not be finished before March. The Organizing Committee maintains that less than 3% of the journalists' rooms are unfinished. The journalists say only 6 of 9 hotels are ready for occupancy. But I haven't heard a single story of anyone pitching a tent in a parking lot. It's warm in the press center and there's plenty of food. Nobody sleeps around here anyway!

The pictures are funny. And they are real. But they are not the whole story. 

                                                                                                                                                             Now the Russian press is beginning to put a new spin on what they say are the actual costs of the Olympics themselves. Around the world everyone uses the $51 billion dollar price tag. That figure is hung on these Games like it's a National Shame. Most Expensive Olympics ever . . . $20 billion more than the summer Games in  Beijing . . . more expensive than all Winter Olympic Games combined . . . . Some of the "official" Russian press is saying that most of that figure is non-Olympic infrastructure. Since they were doing an Olympics they could revitalize and build a new Sochi and a world class ski resort in the mountains. So . . . they subtract all of that and say the Olympics actually cost about $7 billion . . . equal to Vancouver. Always funny to get the other interpretation

Make no mistake. There is a bunch of weird stuff going on here . . . but today I was floored by perfection. The Iceberg Arena, home to figure skating, is without question the most amazing environment for an Olympic skating competition. Having suffered through the crappy arenas in Salt Lake, Torino and Vancouver, this one stands alone. And it will make the competition more intimate and exciting. The configuration will allow to skaters to truly make contact with the crowd.  Unlike recent Olympic venues where there were virtual walls around the ice and the spectators were in the rafters, here the spectators are almost at eye level with the skaters. The lighting is perfect and the sound system isn’t painful to your ears. The ice, according to the skaters is truly amazing. Not too hard, not too soft. It’s the consistency similar to Lemon Italian Ice that you scrape with a spoon from a cup

Scott Hamilton and Paul Wiley say it’s the best place they’ve ever seen for an Olympics.

Our announce position is the TV equivalent of a Four Seasons Hotel. We have a luxury box (with it’s own private bathroom) for meetings and makeup, a balcony for fancy on-camera bits and our own stairway leading to an announce position capable of seating 40 people. To the left is the view from the balcony. The camera positions are the best we've ever had for an Olympics. Even our jib camera is in a great location.

I can only hope that the seats are filled. One thing we keep asking ourselves . . . where are the fans going to come from? US based Olympic Tour operators are saying that bookings are down as much as 80% from their early projections. The fear factor is certainly keeping the tourists away. Last year, for the Skating Grand Prix final the Russkies bussed in thousands from the city. It's hard to say what will happen.

Russian hero Yevgeny Plushenko finally arrived and took the ice today at 3:00. He is in great shape and has the potential to set the country into a frenzy if he leads his team to a Gold Medal. He skates tomorrow night. Rumor has it that Putin himself will be in attendance.

Our compound is also perfectly located. This is very important for several reasons, not the least of which, is a warm private pooper 5 minutes from the Production Office. Believe me, when we are running on fumes in the middle of the night turning the show around, there is no finer place than a private bathroom. As you can see, the arena is close to the truck and the office.

Today we had a visit from the Olympic Zone people and our day was brightened by the beautiful Nastia Liukin, 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in Gymnastics. My little клубника has grown up and looks and acts like a professional TV person. 

Well, it's feeding time here at the Zoo. Hopefully the last night in our hotel's "Italian" restaurant. It's on to the fine catering at the venue tomorrow.