Thursday, February 18, 2010

Shaun White

I am not a snowboarder. I don't ski*. As a result, I don't always have full appreciation for the intricacies and challenges of winter sports the way my husband does (he is a very good snowboarder).

But last night, watching Shaun White, I was blown away. I could just tell how much better he was than everyone else. It was like watching Nadia Comenici or something. And holy halfpipe, did you see that victory lap? Talk about "trailing clouds of glory" . . . **

Interestingly, it wasn't the double corks or the mctwists that demonstrated his skill and talent. Rather, it was his straight airs. First of all, he went about 15 feet higher than the other guys. Second, he so still in the air. Most of the other boarders, when they did straight airs, would do the "kickin' chicken" to some degree--you know, when they go up and then jerk around a bit in an effort to maintain control. Not White. He looked like a sailing freeze frame. And did you see that hang time?

Plus, you know what? I think Shaun White is physically stunning. Am I alone in this? A great face (bone structure). Crazy red hair. His smile. And, of course, the platonically perfect atheletic form.

Beautiful. Straight up.


*Although I still plan to learn.

**I was prepping Wordworth's Immortality Ode while I watched.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I, too, was totally blown away. I've heard of Shaun White (my boys talk about him incessantly) but this was the first time I actually sat down and watched what he does. Absolutely - Stunning. Mind Boggling. Amazing.

He's an incredibly beautiful male specimen, especially those long red curls. Platonically,of course!

Anonymous said...

Totes agree eleventy! I loveeeeee Shaun. He is in a league of his own on another planet. Did he come down from that air yet and get his medal?

If I had a pipe with a building-sized pile of foam to crash into, I would sooooo bust an air board move with extra tomato!
jc

This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

Now I shall have to google Mr. White. Sans TV, I haven't been following the races (or faces) -- this one sounds like it's worth it!

:)

TKW said...

It's funny--I keep hearing how everyone thinks he's ugly? I don't.

Maybe it's the sheer attraction of all that raw talent. He BLEW everyone off the radar. Awesomeness.

Ink said...

He rocks. And is adorable. And I love how humble he is, too.

In fact, I was so psyched for the Olympics to start so that we could see him in halfpipe because of how amazing he was LAST time. And I don't even watch sports, really. Except for the Olympics.

(Btw, nice "trailing" quote there!!!)

Dr. No said...

Yeah, he rocked! I loved that he went all out on that last run.

medieval woman said...

He is completely heads and tails above the other boarders, that's for sure.

I kinda think he looks like one of the Bee Gees - and that's not necessarily a bad thing...

The Thirty-Something Bride said...

Hot. Totally hot. Saw him at Mammoth years ago before he was uber-famous. Hot. Oh, and he was real good too.