For one thing, there were dire warnings of an impending ice storm/freezing rain -- which, thankfully, did not (for the most part) materialize where I live. (Other areas to the north & east of us were without power for lengthy periods.) Staying snug at home seemed like a wise strategy.
For another, the World Figure Skating Championships were on in Boston last week!
As many of you will know from past posts, I have followed figure skating since I was a kid, taking lessons at local rinks from the time I was 5 until I was 13. My first clear memories of following a competition are of Karen Magnussen & Janet Lynn at the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics and the subsequent Worlds -- which Magnussen won! -- but before that, I can recall watching CBC Sports host Ted Reynolds with commentators Petra Burka and Don Jackson, on our black-and-white TV.
TV network coverage (from both Canadian and American television) has been frustratingly scanty in recent years (unless, perhaps you subscribe to a streaming service like NBC Peacock -- which is not available in Canada). The American networks tend to focus on the women's and men's competition, possibly the dance, and ignore the pairs event (where Americans tend not to do as well) -- and seldom show more than the final group of skaters, maybe two. Canadian networks have traditionally shown all four disciplines, but have scaled way back on what they show on TV in recent years. (Saturday night coverage on CBC is a non-starter -- that's reserved for hockey, and has been since Canadian television began back in the early 1950s!).
BUT the CBC website does carry the ISU (International Skating Union)'s live feed, which includes ALL events. So from Thursday through Saturday (and part of Sunday), I was glued to one screen or another, binge-watching hour after hour of my favourite sport, and keeping tabs on the standings on the ISU's live results page. (Let's just call it an "ice storm" of a different sort, lol.)
I did have my limits, though: there were 36 (!!) ice dance teams entered, and even I could not endure the thought of sitting through all 36 rhythm dance programs -- which lasted SIX HOURS!! lol A much more manageable/watchable 20 teams qualified for the final.
Overall, it was a LOT! lol I am now WAY behind on the other stuff I wanted and needed to do over those days.
But there was also some pretty spectacular skating on display. (And the Worlds only happens once a year!) I'm glad I watched as much as I did!
What sport (if any) do (could/would) you binge watch?
You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.
I'm glad the ice mostly missed you! Ice and wind are the worst. I grew up with figure skating too! I don't really binge any sport. I do like watching videos of figure skating and whatever synchronized swimming is renamed...
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