From Busbee: Olympic Dispatch #2: Forgive me, Father, I have McSinned
Gangneung, South Korea
Feb. 20, 2018
I admit it. I faltered. I fell from grace. I had promised myself I wouldn’t do it, and I did.
I came halfway around the world ... and ended up eating at a McDonald’s.
I’ve been here for sixteen days now, covering the Olympics all over eastern South Korea, and I’ve tried my damnedest to immerse myself in the local culture, to enjoy the music, appreciate the arts, and indulge in the cuisine of this magnificently beautiful country. And for the most part, it’s been a success; I’ve gained a new appreciation for the delicate flavor of a good Korean barbecue, and Korean pop music is starting to wrap its sugary bounce around the base of my skull.
But still—sometimes you need a Big Mac and a Coke, you know? And it was delicious. I regret nothing.
We get into our ruts, not just as Americans but as human beings. I’ll freely admit I’ve still spent a lot of time over here listening to familiar podcasts and reading familiar articles when I could’ve been diving into even more locally-appropriate cultural fare. But even so, I’d recommend everyone throw themselves headlong into a completely foreign culture once in awhile. Earlier this week, I was feeling weak, I visited a pharmacist who spoke no English, and I managed to describe my symptoms (just imagine the hand motions I did for “runny nose”) to the point that he pegged the exact meds I needed. I felt like I’d just cemented international peace.
It’s been a thrilling and astonishing two weeks here, and I’m not quite ready to come home. Close, but not quite. (Though would it kill South Korea to get a Chick Fil-A over here?) While I finish out my time, here’s a roundup of the best stories I’ve written in the past week. (The Week 1 roundup is right here.)
Why rooting for Lindsey Vonn to fail is un-American. This was the big one, the story that sent an entire chunk of the Internet into fits for about 36 hours. My premise is simple: if you root against an American—any American—simply because you don’t like what they said, you’re not being patriotic. Pretty straightforward, right? Naturally, in the primary-colors world of Twitter, that became “You can’t boo Lindsey Vonn even though she hates the president,” which is not what I said, or believe. I did get a nice bump from one reader, though:
Swiss skier’s father biked 10,000 miles to watch his son in Olympics. Loved this story. We weren’t able to find the father—we staked out the Aerials event for three hours, like FBI agents, but weren’t able to spot him. And as Mischa Gasser jumped, the in-stadium announcer was telling the story of his father, and I was muttering, “shut up, shut up, stop giving away my story.” We’re a petty breed, we journalists.
Devin Logan’s ‘tiny hands’ are the Olympics’ strangest good-luck charm. Sometimes you write the event, and sometimes you write the weirdness.
Tongan flagbearer assumes his rightful place as the world’s Tebow. Pita Taufatofua is now a two-sport Olympian, even though he finished almost last in both. Still, it’s nice to see good things happen to insanely good-looking, athletic folks for once.
Mikaela Shiffrin on unexpected slalom loss: ‘I don’t have an explanation.’ Talked to Shiffrin right after she fell apart during her best event, and tried to make sense of how she could have fallen short.
Olympic medals for video gamers? Right before the Games began, I spent time watching a video game competition. Yes, really. And so did millions of other people. You can go with the get-off-my-lawn approach, but gamers are going to be in the Olympics one day. Bet on it.
Snow volleyball in the Olympics? PyeongChang exhibition plants the seed. And then there’s snow volleyball, which is good drunken fun but I’ll be stunned if it gets anywhere near an Olympic stage.
And there we go. Much more to come! Thanks, as always, for hanging. If you’re not already subscribed, go right here to get these sent straight to your email. And if you ARE subscribed, forward this one to a friend and share the love. See you back in the U.S. very soon!
-Jay
Gangneung, South Korea