events

Tales from Torino, Part 4

by Laura Fawcett

Sharon Morgan made it through "mag and bag" at Opening Ceremonies without the wand.

(2/14/06) - Don't believe everything you've read about Torino. The city has really changed since my arrival on Feb. 1. It seems like every day I'm driving or walking by something and I think, “Hmm, I haven't seen this before.”

A city that at first sight appeared bleak and without character has evolved. Maybe I just wasn't looking at first. Maybe when I didn't arrive into a winter wonderland costumed to welcome the world I gave up looking altogether.

Yep, the Olympic spirit has crept into Torino. But one does have to leave the Main Media Center to find it.

The first sign? The pin craze. That particularly unique hobby that drives Olympic cities into mania has enveloped the city.

My first week I spent many silent taxi rides with non-English speaking drivers. My only words seemed to be “Palavela” “Lingotto” (which I apparently butcher so badly the drivers have no idea what I'm talking about despite the fact it's the biggest building in the area.) and “ticket” (reimbursement is important when taking daily taxis).

The pin craze has changed that. Now I hear with a smile “Americano?” “Pin?” Of course I never have one on me to give out, but that doesn't dampen their spirits.

Another case in point … the security area, aptly named “mag and bag” by journalists. Essentially, pretend you have to go through security at an airport six times a day - that' mag and bag. Check the pockets, take the phone out, take the jacket off, and sure enough no matter how hard I try there's always something that causes the security thingie to beep and an Italian policeman approaches me with wand in hand.

Now, I am married, but I have to admit I don't mind be wanded by some of those policemen. I also have to admit that if one thing can irritate me it's “mag and bag.” But when you are in a rush and grumpy because you haven't had enough sleep, there are few things that can make you smile more than a blue-eyed Italian policeman looking at you hopefully and saying, “American?” “Do you have pin?”

Next time, I'll pretend I'm looking for a pin just to stay around and chat longer.

Basically, I've learned you can't tell the character of a city by going from your hotel to McDonald's. Even if you can't manage to do it alone, you need to get out. So no matter how long the ride is to downtown and how tired you are, do it or you'll regret it. Do it or you'll never even realize you were at the Olympics.

Total Change of Subject
After the pairs free skate, we took John and Rena over to the International Broadcast Center (IBC) for live interviews on two Japanese stations. It was morning time in Japan so they were on the equivalent of “Good Morning America” and “The Today Show.” One thing that stood out to me was the appreciation from the Japanese broadcasters. When Rena and John walked into the cramped quarters of both stations, everyone in the crew stood up and applauded their accomplishments. Pretty cool. And when John mentioned he was hungry, the first TV crew mentioned they just happened to have their own chef making curry and rice that very moment …

Much to John Baldwin's happiness, one of the Japanese TV stations had chicken curry and rice available - he called it the best food he's had all week.

After all was said and done after the pairs free skate, Lindsay and I managed to get into “Bud House” which seems to be the place to be here at the Games. It's really just a big nightclub for athletes, VIPs, and people like us who manage once or twice to get on the list. There isn't anything really to say about it, except that now you know the hot spot here in Torino, and that I did do something non-work related for an hour. I would have been more impressed had I run into new favorite athlete Shaun White. (Or, new favorite non-skating athlete, as Lindsay tells me, just in case anyone takes offense!).

Today was not a good day for mental health. I forgot my credential, but I caught Lindsay before she left to bring it in. I had to eat in the Media Center cafeteria again. I got to the Palavela and forgot both my locker key and wi-fi card. Someone tried to kick me out of my seat by being snippy. You have to be more than snippy to scare me out of a non-reserved non-assigned seat.

The Torino Olympic Organizing Committee (TOROC) decided late in the game to sell practice passes at the Palavela. Two days ago I walked into men's practice and was stunned. It was packed! Just like a competition. I don't know if many locals bought practice tickets because it was inexpensive or what, but I haven't seen anything like it.

Now the men are on. Trifun Zivanovic is skating tonight for Serbia and Montenegro. Many of you might remember him as a former U.S. medalist and World Team member. Last week the Los Angeles Times ran a great article on him if you want to catch up on his life.

My memories of Trifun from when he skated for the U.S. are simple … one of the friendliest guys I ever met in the skating world. But there is a funny story I'll let you in on that Trifun himself probably doesn't even know. For the 1999 March cover of SKATING magazine, the World Team shot, we had a heck of a time finding a photo to put on the cover. Trifun had his eyes closed in nearly every single shot. In the two or three shots he did have his eyes open, there were problems with other things in the image … blurriness or funny looks. I'm admitting to knowledge of photo tampering, but the designer had to resort to taking a pair of Trifun's eyes from one picture and morphing it into his head from another image. If you've got that issue, take a look … you really can't even tell!

I still haven't seen any other events besides skating … and even now I'm writing this while Kevin van der Perren skates on the small TV down the table. I know, you all think I'm crazy not being out in the arena.