My favorite Olympic sport

They say it's not good to have favorites. And maybe that's true, but I most certainly have a favorite when it comes to the Winter Olympics and that favorite is alpine skiing.

Truthfully, it's one of my favorite sports to cover at the high school level as well, as sometimes the pictures come out great and I also usually get a chance to ski too, so that's a bonus. But when it comes to the Olympics, there is no doubt that I love alpine skiing.

But alpine skiing can also be weird when you watch in person. At the Tofane Alpine Center, where the women's alpine skiing is taking place at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, I was standing in what is called the mixed zone, an area just beside the finish area where press gather to wait for athletes to come through and talk following the conclusion of their day. I was standing there with many other American journalists (the corrals are divided by country to make it easier for everyone involved) just watching the action unfold.

Like anyone watching at home, however, I was watching much of the race on a screen. There is a large screen in the finish area, with one half holding the current standings and the other half showing the racers. In the giant slalom (and assuringly the slalom) sometimes you can see the top of the course, like we could today, but you're watching a little dot move between other little dots down the snow. So it's easier to look at the screen until they get closer into sight. In the longer races, like the Super-G and the downhill, you're watching the majority of the race on the big screen.

But man, when the skiers come flying over that last bump toward the finish line, the crowd explodes and the energy just grows. This was particularly true today and in the Super-G that I saw the other day, as Italian star Federica Brignone charged to the front of the field and took the gold medal. The reaction from the home crowd was amazing and it was cool just to see and feel the energy in that finish area.

I will say, here in Italy, the best energy I have felt was at the biathlon arena. The crowds here in the Dolomites really love their biathlon and that amazing location helps to make the experience that much more enjoyable. 

And so that you all believe in miracles, I made it from the hotel to Cortina and back today without any real bus issues. It was exciting.

The Tofane Alpine Center in Cortina is a stunning location, particularly on a beautiful day like today was.