Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding
1994, Lillehammer
When I watch the Olympics, I feel inspired, happy, patriotic, and then I feel like an underachiever sitting on my couch watching other people succeed and exceed their wildest dreams. Maybe that’s why I enjoy a good Olympic scandal as much as any touching moment. I’ll never forget the shock and drama surrounding the 1994 attack on Olympic ice skater Nancy Kerrigan. Only one month before the games in Lillehammer, she was struck in the knee in what at first appeared to be a random act of violence, but later turned out to be a vicious conspiracy involving her chief skating rival Tonya Harding. Kerrigan recovered in time to compete against Harding in the Winter Olympics where Kerrigan won a silver medal. Harding finished eighth and was later banned for life from participating in events or coaching.
The USA Hockey Team
1980, Lake Placid
Forget Rocky, The Karate Kid, and Chariots of Fire, when I need an adrenaline rush, I watch clips from the U.S. team of amateur and college players defeated the Soviet Union—considered at the time to be the best international hockey team in the world. It was classic untamed underdog glory.
The Beijing Olympics will no doubt give us more awe-inspiring, tear-jerking, scandal-creating, unbelievable moments, and I’m looking forward to every single one. Let the games begin.
