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“Super Show-South Korea”

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It’s bitter cold outside, but the competition is red hot.

The only way to describe all the action at the Phoenix Snow Bowl in Pyeongchang.

We got a sneak preview of the fireworks on day one, when American Jamie Anderson, the sensation, survived brutal conditions to get her gold medal in snowboarding.

America got a wild run in the men’s luge when Chris Mazdzer decided he would go for the medal or crash, in getting the first ever US medal in the very strange sport.

The weekend brought us the gold run by 17-year old Red Girard, the snowboarder no one knew, nor expected to do much.

But Monday night brought brilliance, from one of the youngest, and the oldest, in the electric half-pipe competition.

The ‘X’ game era brought us Shaun White, and has delivered Chloe Kim, and what we saw was beyond brilliant.

White, the Carlsbad phenom, going for his 3rd gold medal. At age 31, coming off crashes and injuries, he did not disappoint with strong runs to move on to the finals.

Dazzling was the only way to describe Kim, who scored (93.75) in her first run, then in the final run, went a near perfect (98.25), all this at age 17.

And then White, who created a whole new set of moves in Vancouver and Sochi, came out airborne. When he started with a doubled corkscrew out of the gate , you knew he was making a statement.

The ‘Flying Tomato’ went with a triple flip, a double twist, and then the on the edge 1260-degree rotation.

When he was done, he was in first place with a (93.25) score, not the perfect 100 he had in the last Olympiad, but it was close.

It’s not in the American language, terms like 1080s….720s, 900’s. frontside-backsides…..corkscrews. switchbacks.

But Kim made us all aware of what she could do with a 4-spin move….a gigantic flip….and a triple spin in her final 1080-degree leap.

Then White took over, and dominated.

How impressive was it all? The NBC broadcast team used terms like ‘nailed it’….’killed it’…..’aced it’.

And the Mammoth Mountain superstar did it-claiming gold, in her first Olympics. And the kid from Carlsbad put himself in position to claim gold again.

These are not sports we pay much attention too, except every fourth winter.

The scenery for the winter games is breathtaking, and the moves by these superstars takes your breath away. Twists, turns, flips, leaping 20-feet into the air, tumbling, and landing.

Lots more events to follow the next week plus there in South Korea. What a way to star the Super Show in South Korea.

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