The early results are in from the Winter Olympics in Sochi and the vote is bad for the home team. No you have not missed any events, yet, but rather what you have missed is what looks like are some world class foul ups.
So far most of the complaints have come from journalists, with a few but increasing number of athletes also chiming in. Normally I do not pay much attention to the reporters since some seem to make a living on complaining. Peter King complaining about the good weather at the recent Super Bowl, which apparently ruined his chance to complain about the bad weather, is a good example.
First there is the growing fear of terrorism, something that has gained ground due to some recent bombings in the region. The huge security presence has not allayed that fear to any large degree. The Sherman Report talked to a number of veteran Olympic journalists and it seems to be one of their greatest concerns.
Then there are the more mundane issues mostly around the state of the facilities. I imagine that at most Olympics there are always a few details that get overlooked. However I do think having a hotel room with no door knob on your room door, running water or the ability to flush toilet paper in the toilet falls into that category. More than one person has reported that it appears that during the day when they are absent their rooms are used by the hotel staff for other purposes.
However there have been a huge number of pretty funny tweets on the subject, including people willing to trade light bulbs for a door knob and another saying that the hotel staff recommended not drinking the water because it was poisonous. Then there is the great pillow shortage as well.
I suspect once the events kick off no one will have time for complains as most reporters cover multiple events in a day and as long as the event remains safe this will be the last we hear about hotels with no lobbies, at least until after the closing ceremonies. Still do you think this is what Putin had in mind when he won the Olympics and proclaimed that Russia is ready for the Olympics?
