This was not the best Winter Olympics for the United States. They only had 28 medals which is 10 less than what they had in Vancouver in 2010. The medal count did not match the futility of 2006 where the U.S. only had 25. This does not mean we do not have winners and losers from Sochi.
Winner
T.J. Oshie - No matter how the United States men's hockey team finished in this Olympics, we will always have Saturday morning where T.J. Oshie made the shootout goals to put them past Russia. Now Oshie is a household name and probably a player to watch for the upcoming playoff stretch. With David Backes and Oshie, St. Louis Blues might get the biggest push from the Winter Olympics.
Winner
Meryl Davis and Charlie White - There were a great deal of disappointments in Sochi, but Davis and White lived up to expectations in ice dancing. NBC built up their rivalry with the Canadian team, and a power shift happened before the Olympics which Davis and White finished in 2014. They should have a pretty successful run after Sochi.
Loser
U.S. Speed skating - Woof. I have probably been watching the Winter Olympics with great interest since 2002. Speed skating was always a sport I would look forward to watching because it is fun in the short track plus Americans are usually pretty good. They were woeful in both men's and women's this year with some dissension among the ranks as well. Both sides blamed their new suits for struggles which is complete and utter bullshit. They came in unprepared and got exposed in a major way. They will need a massive rebound in South Korea.
Loser
Shaun White - One of the biggest winners of 2010 Vancouver Olympics becomes one of the biggest losers of 2014. He bows out of the slopestyle event at the very last moment complaining about a 'wrist injury' and I think we can all make the assumption White was not ready for the Olympics. The guy cares about you knowing who Shaun White is, not his personal medal count. White ends up finishing fourth in the halfpipe and it really felt after his run he looked a guy that got a medal on reputation versus his actual run. Glad to see this is the end of White because it is clear his ego became enlarged.
Winner
Kate Hansen's brand - Remember how Kate Hansen did not win a damn thing at luge? Nope. You remember how she was dancing before the luge event and played a prank on everyone through Jimmy Kimmel that a wolf appeared outside her hotel door fooling the entire Internet. Hansen will likely get a media push in the short term which is crazy to think about as a non-medal winner. That's how bad this Olympics were for the United States.
Winner
Mikaela Shiffren - She takes home the gold at the slalom event at the young age of 18. She will likely be one of the biggest stars headlining the 2018 Olympics in South Korea unless something crazy happens to her. I would assume she will get one of the biggest media pushes in the following year becoming a household name everywhere. Besides Davis and White, this is the United States' biggest bright spot of 2014 Sochi Olympics. It is always great when you can point to the future and see it to be brighter than ever.
Loser
Being Canada's little brother/sister in hockey - Honestly, I took the U.S. Women's hockey loss to Canada like I would a Green Bay Packers playoff defeat. It was absolutely crushing. United States had been dominating Canada in non-Olympics events and then they caught a last minute #lemonbooty giving Canada its fourth straight gold medal. In Men's, the United States was dominated for the whole game, but they had a chance to win only being down one goal for most of it. They did not really capitalize and Canada wore them down throughout the game.
Loser
United States individual figure skating - Another big whiff for the United States as they did not medal in men or women's for the first time since 1936. Men did not really have anyone worthy of contention. Jason Brown will be a threat for 2018, but right now, he is too young. Women were much more disappointing. Women had Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner plus a young Polina Edmunds whom will be a contender in 18' again. Gold had a chance as she was in the top three after the short program leading to her falling in the long program giving her fourth place. She definitely wasn't better than the top two. Wagner proved to be a massive letdown and a reason why she should have been left off the team.
Loser
Figure skating becomes boxing again! - It is pretty clear Yuna Kim got a screw job. It paved the way for Adelina Sotnikova to win the first individual gold medal for Russia in ladies' figure skating. She skated a really good performance, but it felt elevated than what she did. It also does not help the Russian judge gave her a hug after her performance. I feel like if she beat Kim by a point or something, it would not be as big of a controversy as it is today. Will figure skating ever change its judging system? Probably not.
Winner
Tara and Johnny - There is no reason why Terry Gannon, Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir should not be the lead broadcasters for NBC in 2018 with figure skating. They were so good together as well as being the darlings of social media throughout the Winter Olympics. It is not just people loved the buddy-buddy nature of the two rather they were great on their criticism of the figure skaters including the Americans. I love it. Hopefully, they get a shot at the big time in four years.
Winner
Olympic coverage - I felt like people went over the top with NBC's lack of primetime coverage. They were screwed when it came to things as some of the big events happened overnight. You did not need to have a cable provider to stream the content. The stream worked pretty well and the events were spaced out throughout the day. I will agree with people that curling should be covered more and in a more timely fashion with all the networks they have. The great thing about Rio will be it is only three or four hours ahead meaning there will only be reason for slight delays.
Charie.
WinnerT.J. Oshie - No matter how the United States men's hockey team finished in this Olympics, we will always have Saturday morning where T.J. Oshie made the shootout goals to put them past Russia. Now Oshie is a household name and probably a player to watch for the upcoming playoff stretch. With David Backes and Oshie, St. Louis Blues might get the biggest push from the Winter Olympics.
Winner
Meryl Davis and Charlie White - There were a great deal of disappointments in Sochi, but Davis and White lived up to expectations in ice dancing. NBC built up their rivalry with the Canadian team, and a power shift happened before the Olympics which Davis and White finished in 2014. They should have a pretty successful run after Sochi.
Loser
U.S. Speed skating - Woof. I have probably been watching the Winter Olympics with great interest since 2002. Speed skating was always a sport I would look forward to watching because it is fun in the short track plus Americans are usually pretty good. They were woeful in both men's and women's this year with some dissension among the ranks as well. Both sides blamed their new suits for struggles which is complete and utter bullshit. They came in unprepared and got exposed in a major way. They will need a massive rebound in South Korea.
Loser
Shaun White - One of the biggest winners of 2010 Vancouver Olympics becomes one of the biggest losers of 2014. He bows out of the slopestyle event at the very last moment complaining about a 'wrist injury' and I think we can all make the assumption White was not ready for the Olympics. The guy cares about you knowing who Shaun White is, not his personal medal count. White ends up finishing fourth in the halfpipe and it really felt after his run he looked a guy that got a medal on reputation versus his actual run. Glad to see this is the end of White because it is clear his ego became enlarged.
Winner
Kate Hansen's brand - Remember how Kate Hansen did not win a damn thing at luge? Nope. You remember how she was dancing before the luge event and played a prank on everyone through Jimmy Kimmel that a wolf appeared outside her hotel door fooling the entire Internet. Hansen will likely get a media push in the short term which is crazy to think about as a non-medal winner. That's how bad this Olympics were for the United States.
Winner
Mikaela Shiffren - She takes home the gold at the slalom event at the young age of 18. She will likely be one of the biggest stars headlining the 2018 Olympics in South Korea unless something crazy happens to her. I would assume she will get one of the biggest media pushes in the following year becoming a household name everywhere. Besides Davis and White, this is the United States' biggest bright spot of 2014 Sochi Olympics. It is always great when you can point to the future and see it to be brighter than ever.
Loser
Being Canada's little brother/sister in hockey - Honestly, I took the U.S. Women's hockey loss to Canada like I would a Green Bay Packers playoff defeat. It was absolutely crushing. United States had been dominating Canada in non-Olympics events and then they caught a last minute #lemonbooty giving Canada its fourth straight gold medal. In Men's, the United States was dominated for the whole game, but they had a chance to win only being down one goal for most of it. They did not really capitalize and Canada wore them down throughout the game.
Loser
United States individual figure skating - Another big whiff for the United States as they did not medal in men or women's for the first time since 1936. Men did not really have anyone worthy of contention. Jason Brown will be a threat for 2018, but right now, he is too young. Women were much more disappointing. Women had Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner plus a young Polina Edmunds whom will be a contender in 18' again. Gold had a chance as she was in the top three after the short program leading to her falling in the long program giving her fourth place. She definitely wasn't better than the top two. Wagner proved to be a massive letdown and a reason why she should have been left off the team.
Loser
Figure skating becomes boxing again! - It is pretty clear Yuna Kim got a screw job. It paved the way for Adelina Sotnikova to win the first individual gold medal for Russia in ladies' figure skating. She skated a really good performance, but it felt elevated than what she did. It also does not help the Russian judge gave her a hug after her performance. I feel like if she beat Kim by a point or something, it would not be as big of a controversy as it is today. Will figure skating ever change its judging system? Probably not.
Winner
Tara and Johnny - There is no reason why Terry Gannon, Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir should not be the lead broadcasters for NBC in 2018 with figure skating. They were so good together as well as being the darlings of social media throughout the Winter Olympics. It is not just people loved the buddy-buddy nature of the two rather they were great on their criticism of the figure skaters including the Americans. I love it. Hopefully, they get a shot at the big time in four years.
Winner
Olympic coverage - I felt like people went over the top with NBC's lack of primetime coverage. They were screwed when it came to things as some of the big events happened overnight. You did not need to have a cable provider to stream the content. The stream worked pretty well and the events were spaced out throughout the day. I will agree with people that curling should be covered more and in a more timely fashion with all the networks they have. The great thing about Rio will be it is only three or four hours ahead meaning there will only be reason for slight delays.
Charie.
