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from: Randall Patterson
to: Seth Stevenson

Candy-Coated Winter Games

Posted Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2002, at 3:41 PM ET

Who are these people?

Well, you've unmasked me, Seth. I am a funny kind of sports fan, aren't I? But if there are "bitter realities" in sports, aside I mean from the agony of defeat, I don't think I'm at all resigned to them. The reality is the thing I want most to talk about, kind of like when you rinse off a piece of cheap candy because you know it's got an excellent nut. These Winter Games are almost entirely coated in cheap candy, and also stock full of excellent nuts. And you cut wonderfully through to the nuts just now with your analysis of the geopolitical and canine implications of figure skating. I thought it most perspicacious of you, sir, and also I laughed.

Let's skip the patriotic talk. We agree and could be dull. Do you want to play Homer for those magnificent curlers of ours who did slay the fearsome Swedes? I would like to observe that the sky is blue, and the Winter Games are very white, aren't they? Do you know the story of the black speedskater Shani Davis? I read about it on the ESPN site and in a good Harvey Araton piece I saw (on paper, alas) in Sunday's New York Times ...

the breakfast table
entries
12345678910111213141516
from: Randall Patterson
to: Seth Stevenson

Candy-Coated Winter Games

Posted Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2002, at 3:41 PM ET
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Randall Patterson's work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and The Best American Sports Writing 1999. He lives in Asheville, N.C. Seth Stevenson raced for his high school's cross-country ski team ... but he sucked, and mostly just did it on a dare. He now writes for Slate.
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