With the Olympics right around the corner, different countries are starting to reveal their flag bearers for Friday night's Opening Ceremony. Some are pretty cool. For example, the Bruins are letting Zdeno Chara miss two games so that he can carry Slovakia's flag. But there's one significant flag bearer that hasn't been announced yet. We still don't know who'll have the honor of carrying the Star-Spangled Banner into Fisht Olympic Stadium. Never fear, though, I've got some suggestions.
We'll start with the ones we know definitely won't be, for whatever reason. Shaun White is looking for an unprecedented third straight gold medal in the men's halfpipe, and he has a chance to get two this year because of the new slopestyle event. However, with the slopestyle prelims the night before the Opening Ceremony (don't get me started on that) and the final the next day, it seems highly unlikely White will even attend. And if he isn't there, it'll be kinda tough for him to carry the flag.
Same thing with Julie Chu, the captain of the women's hockey team. She's an Olympic veteran who'll be playing in her fourth straight Olympic tournament (counting Sochi, there's been five). But with the U.S. women playing the opening game of the entire Olympic hockey competition (at noon local time), Chu's not going to be the flag bearer either.
There are a couple Olympians whose compelling backstories could thrust them into the conversation, as well. Erika Brown was the youngest member of the U.S. team 26 years ago in Calgary, when curling was a demonstration sport. In 2014, she's the oldest member of the U.S. Olympic team. Emily Cook, meanwhile, is a medal contender in women's aerials. It's her third Olympics, and it would've been her fourth if she didn't have to withdraw due to injury in 2002.
But if we're awarding persistence, no choice would be better than ski jumper Lindsey Van. Van was the World Champion entering the Vancouver Games, when women's ski jumping was controversially not added to the Olympic program. After a leading a long legal fight for her sport's inclusion, Van is finally an Olympian. Then there's bobsledder Chris Fogt, a U.S. Army vet.
Speaking of bobsledders, Steve Holcomb piloted the U.S. to gold in the four-man event in Vancouver. It was the first American gold medal in bobsled since 1948. Holcomb's back in Sochi, driving both the two-man and favored four-man sleds. He's a veteran, a gold medalist and a medal favorite. Holcomb would also be a great choice to carry the flag.
Shani Davis would make a fine choice, too. He's already made Olympic history as the first black athlete (from any country) to win winter gold. Davis then did it again Vancouver. And he's favored to capture a third straight gold medal in the 1000 meters in speed skating. Shani Davis rubs plenty of people the wrong way, though, so you have to wonder if that'll be held against him.
Or how about Bode Miller? He's one of the most decorated Winter Olympians in history with five medals (in four different events), a record for an Alpine skier. Bode's back for his fifth, and almost certainly last, Olympics. It would be a nice gesture to recognize his longevity, as well as his impact on the sport in the U.S. However, like Davis, he's not the most popular athlete. Miller's also had a historically prickly relationship with the U.S. Ski Team over the years. As a result, there are probably plenty of people out there who don't think Miller's as deserving of the honor.
My selection, though, is a guy who's making Winter Olympic history in his own right. Todd Lodwick will be competing in his record SIXTH! Olympics in Nordic combined. He was finally rewarded with a medal in Vancouver, when the U.S. won the silver in the team event. Most people thought that would be Lodwick's Olympic swan song. Well, he's back for one more. And this one will almost certainly be it. I can't think of a better send-off for the pioneer who turned Nordic combined from a sport most Americans knew nothing about to one where the U.S. is a legitimate medal contender.
I think Todd Lodwick is the ideal choice to lead the American team into the stadium at Friday's Opening Ceremony. It's the biggest honor an Olympian can receive. And one Todd Lodwick deserves more than anybody.
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