Ante Kostelic is the Satan and Demon of the Olympics.
No one man has been more hated in Sochi since Stalin murdered half the Russian population. He raised the ire of the best skiers in the world with his hand drill and devious corners. And he has the perfect name, Ante Kostelic, which is perfect because surely everyone is anti, Ante at the moment.
What are we raising these days as athletes, don't they have any respect for the crafty mind of an old fox that rigged the outcome of the Olympic slalom race all by himself with one swipe of his imagination.
Does no one have a sense of humor anymore, the whole thing backfired, his son Ivica was supposed to be the benefactor, but instead, two Austrians won. His son a disappointing 9th and Ted Ligety exiting woefully, after a blistering 1st run, his best in years, cried harder than Bode during the Christen Cooper interview. Or was that howling? Ted really showed them however; in the second run, he faked a recovery, went on his butt another time, then beelined it down to his next friend, who also became a spectator after the Ante slalom course extravaganza caught him in arrears.
Of course, it didn't help that the first run was a Nastar course and everyone was feeling really good about themselves, many new born slalom stars, at least for an hour or two. What could have felt better than giving Hirscher a well deserved beating. No one wants to see this guy on the podium one more time, he wearing out the steps.
The whole thing could have had a perfect ending, if they had found another Albert DOPPELHOFER, for the second run, the German who set the Nastar style first slalom run. Unfortunately, for the world's best self proclaimed slalom skiers, Ante was in full swing; wheedling his drill and using a tape measure to make sure no one could reverse his devious plan of screwing up the whole Olympics, by pulling out the rule book and making sure he was conforming to every rule and within the norm.
The rest is history, and may not be bested for some time. Nastar has no place in the Olympics, which a few bashers soon found out. And real turns still exist, in reality, not only in the imagination of a coach who likes skiers that can think, ski, review and remember at the same time.
Mario Matt showed them all what is needed to match the old fox. You had to be as devious as the Ante; the anti-leaning and sitting course setter. You had to ski correctly, and with panache, not power and force. And then there was the young Norge, who wooed everyone with his style and grace.
After his performance, Ante is no hero in most minds, but in this skier's opinion, he made slalom skiing worth watching again.
Ante and son Ivica during happier times.
