SOCHI - The Olympics are nothing if not a frequent venue for showing national pride.

 The Russian games are no exception, especially for a nation that hasn't hosted the Winter Games in decades. Thousands of spectators wandered around the Olympic Park on Sunday, enjoying the international flavor and wearing their pride on their sleeves. Or jackets and hats.

 I won't get my first taste of the enthusiasm and fanfare inside the ice facilities until Tuesday, when I attend a curling match involving the U.S. and Canada, among other teams. Spokesman-Review columnist John Blanchette, a veteran of Olympics coverage, advised me to attend a curling match because, as he put it, curling fans are the most entertaining to interview and be around. I'm all in.

I also have a ticket for a U.S. men's hockey team game on Thursday. Hockey is enormously popular in Russia and I would expect the stadium to be full.

 

 

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