Paul Oberjuerge: Mountain Men
Here at the very end of the Turin Games, I'm seeing reporters I wasn't even sure were here -- the guys and gals who had been up in the mountains, living there and reporting on skiing, sliding, jumping and shooting.
My colleague, Steve Dilbeck, was among them.
Turns out, some of these guys had a pretty sweet gig. Like my friend from USA Today, who told me about his setup in Sestriere.
Andy Gardiner and a former San ernardino Sun staffer, David Leon Moore, were in a rented condo in Sestriere. Which was the place to be. Because many of the ski events were there, but also because the main mountain media center was about 250 yards from their front door.
And yes, Andy confirmed the rumor rampant among hacks down here in the city: They DID get done early enough most nights to have a real, sit-down dinner. At a restaurant. The toughest part was getting reservations. "All the support personnel would take most of the tables," Andy said. Not complaining, though, because I think they all ate, eventually.
Now, my pal, Steve Dilbeck, didn't have it so easy because he was shifting between a couple of mountain venues per day, ambitious lad that he is.
But for those who were covering just one sport, or better yet, a single discipline (women's skiing, in Andy's case) ... it wasn't that tough a gig. Said Andy: "I have no doubt we had it better than you guys did down here."
Oh, well. What's another 10 Italian dinners? A lot of starch and cheese, right?
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