There is another tradition among the Swiss, and that's to bring and ring cowbells to urge the racers down the mountain. And not just any bells, giant bells. The bells are actually prizes given out for a traditional Swiss sport called "schwingen"
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Swiss are Schwingen
- February 19, 2010 2:26 PM |
- By Joe O'Connor
Story provided by
Sepp was drinking a beer. So were his Swiss pals. Drinking beer is what the Swiss -- and the Euros -- like to do at ski races, even when it is 10:30 AM in the morning. There is another tradition among the Swiss, and that's to bring and ring cowbells to urge the racers down the mountain. Sepp, whose name in English is Joe, just like the writer, was standing beside a collection of bells. And not just any bells, giant bells. Like, each bell was about the size of a small child, giant.
Sepp explained that the bells are actually prizes given out for a traditional Swiss sport called "schwingen."
"It is like wrestling here," Sepp said. "You have fighters and afterwards there is a prize, and it is bells, or a chair -- with a graphic -- and the best man wins a small cow, a small cow from the Alps."
Sometimes the winner gets a goat, or a table. But mostly they get bells. Giant bells.
And on Friday the bells were ringing in Whistler to urge the Swiss racers down the men's giant slalom course.
"Didier Cuche, Carlo Janka," Sepp said. "Maybe I think two men from Switzerland will be on the podium."
And maybe one of them will get a small cow, and a giant bell, to go along with an Olympic medal.
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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