So, did you get your fill of curling during the Winter Olympics? There was certainly no shortage of it.

It’s nice to know that after your household broom gets old and loses a lot of its bristles, there’s still use for it.

I still don’t understand the sport it but it is clear that there is tremendous passion for it among those involved in it.

It was an odd Olympics for the Americans.

The medal count was respectable. Our 25 medals were second only to the Germans.

But it is one of those Olympics that, unfortunately, will be remembered for the negatives.

Bode Miller heads the list with his forgettable non-performance.

The fact he had a legitimate shot at five skiing medals and didn’t win one was bothersome.

But those things happen.

It was his attitude that really irritated me.

He said he enjoyed his Olympic experience. He partied like it was 1999 (excuse the reference to the old Prince song).

He created his own Miller time.

But he was representing his country.

The Red, White and Blue.

The country servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq are losing their lives to defend so we can continue to enjoy the freedoms we have.

At the very least, don’t our Olympic athletes owe it to them to put their best foot forward and give an honest effort?

That means putting the night life on hold for a day or two in order to concentrate on realizing your potential.

I realize that Olympic athletes make great personal sacrifices to get where they are.

So why wouldn’t Miller do everything he could, in those two weeks, to live up to his billing?

Lindsey Jacobellis was the snowboard-cross racer who had a gold medal in her back pocket until she decided to hot dog it as she closed in on the finish line and fell. She wound up with a silver instead.

To her credit, she took full responsibility for her actions and I’m sure it will never happen again.

It certainly isn’t surprising in our showboat athletic society that something like this occurred.

I mean, every time a sack is made in an NFL game, a pose is struck.

Touchdown celebrations resemble “Dance Fever” episodes.

Slam dunks usually are followed by a robust strut.

It has reached the point where you applaud somebody who simply hands the football to the official after scoring a touchdown.

That’s classy.

Then there were our hockey teams.

It was disappointing that our men’s hockey team went 1-4-1 but I didn’t consider their effort disappointing.

They played with passion and their four losses were by a goal.

The U.S. was inexperienced and mediocre in goal and also had problems transforming their periods of dominance into goals.

Old University of Maine nemesis Brian Gionta of Boston College and New Jersey Devils fame is one of the young players who shined, leading the team with four goals and supplying us with an encouraging future.

Our women’s team simply struggled to score goals and it was their undoing in a bronze- medal performance.

Snowboarder Seth Wescott of Farmington did us proud with his gold-medal performance.

It was certainly an interesting Olympics. Now it’s on to Vancouver.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.