Olympic fashion don'ts

I've been trying to watch some of the winter Olympics when I can. So far, it seems like the only events they've been showing when I'm able to watch have been snowboarding. No real complaints there — any sport that involves aerial backflips is fun to watch. But I still have to pause and think, "The heck are they wearing?!?"

I knew snowboarding was popularized by young people who tend to wear baggy clothing, but I was surprised to learn that having your pants hanging off your butt is actually part of the standard snowboarding uniform, even for women. It didn't matter if the competitors were from Japan or France, they were all wearing low-riders under their parkas. And of course, the parkas themselves came in grunge-tastic plaid for the American team. Totally extreme, dude.

Speaking of pants, I'm disappointed that I missed coverage of this year's Olympic curling round-robins. Apparently, the Norwegian team is kitted out in red-and-white argyle golf pants. The pictures are all over the media, but there'd be nothing like the surprise of seeing that team walking out onto the ice for the first time.