10 Reason Everyone Should Cheer For Clyde Getty At The Olympics

When I tell people that I am cheering and supporting a 48 year old freestyle ski jumper from Argentina at the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics, their first reaction is that they think I'm making up a story. When they find out that I'm not, they wonder why I would support such an obscure athlete. Here are 10 reasons why you should consider cheering on Clyde Getty at the Vancouver Olympic games:

10. Daffy!



9. It's always more fun to cheer on the underdog.

8. Freakin' triple back-flip layouts.



7. Because you should hope that you can be as active when you are 48 years old.

6. He does back flips off of jumps he builds after it snows in his back yard.

5. It's not often you get a chance to root for an Olympic athlete with a touch of gray.

4. Because he can casually announce that he displaced his 10th rib on a jump as if it were nothing more than a normal training hazard.

3. Freestyle skiing take off ramps



2. How can you not root for someone who feels he has already received his medal simply for making it to the Olympics?

And the number one reason that you should be rooting for Clyde Getty at the Vancouver Olympics is:

1. After taking a face plant like this:



as Clyde did in Torino, not only did he jump up and wave to the crowd, he decided that he wanted to try the jump again in the next Olympics:

Clyde Getty Helmet Cam

It is amazing that Clyde Getty is still doing freestyle skiing competitively at age 48, but to get a true feeling of what it is like, you have to take a look at these Clyde Getty helmet cam videos:







If that doesn't make you want to cheer him on at the Olympics, I don't know what will...

A Triple Flip Without A Face Plant: Clyde Getty's Olympic Dream

Even if you don't recognize the name Clyde Getty, if you watched the Olympics 4 years ago, you have probably seen his performance countless times. Attempting a triple flip, he came up a couple of degrees short and did a face plant that was replayed time and again. Watch for yourself and you'll remember:



One would assume that being 44 years old at the time, that would have been the end of Clyde's freestyle ski jumping. You'd be wrong. Just as he immediately jumped up after that hard landing and began blowing kisses, he set his sights on Vancouver and giving the triple jump a try at another Olympic games at age 48.

You can follow his blog as he competes to make the Argentina team. You can also become a fan on facebook to cheer him on to perfectly landing that triple flip this time around.