In preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games...

Somebody please explain to me how people "fall" into this sport.

How do you even begin practicing for it?

And, furthermore, what kind of parents ALLOW their child to DO this?

I mean, really! Did ya'll hear what happened to Emily Cook right before the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake? Here, let me refresh your memory:

"The top U.S. female aerialist leading up to the Salt Lake Games, Cook secured herself a spot on the Olympic team with a win at the 2001 Gold Cup. But two weeks later, and two weeks before the Opening Ceremony, she landed awkwardly during a training jump in Lake Placid and caused serious damage to both feet. With the Olympic aerials competitions taking place in her hometown of Park City, Cook watched from a wheelchair with a cast on both feet. In her right foot, 'the better one,' Cook had small fractures and tore all the ligaments. That foot was in a walking boot and couldn't bear weight for six weeks. But in her left foot, she had significant fractures, tore all the ligaments and had a considerable dislocation of the midfoot. Cook underwent two major surgeries, both on the left foot, and after each surgery, she couldn't bear weight for three months."

- Read more about Emily Cook's story here.

Uh, ouch..!

So, yeah, Emily is back for the 2006 Olympics in Torino. I think her story is absolutely amazing and fundamentally inspirational.

Think about it, though. How do you go back to something that almost permanently crippled you? I mean, kudos to Emily for overcoming a major (almost career ending) injury as well as having the guts, courage and determination to fight her way back to where she is today - but the ENTIRE accident four years ago was caused by a gust of wind (as opposed to landing, "awkwardly during a training jump in Lake Placid" - talk about the understatement of the year!!). Seriously. A gust of wind that blew her off balance ever so slightly, and sent her crashing to the ground.

Her feet were shattered. Shattered! Doctors thought that she may never walk again (much less ski).

I guess, I am a little more "in tune" with my overall sense of mortality. It's like if you put your hand on a hot stove, and burn yourself. It hurts, so you learn to avoid putting your hand on a hot stove in the future. Similarly, if I fell off a mountain and broke shattered my feet, I think I'd elect to avoid that activity in the future.

…But then there is Emily. Here is someone that does something dangerous, gets hurt in the process, almost loses the ability to walk, and then says, "Let's go do that again"!

So, I've decided that I'll be rooting for Emily starting this Friday. If it were up to me, I'd give her a gold metal for just qualifying for the Olympics after her ordeal four years ago.

As they say in Rugby: "Is everybody with me?"

(Answer: "You bet your a** we are!")