If we work really hard, I bet we can blame this one on Lance Armstrong. In Wausau, Wisconsin elite ice fishermen spent a week wandering a frozen lake preparing for a fishing contest. When the start gun went off (I’m assuming they use guns), teams from around the world scrambled to haul in as many fish as possible within a three-hour window. In the end the Russians would take home gold, and the Americans won fourth, based on the work of one man who hauled up the Wisconsin limit of 25 fish.

While sharing celebratory cocktails, some of them were hauled out of the post-party bar and told they had to submit to urine tests for banned performance-enhancing drugs. You see, ice fishing wants to be an Olympic sport. And while this seems insane, bear in mind that ballroom dancing and speed walking are both in the Olympics (or were, at one point). And it also seems that there’s a certain degree of skill in this sport, with guys scouting the lake and trying to find the most productive places, then going nuts for a few hours drilling holes, fishing, and stashing fish in their fanny packs to hide the productivity of good spots from their competition. I’d like to see an Olympic sport with fanny packs. I expect we’ll see a TLC reality show on ice fishing before too long. Too bad Lance has that lifetime ban, I bet he’d be good at this sport.

Tags: olympics

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