The closing ceremonies are done, the athletes are heading back home and Bob Costas can finally rinse his f'ing eyes. With the games officially over, we can take a four-year break before we all pretend to care about bobsled and short track speed skating again. With the festivities concluded we now have the time to breakdown, analyze and figure out where these games will ultimately fit in the annals of Olympic history.
The most immediate takeaway from the 22nd Winter Games was the plethora of bad press that Sochi, and by extension Russia, got daily from social media. Some of what you know is true and some is BS. In a throwback to the Cold War, these games taught us that it's cool to lie about things when it makes our former rival look bad. The double toilet stall story turned out to be fake. A hotel wolf was a viral prank. The "Ass Ice Cream" turned out to be ass journalism. And the no fishing in your crapper sign was an Internet joke that seemingly every serious media outlet, from ABC to Bloomberg to 100 others, reported as their own spin on Russian incompetence. Even Brian Williams himself lied to all of us.
Still, there were some definite lowlights (word to Shaun White dropping out of X Games then failing to medal in the Olympics). And while some have claimed that the problems were embellished, it's kind of hard to give Sochi a pass given the $51 billion price tag. These were the most expensive games in history, regardless of season, a remarkable accomplishment for the winter version. To put it in perspective, these games were more than three times pricier than the 2012 Summer Games in London. To put it into further perspective, they're more expensive than every other Winter Olympics combined.
It was Russia's chance to make a statement on an international stage and show that the country is more than just a continuous parade in front of the Kremlin with float after float trumpeting Russian military might. Their post-Olympic legacy is yet to be determined. But they definitely had their bad share of PR. In fairness, when it comes to international sporting events it could be far, far worse. We mean far, far worse. Still, here are the Biggest Fails of the Sochi Winter Olympics.