2/22/2006: A shrouded mystery
Maybe it's just me, but I think it's peculiar that we haven't heard much about the Shroud of Turin among all the Olympics coverage. Before all the skis, skates & sleds came to town, Torino/Turin was best known for the cloth inside the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist that's said to have covered Jesus in his tomb.
I don't watch every minute of Olympics coverage and I don't always pay close attention even when it's on, but I've seen an awful lot of it along with pieces by local news reporters camped out in Torino and the occasional Olympics piece on entertainment or magazine shows. So far out of all the back-story and local color pieces, the only (sort of) in-depth piece I've seen about the Shroud was from one of Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" idiots. Ross the Intern's Torino reports are way better than anything that guy has to offer.. but I digress. The only other reference to it that I've heard was a mention by Bob Costas, and that was in passing.
Are NBC and the other broadcasters afraid of getting into religious territory and that's why they're ignoring this world-famous relic? That didn't stop them from reporting on Pope John Paul II's death and funeral, which were awesomely impressive whether one's Catholic or not, or even Christian or religious at all. So I don't understand why they're ignoring the Shroud: it has the same secular and universal interest, and there are more than a few authentication controversies that could be built into a piece to be sure it stays properly PC.
Meanwhile, I've seen at least a dozen pieces on Torino's chocolate tradition, chocolate makers, and confection shops.
