The Winter Olympics are the domain of Russia. Their chilly, massive, otherworldly nation, ruled by a tyrannical leader, is the perfect villain for a sporting event.

They openly cheat, they dominate entire fields of the competition, and they wear woolly hats. The only flaw in the second Mighty Ducks film is that Iceland are the evil enemy country, not Russia.

Yet, this element is being completely removed from the upcoming Olympic Winter Games, as it is announced the country are banned from partaking – due to all that past cheating.

Or as the I.O.C put it, “the systemic manipulation of the anti-doping rules and system in Russia, through the Disappearing Positive Methodology and during the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, as well as the various levels of administrative, legal and contractual responsibility, resulting from the failure to respect the respective obligations of the various entities involved”.

Despite the blanket ban, athletes can compete under a neutral flag, being referred to as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”

Still, with the removal of the evil empire country, there is less and less to care about at the upcoming Games. Unless, of course, a plucky Caribbean island nation enter the bobsleigh race…

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