How to watch Alpine skiing Super G at the Winter Olympics: A guide to understanding and appreciating the sport

What time is Super G on at the Olympics? Plus all the rules, streaming information, listings and more you need.

Do you feel like watching skiers try and make it through a series of gates set up in complicated ways while they also try not to fall, break anything, or screw up and ruin their chances of medaling? While also going really fast? Do you want all of that but don’t know where to find it, or are a little blurry on what Super-G is? Well you’ve come to the right place.

Super-G, a mix of the technical and speed factors that populate the rest of alpine skiing, holds a middle ground of the sport. But if its rules and differences from other events are a little murky for you, Lindsey Vonn is there to break through any confusion and get on the podium for the US.

Besides Vonn, the American field is made up of a stacked group of Wiley Maple, Bryce Bennett, Travis Ganong, Andrew Weibrecht, Thomas Biesemeyer, Mikaela Shiffrin, Laurenne Ross, Alice McKennis, Jacqueline Wiles, Alice Merryweather, and Breezy Johnson. That’s a lot of medal chances on both sides, but they’ll be up against some steep competition from other countries as well.

Even if none of the American favorites pulls a medal out of this event based on the one shot at the course each skier gets, the fun is in the marvel of each athlete’s speed and skill and the constant threat of disaster with every turn.

What time and how can I watch?

You can stream the events live on NBCOlympics.com or the NBC Sports app, and Super G will be televised live on NBC and NBC Universal networks at the following times:

Women’s Super G: Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET

Men’s Super G: Feb. 14 at 9 p.m. ET

You can also live stream NBC, NBCSN, and the Olympic Channel coverage via Fubo.TV on your computer or mobile devices.

Why should I quit my job and become a lifelong devotee of Super-G?

It’s one of the fastest alpine events, but still has the entertainment factor of participants making or missing gates. If you like the speed of downhill but the stress of watching skiers whip through gates at top speed, then this is the event for you.

What are the rules of Super-G? Follow up: What is the weirdest rule of Super-G?

Super-G is more technical than downhill because of the gates athletes still need to pass through, but faster than slalom and giant slalom so it falls under the “speed event” category. Each skier gets only one run to put up their fastest time, so getting an Olympic medal comes down to a single short pass at the course.

The weirdest rule of Super-G is that the course “should be undulating and hilly if possible,” and in many competitions, the course is the same as the downhill course but shorter. Just in case you thought these skiers were hitting crazy speeds on a course that is smooth and not hilly.

What can I talk about to impress the Super-G enthusiast in my life?

Have a chat about all-time Super-G great Hermann Maier. He had 24 World Cup Super-G wins and five World Cup titles in the event. He was an aggressive skier (he once won Olympic gold three days after crashing in the downhill event) and liked taking the most dangerous way down the course in order to win. He also almost had his leg amputated after a motorcycle accident and then came back and won eight more Super-G titles after that.

Whose jersey should I buy?

If you don’t have a Lindsey Vonn “jersey” yet, you should think about picking one up. She’s pretty decent! This is her fourth Olympics (she missed Sochi due to injury) and she has 79 career World Cup wins across all five alpine events, with 27 of them coming in Super-G, and five Super-G World Cup titles.

What is the sport’s AMERICA RATING?

FOUR OUT OF FIVE EAGLES. Besides Vonn, the United States also has Wiley Maple, Bryce Bennett, Travis Ganong, Andrew Weibrecht, and Thomas Biesemeyer on the men’s side and Mikaela Shiffrin, Laurenne Ross, Alice McKennis, Jacqueline Wiles, Alice Merryweather, and Breezy Johnson in the women’s field. They won’t all be at the top of the rankings, but that deep of a field of Americans gives the US of A a great shot at a medal or two.

What’s the best GIF I can watch from Super-G?

Something that can give you a sense of how fast they’re going should do the trick. But there’s really no replacement for watching a full race.