

Passion lives here ... sometimes It has not been hard to find a seat at some events... RELATED SPECIAL REPORT  Quiz: Torino 2006 Quiz Medal Tracker  Special: Winter Olympics 2006 YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Winter Olympics Italy Winter Sports Soccer or or Create Your Own TORINO, Italy (CNN) -- The atmosphere was so electric, the din so overwhelming as Canada took on Switzerland in the women's curling that players found themselves unable to hear each other at opposite ends of the ice. "It was a really noisy crowd and hard to concentrate," Canadian lead Christine Keshen said after the Swiss edged their way to a 6-5 win. "You couldn't hear yourself think. We couldn't yell so we had to adjust. "We were using hand signals, making up our own sign language." Such a story paints a picture of the usual carnival feel of an Olympic Games, where venues are packed to the rafters with spectators cheering wildly for all competitors, from the gold medal winner to the rank outsider struggling merely to finish. At some venues in and around Torino that is exactly what is happening. But at others, athletes are battling it out in front of row upon row of empty seating. At the women's 10km individual cross-country race at Pragelato, competitors voiced frustration at the sparse attendance. "You don't feel it's the Olympic Games because there are not a lot of people," said Norway's Marit Bjorgen, the World Cup leader, after winning the silver medal. "You want to feel a lot of people on the last climb to help you. It's a little disappointing there aren't a lot of people here." Crowds at the speedskating have also been a mixed bag, particularly compared to the burgeoning following the sport has been developing at recent Games. "It's very disappointing to walk in and it's half empty," said U.S. skater Jennifer Rodriguez. "I can't believe this is the Olympics. It almost felt like a World Cup meet. The Olympics should be sold out." The atmosphere picked up after Italy's surprise win in the final of the team pursuit event, when the stadium resounded to a booming chant of "Italia! Italia!". Similarly vocal support has been present at ice hockey matches and at the Alpine skiing, where Scandanavian fans in colorful dress have helped boost the enthusiasm levels. But elsewhere -- even at potentially crowd-pleasing, popular sports such as luge and figure skating -- large numbers of seats are remaining vacant. Strong sales It is not that the tickets are going begging. Organizers say they have sold 815,000 tickets, having set a pre-Games target of 830,000. The ticketing revenue target of $74 million has already come and gone. "It's true at some events there has not been much public," organizing committee spokesman Giuseppe Gattino told AP. "We are aware of it, but we're not particularly worried." He attributed some of the empty seats to "no-shows" by corporate sponsors and Olympic officials. Other factors are also being blamed, including the suggestion that strict security measures are causing massive queues that some would-be spectators demur from joining in freezing temperatures. Another problem is that winter sports often have trouble tearing the attention of soccer-mad Italy away from their beloved national sport. This is made even more difficult as national and European competitions reach their business ends and as fans become ever more firmly focused on the World Cup this summer. The Summer Games, by contrast, are always scheduled for when there are no domestic sports seasons under way, to avoid the potential for distractions or clashes of spectators' sporting loyalties. And the Summer Games take place in, of course, summer, when many people are on vacation. In February, most Europeans are still at work all week and unable to be cheering in Torino no matter how much they may want to. But those at the speedskating when Italy stormed home to gold may feel they saw the moment passion really did take up residence in Torino. "The fans gave me the most overwhelming feeling. I have never, ever seen that many people in a stadium for our sport," a jubilant Ippolito Sanfratello said after the win. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.