I know that name

The snowfall was so heavy in Sestriere Saturday morning that officials had to postpone the men’s Super G race. That gave me time to grab a bite to eat at the press center.
Standing in line I glanced at the press credential of the man standing behind me.
Hey, I recognize that last name. It was Peter Hougesen Nielsen, a Dane working for a TV station in Arhus.
We chatted a little bit about our common heritage. Four of my great-grandparents came to America from Denmark between 1903 and 1910. He noted that Nielsen is a very common name in Denmark. Indeed - I think there were 10 pages of Nielsens in the Copenhagen phone book when I visited in 2003.
I asked him why the only Danish athletes here were the women’s curling team. He said that the Danish Olympic Committee decided on a strict qualification criteria; modeled after Norway — a perennial Winter Olympic power. Consequently, a couple of Danish skiers didn’t get to come, even though they are undoubtedly faster than some of the competitors here.
“They should have used copied Algeria,”? joked Nielsen.
I also asked if he had felt any repercussions from the Muhammad cartoon controversy, which began in a Danish newspaper. He said foreign journalists mobbed him and his colleagues when they arrived at the Media Center in Turin. He added that extra security blanketed the Danish curling team when they marched in the Opening Ceremony.
We shared a few thoughts on what how sad and scary this mess has become, then we parted. But not before I got Peter’s e-mail address. In times like these, we Nielsens have to stick together.