5 Reasons Why I Love The Olympics

Added by Dave on August 13, 2012

I love competition.

Nobody loves competition more than me – nobody! I can’t get enough of it.

When it comes to competition, there’s nothing better than the Olympics. Every country in the world, competing head to head in all sort of events; sprinting, weightlifting, equestrian. It’s an all you can eat buffet and I’m hungry.

But there’s 5 things I really, REALLY look forward to in the Olympics every two years.

The Medal Count

I’m addicted to this. I check NBC everyday, probably 5 times a day to check the medal count. Who’s leading overall? Who’s leading in golds? What can I say, it’s a matter of country pride and I like being number 1. As an analyst, I know we should be normalizing for population size…

But damn it feels good to be number 1.

The Agony

The Olympics inspire so much emotion. Athletes are devoting their lives, the best years of them, to pursue a dream. They push their body to insane limits, day in and day out.

How then, can you not get choked up when it all goes horribly, horribly wrong?

Like when Lui Xiang injured himself AGAIN doing the hurdles. This guy has literally 1 billion people rooting for him as one of the few track and field stars China has to offer. He hobbled his way to the finish line, during what might possibly be his last Olympics. Did anyone see him kiss the final hurdle? My heart sank.

Or what about when Uceny was clipped running the 1500m on her FINAL LAP? Think about it – this woman practiced every day for 4 years for what is essentially a 5 minute moment, only to have it shattered because someone ran into her foot?

Did you know the same thing happened to her at worlds the year before?

She sat on the track, tears streaming down her face, pounding the ground in agony (I pounded my carpet with her), finally leaving without speaking to anyone. The camera zoomed in, everyone watching…

Don’t you just want to pull your hair out?!?!

The Athletes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ryan_Lochte_cropped.jpg

I love getting to know the athletes just a little bit. Seeing their interviews, or following them on twitter.

These guys are legends – titans of their time.

But they’re also just regular people. In fact, most of them are NOT even household names until the Olympics comes around and then everybody knows them.

And then there are the ones that prove the media wrong.

I’m talking about Phelps.

Let’s face it, when he didn’t medal in his first race, the 400IM, everyone counted him out.

“Michael Phelps‘ Olympic reign has come to an end”

We all know what happened after that.