ten reasons i love watching the olympics

so are you guys watching the olympics?

i know a lot of people think it’s kinda corny.  but i have to tell you, i’m a total sucker for the olympics.

except curling.  maybe because i don’t fully understand the whole concept or the rules, but i have yet to embrace sliding down the ice with giant, granite stone.

anyway, i was thinking about all the things i love about the olympics when i watched american ice-dancing competition the other night.  and i thought i might share them here with you in case you are a sucker for the olympics too.

1. for the love of nostalgia.  you guys know what a sentimental nostalgia junkie i am.  and there’s something about us gathering around the TV, watching a show together.  not dvr’d.  not tripp watching finding bigfoot and me watching the real housewives. us sitting together.  totally reminds me of being a kid watching with my parents.  because it was a BIG deal right?  anybody else remember that?  and don’t even get me started on the US hockey victory of 1980.

2. a cultural experience.  i always love the opening ceremony when the host country does its big extravaganza.  they seem so proud to share their history through their music and other art forms.

3.national pride. on a similar note, i love watching all the participating countries’ teams file into the stadium.  that great pride that come with seeing your country marching all together in matching uniforms.

(image courtesy nydailynews.com)

4.  i love the wide variety of events. one night it’s skiing down a mountain at 70 mph and another night it’s the beauty and grace in figure skating. a little something for everyone.

5.  vocabulary building.  it is only because of watching the olympics religiously for as long as i can remember, that i even know about a triple toe loop and a triple salchow.   well sort of.  thank goodness for wikipedia…the authority for all things random.

6. watching the parents watching their children compete.  one part pride and one part fear.

7. beautiful costumes and music in figure skating.

  (image courtesy huffington post)

8. that snowboarding (something that started out as more of an exhibition sport) is now a competitive, olympic sport.

9.  the thrill of victory.  how awesome is it to see when an athlete, who has trained their entire life for their sport, gives a flawless performance and wins the gold medal.

10.  the athletes.  similarly, i think what i love most about the olympics is witnessing the intense focus and pure determination of the athletes.  to know the hours and hours of practice that they have put in for their sport.

i don’t know if i ever told you this, but i played clarinet in my high school band. and we were getting ready for solo and ensemble contest.  well one afternoon i was playing my solo for the band director.  it was going pretty well…except for one troublesome measure.  and so mr. lamkin made me repeat that piece of the music a couple of times.  and each time i made the same mistake.  finally, after several minutes of this, he yelled at me and told me to take my music and go upstairs into one of the practice rooms.  and i was to only play this one measure for the rest of the hour.  over and over.

i think that nowadays this would probably be considered child abuse, but it taught me an important lesson in repetitive practice.  that’s why i have such admiration for these athletes.  who you know have practiced the same jumps, runs, turns a million times.  over and over.  practicing…refining…perfecting.  and i think whether you are an empty-nesting photography enthusiast or a budding musician, this kind of focus and determination is such an inspiration.  just keep at it.  practice.  persistence.  patience.

so there you have it.  why i dearly love the olympics.  what do you love about the olympics?