I am a major Olympics fan. I remember first getting interested in the Games when I was eight years old during the Athens Summer Games in 2004. There was just something so exciting about watching the best athletes in the world come together and compete for their respective countries. 12 years later, in 2016, I still love watching the Olympics just as much as I did back then, but there's something you should know about me if you decide to watch them with me. I'm a yeller. Deep down inside, I know my yelling won't help when I'm just sitting in front of the TV, but something in me still thinks it will help somehow. All of the things on this list are things I have actually yelled at the TV while watching this year's summer games. If you're an Olympics fan, I think you'll be able to relate.
Swimming
1. Reach for the wall! Reeeach!
There is nothing quite like the close finish of a swim to make your heart race. So often, it comes down to that last stroke and tlast reach. It's too much sometimes.
2. Yes, Simone Manuel! Make history! Do it for all of us!
There's a stereotype (with some founding to it) that black people don't swim. Simone Manuel not only proved that she can swim, but that she can swim fast, break records, and win gold on the world stage. It was a beautiful moment to witness.
3. USA dominating in the relays! (This comment is often accompanied with motivational comments for each leg of the relay.)
The relays are my favorite, but they have got to be bad for your blood pressure. They are so intense, and each leg of the race is so important. That's why I get so excited when I see Team USA walk out with a stacked lineup.
4. Yaaasss Michael! Show 'em how it's done!
Michael Phelps is a legend, and we all know it. I still get hype when he walks out into the arena (undoubtedly listening to the crunkest of rap with those headphones), and you just know he's about to throw down.
5. Come on, Katie Ledecky! She literally has a full body length ahead of the person in second place.
This might be a bold statement to make, but I think if anyone could beat Phelps' record medal count, it would be Katie Ledecky. She is only 19, and she's already the most dominant female swimmer in the world right now. When she jumps in the pool, I can't help but say "yaaaasss" because I know she's about to go hard in the paint.
Volleyball
6. Come on... spike it...YEEEESSSSS!
There ain't nothing like a long, intense volley to make your heart race, and when you see that big spike coming on, cheering is in order.
7. Can I just be a volleyball player? They're so hype all the time.
I love the constant state of hype that volleyball players seem to be in. Whether they get the point or not, they are always ready to support their teammates and slap each other's behinds. I think, in my heart, I'm a volleyball player.
Gymnastics
8. You better gon'head and TUMBLE, Simone.
Simone The-Most-Dominant-Gymnast-in-the-World Biles does the most incredible tumbling passes. She flies so high, and sometimes, I just gotta tell her to gon'head and do her thing.
9. How is Laurie Hernandez that good and that beautiful?! And she loves Jesus too!
I am obsessed with Laurie Hernandez (in the most non-creepy of ways). I think she is so uniquely beautiful, but she is also fantastic at what she does at only 16 years old! Depending on what the field looks like in four years, I could see her coming back and winning gold in the individual all-around in Tokyo 2020.
10. Simone Biles is actually insane. Like, I just don't get it.
Yep, there goes Simone again... doing her thing, slaying us all, and sticking the landing as a cherry on top.
Track and Field
11. Yes boy, you better run!
I just don't get how humans can run that fast. It really is beyond me. It's like they're floating!
General
12. I'm so hype, dog.
Sometimes, Team USA comes through with the W by just fractions of a point or a second, and they're just a lot of adrenaline pumping in my veins all at one time, and I just gotta yell.
13. Let's gooooooooo!
When the competition is so overwhelming that you can't be your normal eloquent self, a simple "let's go!" will always suffice.
14. Yes yes yes yes yes!
When you just agree with all of the winning that is happening on your screen, you just want to verbally affirm it.
To all my fellow fans of the Olympic Games out there, don't stop yelling. I figure the team spirit has to help Team USA somehow, even if it is just us yelling at our TV screens.
