Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed by now that the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea have been all over NBC (if you're from the United States) since February 9th.
Although this is the first Olympics NBC broadcasted without Bob Costas as the leading host, the games have certainly not lost their allure to the general viewing public.
Yes, their overall ratings are down 6% from the last Winter Olympics in Sochi, but their streaming and late-night viewing numbers have increased dramatically (Sports Illustrated).
The Olympics have an unparalleled ability to rally a significant fan base and attract viewers despite its myriad of pretty uncommon and unfamiliar event and long duration between games (4 years between each winter games, 2 years until the next summer games (which will be held in Tokyo in 2020)).
My favorite part of the Olympics, at least as a biased American living in our nationalist bubble, is getting to watch sports that are seldom found on TV or talked about by major and accessible sports news network.
8. Speed Skating
If you enjoy track and field in the summer games and the only thing cooler than being cool is 'ice cold', then you'll definitely enjoy the events that fall under the Olympic speed skating umbrella. These athletes combine the athleticism and quickness of sprinting with the skill, technique, and balance of ice skating.
While some of the longer distances might not be as exciting, there's something to be said for sheer talent and hard-work.
Even someone unfamiliar with the sport may have heard of one of the sport's biggest stars, Apolo Ohno, a 2 time gold, 2 time silver, and 4 time bronze medal winner for the United States who popularized the sport through his success and multiple sponsorships with big time companies like Coca Cola, Subway, and McDonalds.
7. Skeleton
Called skeleton because of the sled's thin structure and not because the athletes who compete in it could possibly die in each attempt, this sliding sport is one of three in the Winter Olympics. I chose to put skeleton for its interesting name and strange sledding position where the competitor slides head first, but luge is also fun to watch, and actually more dangerous.
Athletes can reach speeds over 80mph and with a narrow track full of turns and corners, each small movement of the head, shoulders, or core could not only be the difference between medaling and going home empty-handed but also between severe injury and walking off the track unscathed. You'd have to be pretty crazy to try it yourself, but watching it is a blast.
6. Figure Skating (pairs)
I'm not a figure skating expert, so I couldn't even begin to tell you all the moves and techniques used within one paired figure skating routine. However, I can verify that watching the partnership between any of these dynamic duos is never disappointing.
Their movements are inhumanly graceful and precise, and what they're able to accomplish on a sheet of ice with 4 millimeter thick blades on their feet, most people couldn't come close to on land with tennis shoes. Their PCS (program component scores) is derived from 5 elements: skating skills, transitions, performance, choreography, and interpretation.
When you're watching, you'll probably have no idea what the judges are scoring for, but you will know when they fall or lose their synchronization. You'll probably judge them when they fail, but then you'll watch them nail a death spiral (yes that the move's official name) and you'll remember just how incredible these athletes are. Also, I chose pairs over individual skating not only because I find their routines more enticing, but also often times they have some sort of familial or emotional relationship that adds to the drama.
5. Big-Air Snowboarding
This crazy X-games inspired event has its Olympic debut this year, and the stakes are high: like 160 feet high. Competitors must take an elevator to reach the starting line at the top of the slope, and I'm sure even the most experienced and bad-ass snowboarders still find the 40° slope daunting.
The athletes will hurdle themselves and their boards over 100 feet into the air while executing as many tricks and flips as possible before they must stick the landing in the snow below. This is super exciting to watch as each athlete's run involves the risk of a devastating crash and of course the chance for gold.
4. Bobsled
Bobsled (or Bobsleigh) gained immense popularity through the 1993 Disney movie "Cool Runnings" based loosely on the Jamaican national bobsleigh team in the 1988 Winter Olympics. Although there is not a Jamaican team in this year's Olympics, the sport is still exciting to watch.
Teams of either four or two have to push a sled for 50 meters before boarding onto a track of ice on which they will accelerate through a 3,900-4,300 foot track at speeds over 75 mph. The sport is dangerous, with one of the highest fatality rates for any Olympic event, most actually coming in practice runs, but the teamwork and visuals of the game make for high-quality entertainment.
The key to the sport's difficulty comes down to the proficiency and precision needed to reach the sleigh's highest possible speed. The crew must maintain a balance of weight, aerodynamics, and steering (controlled by the pilot) for most races end with hundreds of a second deciding the winners and the losers.
3. Halfpipe snowboarding
This year two Americans, Chloe Kim, and Shaun White took home the gold for both the Women's and the Men's Halfpipe competition. To win the event, athletes must perform ridiculous tricks high above the halfpipe while landing cleanly and with almost perfect technique.
What these men and women are able to will their bodies to do while riding back and forth between opposing ramps blows the audiences' minds. The athletes seem to defy gravity by getting in over 1000 degree spins and they also capture your hearts by their either over-the-top or unusually relatable personalities. For example, Gold-medalist and breakout star Chloe Kim was tweeting during her competitions about breakfast sandwiches and ice cream.
2. Hockey
Okay so this sport is obviously pretty well-followed even without the Olympic-magic, but that doesn't mean it's not still fun to watch. Male or female, this is probably the biggest "team-sport" in the Winter games and who doesn't rally behind an American hockey team after the Miracle run in 1980 when a team of amateurs (like this year's teams) beat the Soviets.
Hockey synthesizes skill and athleticism but it also allows for competitors to take their aggression out on one another in a satisfying manner that only bodies slamming into boards and bench-clearing brawls can achieve from an audience.
The NHL often gets overshadowed by leagues with concurrent seasons like the NFL or the NBA, but with the Winter Olympics, hockey gets more of the spotlight it deserves. While some would argue that this year's reversion back to the no-professional rule makes the game less-entertaining, I would argue that the sport Is just as thrilling as ever with its characteristic upsets, come-backs, and passion.
And finally...
1. Curling
Oh c'mon. Is anyone surprised that this sport was #1 on this list? It's hard to not be obsessed with this unique and amusing event and its national stage presence every four years. "Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called rocks, across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a circular target marked on the ice," Dan Wetzel describes the beautiful game in his perfectly-titled article 'Don't Take Curling for Granite'.
The athletes' movements and techniques are so odd and unlike any other sport that you can barely look away. The intense broom-maneuvering of the sweeper may seem comical, but it's actually very important in creating friction in order for the stone to travel to the house.
The teams are also very vocal during matches because of how critical and strategic each move must be in order to come out victorious, so you can imagine how amusing hearing their almost incoherent communication between one another can get. Overall, the experience of watching a game of curling is unlike anything you've ever seen, and its rarity only increases its entertainment even more.
