Let’s begin by saying, four years is way too long to wait for the most exciting collection of sports events broadcast on TV.
There are some sports I have never even heard of, yet I am glued to the television during events like badminton, trampoline gymnastics and synchronized diving. Then there are the obvious Olympic favorite events like gymnastics, swimming and track and field, but there is so much more to the Olympics than that. There are the chills that run through your body when USA wins a gold medal and you see the athletes up on the podium, hand over their heart singing the national anthem. There is the camaraderie of the nation; from talking to people in the grocery line about that one runner who came from behind and won their first ever medal.
My favorite thing about the Olympics must be that it inspires young athletes to dream big. I remember sitting on my couch watching the 2008 Olympics loving every second. As a swimmer, watching the transformation of the swimmers from the Olympic trials to the Olympic games gave me a thrill that nothing else in the sport had. While it did not push me to want to go to the Olympics (I wasn’t that good), it did push me to want to improve and get to my “Olympics.” At first that was making the high school swim team, then being able to swim D1 in college, and now it’s giving me the drive that I need to push as hard as I can to finish my senior season strong.
There are so many cool sports that are showcased in the Olympics that people would not have known about if not for the television time given during the Olympics. It pushes people to explore their options for athletic greatness and research sports that are different. Would I have known that there was a rifle event if I had not heard that a guy from my school made the team? Probably not. But now I know, and so do the 4,000 other people at my school.
It showcases the importance of sportsmanship. At 6 years old, we don’t understand the concept of shaking someone’s hand and saying good job, but when the competition moves to an international level, the lack sportsmanship between two athletes can cause an international incident between those countries.
Olympics are so much more than winning and losing. It’s about seeing people’s dreams come true while being able to talk about it with your friends and family. It is about inspiring all people to reach for their dreams, about the exposure of different sports, and it is about awareness of international relations and events. With the whole Zika issue going on and people saying they would not travel to the Olympics because of it, the Olympics will be different. What will happen with the sports that need to use the contaminated open water area?
Like the intro to ABC’s Wide World of Sports said, “the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of athletic competition...” Whatever happens, I can’t wait to watch.
