If you're anything like me, you played a few different sports growing up and maybe even one in college, but when it comes to watching sports you've never really been a fan. Sure, you went to high school football games but it was just to be with your friends. Maybe you watch the Superbowl, but which team is your favorite? You probably don't have one.
However there is something a little exciting going on in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil right now until August 21, the thirty-first Olympic Games! The Olympic Games are where top athletes from around the world gather to compete for gold and we're all obsessed with it. Except for the Fourth of July, our American pride is at it's highest during the Olympics.
We can watch all decked out in red, white and blue with our friends and cheer as Team USA earns a gold medal. We do not need to know how to play or understand sports to want our fellow Americans to win. And, truthfully, we probably just watch and wish we could be half as in shape as they are (*ahem* the gymnasts *ahem*).
During this year's Olympic Games, it is easy to notice the media coverage on athletes like Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, and Katie Ledecky; however, I have not seen as much coverage on Simone Manuel, a swimmer who is the first African American woman to medal in an individual swim event. Manuel took gold in the hundred-meter freestyle. She has begun inspiring women around the world to dive into the pools of their dreams and not hold back. It has truly been an amazing Olympic Games to watch women make history.
As a young woman, it is not everyday that I get to see fellow females competing on television. Women's sports do not get as much air time, so maybe that's the real reason I'm obsessed with the Olympics. Either way, I'll be the first to admit I do not understand gymnastics but I will sit and cheer on Simone Biles as she sticks her landing. I do not know anything about swimming, but I refuse to miss one of Katie Ledecky's races. And Lilly King became my favorite when she called out Russian swimmer, Yulia Efimova, for her drug use. Pictured below is King and Efimova after her victory in the 100-meter breaststroke, which won her a gold medal.
So maybe I'm not as obsessed with the Olympics as I am with actually being able to watch female athletes compete, but no matter what I'll be cheering on Team USA until the final event.
