Happy 2018 Olympics! The winter Olympics are personally my favorite sporting event, but there are certain programs I like more than others. Keep in mind, this is one opinion, and I, admittedly, am not an expert nor an athlete, just a media major with strong opinions about entertainment. That being said, here's my ranking of the events!
1. Figure Skating
Even if you aren't into the Olympics at all, you're into figure skating. So many people grew up watching it when there was nothing on TV on a Saturday morning, or watching movies about it, or even skating themselves. It's truly an art form that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and you feel every jump, turn and fall with your whole heart.
Plus, the US has an amazing team, with Adam Rippon as the father of the young team, the adorable Shib Sibs already killin' it on the ice, the ultimate goals couple Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim coming back after a slew of health problems over the past few years, and of course the heartthrob of the program "quad king" Nathan Chen who is favored to medal in his Olympic debut.
2. Curling
Hear me out. Curling is loud, brash and full of ups and downs. It takes dedication to watch, and it's easy to get hooked. One game can take an hour and you can learn the whole game in that time, and it's RIVETING when you learn the strategy
3. Snowboarding
A typical fan favorite, snowboarding is the classic audience adrenaline rush sport. Who hasn't dreamed of being able to do the tricks they do, only to actually start skiing and realizing it's even harder then it looks. It's easily the most visually impressive sport and is more of a casual enjoyable watch.
4. Freestyle skiing, alpine skiing
It's definitely a close tie between these two forms of skiing. Freestyle is an exciting fast track that combines a bouncy, rough track and aspects of snowboard-esque tricks in one discipline. Alpine skiing is more of the traditional "ski down the mountain" concept, but the sheer difficulty makes it amazing and enrapturing.
5. Luge, skeleton, and bobsleigh
Another tie! Each of these events has similar themes - a human propelling themselves down a steep track, either on a sled headfirst (skeleton), feet first (luge), or on a sled as a team or alone (bobsleigh). Each has its own charm, and its own level of "who's idea was this?"
6. Biathlon
Skiing and shooting, what more do you need in a sport? Biathlon is thrilling for moments at a time but tends to drag on in between the elements. Still, it's up there with the hardest events in the games.
7. Speed skating
Speed skating is impressive but only keeps my attention for a few rounds. There's no doubt that it's fun to watch, but I can't watch a whole event without flipping away.
8. Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing wasn't exciting until the other day, when the gold medalist came back from a huge fall early on. Most of the time though, it's soothing background noise.
9. Ice Hockey
I LOVE HOCKEY. I jump on every opportunity to see it live, and am a dedicated fan of the team at OU. But hockey can be so boring when filmed, and without the constant in-your-face action, it's best to put on for a nap background.
10. Ski jump
Ski jump is impressive beyond belief, but the novelty wears off after a few rounds. It also is the hardest to tell a good run from a bad run, and it's not interesting enough to save itself from that fact.
