It's finally here, the event that only comes once every four years: the summer Olympics! The Rio 2016 Olympics started just over a week ago and people are really getting into it. America has been steadily maintaining its lead in medals, with athletes like Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps leading the swim team, Simone Manuel breaking history and our "Final Five" women's gymnastics team. I have been waiting all summer to watch our nation's finest athletes compete against the rest of the world to win the gold, and I know that I am not the only one. But what are the Olympics really motivating us to do?
There are two sides to every coin; in the case of the Olympics, there are those who are actually inspired to get up and be active and then there are those who are simply athletic enthusiasts. Much like Michelle Obama has been attempting to get America's youth to do for the past eight years, the Olympics should, in theory, influence those watching to want to get out and be like those who are competing for their nation. This may be true for some, but for most of us, or at least in my case, I sit and watch for hours and hours.
For the majority of the past week, I have put the rest of my life on hold to binge-watch the Olympics harder than I binged the last season of "Daredevil" on Netflix. My mom and I have rushed home after playing volleyball to catch the women's gymnastic semifinals and several of the swimming semifinals. I have even lost sleep every night to watch the events that were aired at night, because I simply could not miss a second. Can you blame us though?
Sports of all kinds tend to gather a crowd of viewers, but the Olympics appears to gather even more as there is an event for every member of the family to watch and enjoy. When it comes to sports, it is popular to gather around a television with a group of people so they can watch together, comment and enjoy -- most tend to do this either in their own homes, or out at bars or sports grills. While at bars, not only are they sitting in an inactive observance of the sport, but they are also consuming a plethora of calories in their beverages and things to snack on -- while team USA is in Rio burning calories, I am over here gaining them. Instead of motivating everyone to be active, we seem to be continuing our normal habits of getting comfortable on our couches, feeding our faces, and cheering from our living rooms.
Although our athletes are awe-inspiring, only some of us follow their lead in trying to achieve greatness in athleticism, or even in the small feat of getting active. No one can argue how amazing they are, so why argue being like them? Get up and get out there -- swim like an Olympian for the rest of this summer, but remember to stay tuned in to see who wins the most medals come August 21. Will America remain supreme?
