It's Olympic season again and this time the games are taking place in Rio. People are coming together, cheering on their respective teams, in the names of athletic competition. There's something for almost anybody: soccer, water polo, archery, badminton, gymnastics, cycling and judo, just to name a few. It is the event the whole world watches, except maybe you.

I was never really that athletic or involved in sports growing up. That was more of my younger brother's thing. Perhaps, that is why seeing people compete athletically never really got my blood pumping. It isn't just the olympics, its sports in general. There is no urge to follow every play in a basketball game or every inning in a baseball game. If I really want to know, I can look up the scores later.

My brother is different from me in these terms though. He will watch every sports game that concerns a team he likes. So, whether it is the summer Olympics or winter Olympics, he is very much involved in the cheering for his favorite teams. As many of my friends are, he is also obsessed with watching every single play. There is revelry in the moment their team scores and a pitfall when the opposing team does the same. Every medal won by their favorite player is prideful for them as well. These olympic lovers are part of a larger, more dominant sports-loving community within our society.

There is no reason to feel guilty about not partaking in this excitement or feeling this urge to follow every victory and loss. People simply have different interests. Its just hard for a majority to notice that there is in fact a minority when it comes to sports-loving. The stigma that if one doesn't watch sports means they don't know how to appreciate hard work is untrue. It is the structures of society that cause these beliefs.

Just because a person isn't as interested in an event as much as the majority, doesn't mean that they don't know how to appreciate hard work and talent. I understand and admire the people who compete, working hard their whole life for these events. They deserve to be honored and get recognition for their effort and their achievements.

So, if you're not into the Olympics and you don't know what team is winning at every given moment, that's alright. Both Olympic lovers and those who don't as much should be able to respect those who competed. You can be watching every minute of the event, you can occasionally look up the score, or do nothing at all. In terms of interest, in anything, to each their own. So sit back, relax, watch the Olympics, read a book, or get on that summer homework that is due soon. Either way, it is up to you.