The Olympics and Casual Sports Fans
Last night the 2014 Winter Olympics kicked off with a typically long opening ceremony. My wife and I did our usual routine of waiting through all of the various national teams so that we could see what Team USA was wearing this year. We then tuned in and out of the performances until the Olympic Torch was lit. This marks the start of 2 weeks of sports-based obsession in our home.
NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour had a good conversation this week about what the Olympics mean, especially to the casual sports observer. That would…ahem…be me. I don’t watch much in the way of sports. Other than my obsession with mixed martial arts, March Madness and the Masters golf tournament I simply don’t find myself tuning in very often. It’s not that I don’t like sports, I played several in my youth, but I just find it hard to really to stay committed to watching them long-term. Even MMA only has one or two fight cards per month so the time commitment is minimal. That is why the Olympics are so appealing.
As Linda Holmes pointed out in the podcast, the Olympics allow us a short window to learn who these athletes are, learn their back story, root for them during a brief competition and then move on with our lives. Of course, the fact that there is a healthy dose of nationalism thrown in certainly makes it easier to cheer for our fellow countrymen and women. Some would say the Olympics create an unhealthy atmosphere of ‘us verses them’ but I don’t see it that way.
The beauty of the Olympics for the casual sports fan is that we can immerse ourselves in competition and not feel like it will go on forever. The fact that there is so much other good stuff thrown in is icing on top. If the American hockey team makes it to the finals against Russia, look for the kind of high drama that make the Olympics so great.
For me this is also a time to recollect my childhood fondly. I remember the 1984 Summer Olympics very well, watching them with my grandmother on a small TV in her kitchen. During the 1988 Olympics, one of my favorite memories was the US volleyball team defeating the Soviet team on a Saturday night. The Dwyer kids all loved volleyball and our house watched the match with white knuckles. It was the first time I remember recognizing the power of athletic competition on the largest stage.
And with this I greet the Winter Olympics with excitement. For the readers, what are you looking most forward to? What kinds of feelings do you have about the Olympics?
Mike Dwyer is a freelance writer in Louisville, KY. He writes about culture, the outdoors and whatever else strikes his fancy. His personal site can be found at www.mikedwyerwrites.com. He is also active on Facebook and Twitter. Mike is one of several Kentucky authors featured in the book This I Believe: Kentucky.
@Mike, you should probably remove the rings.
We went through this on Ravelry; you cannot use trademarked olympic symbols. It’s in US law specifically. They search infringements out, and the are lawyered up. I pretty much guarentee: it will generate a cease-and-desist letter to OT.
And I will not be watching; I support athletes. But the way it’s televised now is offensive; highlights and controversy and color, not competitions.Report
The Ravelry story. Remember: we’re talking a social-media of about 3.5 million people who knit and crochet.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/06/22/ravelry_olympics_usoc_apologizes_to_online_knitting_community_over_trademark_crackdown.html
This year, the knitting-while-watching (or not watching or watching something else) are called the Ravellenics; and there are numbers of efforts underway to raise money for human rights groups that support LGBT rights.Report
Is your sports coverage really that bad? The BBC is putting live streams on two extra channels that appear to be showing competitions start to finish. There is commentary but it’s not like they only show bits or cut away for a studio discussion while a skier is halfway down the slope.Report
I love the Olympics – the amazing athletes, the pageantry, the chance to completely let loose with patriotic fervour. There great diversity of events combined with the fact that it’s only a little over two weeks means you can focus on it completely without the time commitment of following a team for a whole year. And every event matters. Every event has a gold medal at stake, so the competition is a lot more concentrated than in a full season of hockey. And it’s not just about cheering for a team you like – it’s about cheering for your country. Canada’s blowout performance in Vancouver only made me more enthusiastic. I’m going to be glued to the television for the whole of it.
Also, there’s so many events that are just plain fun to watch. The snowboard and ski cross, the new slopestyle event, the gorgeous figure skating routines, and of course the hockey.
CBC does a good job of broadcasting – they certainly focus on the Canadian athletes, but they show the full competitions live, not just the Canadian performances in a primetime reel like NBC.
Canada’s already got a gold, silver, and bronze, so things are looking good! Hurray for Marc McMorris (competing with a broken rib, I can’t even imagine how painful that would be, they don’t even let you take painkillers) and the Dufour-Lapointe sisters!Report
im trying to be in the olymicsReport
What event?Report
Other than my obsession with mixed martial arts, March Madness and the Masters golf tournament
Do you also like marathons, mountaineering, and middleweight boxing? 🙂Report
I enjoy the Olympic sports where the athletes decide the outcome, and intensely dislike those that are judged. I am keen to see who makes it to the bottom of the hill the fastest, or who can shoot the straightest and ski fast, and really like those nuts on the luge.
Figure skating, snowboard trickery, any “sport” where the outcome is decided by sometimes openly biased judges, you can have. Not to say that the athletic prowess demonstrated isn’t impressive, but in reality it’s just an exhibition, not a competition.
I also enjoy watching the parade, feeling especially good about athletes that enter and compete with no hope of winning. That, to me, is the true Olympic® spirit.Report
I’m inclined to agree, I watched the snowboarding and none of the commentators seemed able to work out what criteria the judges were using.Report