Yesterday was the first full day of competition at the Olympics.

I watched the speed skating and saw the favorite take the gold.  But I also saw an unexpected athlete take the silver.  No one had him pegged for much.  But there he was with the silver!  There was something satisfying about that.

I like the underdogs.  Makes me think anything is possible!

Then there was the ski jump.

The announcer was great.  He said, “Your mind is telling you it’s suicide…”  And this was the normal hill.  The big hill is coming up, I guess.

Someone I was watching with asked, “I wonder what age you know you want to risk your life like that.”

I smiled.  I guess some people like to push the limits of what’s possible, even in ways we might think are crazy.

And it may be crazy.

But it’s inspiring.  And it keeps us watching.

There is heart.  There is grit.  There are people skiing moguls who have existing ACL tears in their knees.  There is speed, there is determination, and there are people risking getting body parts sliced off from skates.

I guess one of the big questions with sport is, at what point do we cross the line from commitment to crazed?  Does it matter?  Some humans have a competitive spirit so strong, they will perform feats that come out of what they call ‘obsession’ for the sport.  But don’t we do the same thing?  Aren’t we obsessive about dogs, food, or love, almost to the point where we risk life or serious harm?  For examples, see Cesar Milan the Dog Whisperer, Adam Richman of Man vs. Food, or any person who sticks it out with the love of their life, even through hard circumstances.

Maybe, then, when we watch the Olympic Games, we’re only seeing the tip of the competition/commitment/obsession iceberg!

Hey, it was only the first day and already there was a surprise silver and a ton of men risking their lives from a ski jump.  There were heartaches, heartbreaks, and, likely, some bone breaks.

I can’t wait to see what comes next.  It should be interesting.

Maybe I’ll DVR the games this afternoon while I’m out and watch them later.

Is that obsessing?

-josh