The drama continues at the Olympics.

I saw the women’s figure skating a few nights ago and even though there were no real surprises, it was nice to see the winners all skate clean…But I’ve been thinking about how we get so sucked in to all of this!

I’ve been getting so caught up in so many of the sports.  It’s just amazing how we become students of various sports that we never think about during the year (most of us) – biathlon, luge, speed-skating…it’s easy to get lost in the pageantry and drama. Joannie Rochette, Kim Yu-na, and Mao Asada had a rather predictable battle, but one that probably made you sit on the edge of your seat just a bit!

I would probably never turn on too many extreme sports during the year, but I watched the snowboarding.  I watched the aerials.  I watched the ski-cross.  We just do!

And no matter how detached we think we are, we let the commentator give us a lesson in technique.  We watch for the skis coming apart and wonder how that will affect scoring.  We wait to see who will pop out of the starting gate first and take the advantage.  We look for the quad or the triple.  We silently (or loudly) cheer for our country’s athlete in whatever sport, hoping they’ll do well, even if we are just waiting for the hockey or skating competition to begin.

That’s the power of the Olympics.  We put aside a lot to watch them.  We clear schedules.  We open our minds to new sports.  We inflame rivalries we never knew existed, and we stand around the watercooler the next day and talk about it all.  And, aside from the occasional sour grape silver medal skater or the angry short-track athlete, it is usually in a spirit of friendliness.

I love that.

I’d love more of that.

Maybe I’m just a Pollyanna, but so be it.  If it is in the name of togetherness, I’ll take the label.

And, I’ll still watch the Olympics.

-josh