Are the Winter Olympics Better than Summer?

Okay, I know the answer is no. But let me explain why I thought that anyway. Besides just trying to get you to read my posts.

I typically don't pay any attention to the Winter Olympics. It is like the ugly twin of the Summer Olympics. Part of that is because the lack of varying events and participating countries. All the events involve ice or snow. There's only 15 events total. I think Summer has something like double that. It's lead to NBC losing about $200 million on advertising - something I LOVE. (I used to really like NBC, but after the Conan situation, I'm finding any reason possible to laugh at them. They're still okay.)

Regardless, I'm really enjoying this Winter Olympics. I'm not sure why. I don't feel particularly invested in Apolo Ohno or Shaun White (or any of the American athletes.) It's great to just see these events. The race the other night with Ohno getting Silver because of the Koreans falling was very exciting - reminiscent of that unforgettable Phelps finish in 2008. Maybe it wasn't as serious or dramatic, but it was dramatic.

I feel like the Winter Olympics (and Summer too) are events that are only interesting every four years. No one cares what Phelps is doing now (in the water, not at frat parties) and won't care until 2012. He still competes in swim meets, but they don't garner any attention whatsoever. I like watching the snowboarders, but if it was an annual event, I know my attention (and the country's) would wane. Same thing with the World Cup - I love it for the month that it happens, but Soccer isn't on my radar for the other 84 months in between.

One of the other captivating things is the way NBC broadcasts the Olympics - they've done a relatively remarkable job over the past few Olympiad. The addition of viewing events in High Definition has made watching it that much more interesting. It sounds cheesy, but seeing the picture so clearly makes it hard not to watch. The fly-overs they show of the Vancouver mountains are absolutely breath-taking. My only complaint with NBC is not enough information about when events are happening on what channel. When NBC is broadcasting events on Sci-Fi channel, I wouldn't have any clue unless the the national NBC shares that with us.

The Olympics are different than the professional sports leagues we are used to. The athletes we know make millions upon millions and are pampered. Most of the athletes in the Olympics aren't any sort of celebrity - just someone representing their country. Sure, they are great at what they do, but they don't have any status as a superstar. As much attention as Bode Miller/Apolo Ohno/Shaun White may get, people like the US Curler's are nobodies. Who is on our Bobsled team? Nobody knows, and I love it. It's like college sports on a "professional" level - people living out their passion. That is what life is all about.

I plan on watching as much Olympic coverage as possible until I get sick of it - it's a special event that really captures a sense of athletic, non-violent patriotism that is rarely found anywhere else.