I love the winter Olympics. Seriously love them. The summer Olympics are not a big deal. I'll watch them--at least some of the events--but I don't get into them the way I do the winter games. Maybe it's because I'm from Minnesota?
Anyway, I always watch a lot of the winter Olympics and this year I've been knitting as I've watched. Ravelry has an event called Ravellenics where knitters and crocheters try to finish projects while the games are on. I'm doing a scarf which I wanted to finish, but because I hate seed stitch, had been putting off. I figured this was a good way to finish it.
And now that I've totally digressed... One of the things I love most about the Olympics is watching the athletes fulfilling dreams. Some of these sports are obscure--like the cross country skiing/target shooting event--and you have to think these men and women are doing it solely for love of the sport.
I love to see people pursuing their dreams. Even if they don't medal, they've still succeeded far beyond someone who didn't even try.
One of my favorite stories is the man from Tonga. That's right, Tonga sent an athlete to the winter games. Notice the singular. Pita Taufatofua spent the two years since the summer games learning to cross country ski on an island without snow. He worked hard enough to qualify for the games. Now that's an Olympic story!
I also think about the speed skating. What would it be like to represent the Netherlands where your country dominates a sport? Is it scary to try to live up to expectations?
I'm sure there are as many stories as their are athletes, but I like the underdog, the kid that's trying with all their will even though they might not be as good as the others in their sport. To me, this is what the games are really about.
