The Olympics are Almost Here

They're almost here and I am so excited! In just 20 some odd days the 2012 Summer Olympic Games are going to start in London. As we inch closer to the opening ceremonies every passing day causes my excitement to grow. There are so many great things about the Olympics so I am going to try to list just a few of my favorite here. Feel free to comment about why you think the Olympics are awesome or if you are one of those weird and depressing people that doesnt like the Games feel free to complain about how you summer is going to be ruined.


I am about to start caring about all kinds of sports that are no where near my radar during non Olympic year. Sports, like badminton and beach volleyball are about to become very important to me. One of my favorites to watch is platform diving. The twirling, flipping and spinning athletes provide a lot of entertainment and we only get to see them every four years during the summer Olympics. It is fun to break away from the football, baseball and basketball dominated world and see great competition in other sports.

I am going to learn about the greatest athletes from all over the world that I have never seen or heard of. How many of you knew who Ian Thorpe was prior to 2000 when he won five metals swimming for his home country of Australia? My guess is not many, but because of the Olympics we now know the greatness of the Thorpedo. How about Brian Clay, ever heard of him? He is probably the greatest American athlete that to play in one of the big four sports leagues. His claim to fame is the Decathalon, which he won silver in 2004 and gold in 2008. The guy is an all around athlete. He can run fast, run far, jump high and throw stuff. Finally how about Elena Isinbaeva, the Russian pole vaulter who has broken the world record 24 times (most of them her own). Yeah, she is an amazing athlete. Without the Olympics we wouldnt get to know any of these people.

I will be reminded about the existance of lots of countries that would otherwise never having a face or meaning in my mental data banks. As a child I remember watching an Olympic games (I think it was Atlanta but it could have been somewhere else) and wondering why the State of Georgia got to field their own athletes while Washington was stuck competing with the US national team. It didnt seem fair to me but it seemed obvious that it was the State. At some point my erronous way of thinking was corrected by my parents who explained to me that Georgia was also a country. As you can imagine my mind was blown. If it weren't for the Olympics, when else would I hear about this otherwise unremarkable republic? Maybe in 2008 when Russia decided to invade Georgia, but I was 22 years old in 2008 and who wants to wait till they are 22 to hear about a country called Georgia? In case you missed it, my point is the Olympics allow you to expand your culture and international knowledge base like very few other event all while watching sports. It is educational and entertaining.