Loving the Olympics

After how much I enjoyed the 2008 Summer Olympics, I wasn't sure how much I would get into the Winter Olympics. I really connect with some of the big summer sports like swimming and gymnastics because I used to participate in them - plus Beijing did such a great job with the whole presentation that I was afraid the next Olympics would be a letdown. But nope - Shaun and I were once again instantly sucked in and have been watching most of the primetime coverage every single night. Even the opening ceremony, with just a tenth of the budget that Beijing had, were pretty impressive. The killer whales "swimming" over the floor were awesome.

I love hearing the athletes' stories, and even though I don't usually follow them outside of the Olympics, I find myself rooting for them as if I've known them for years. I was so happy for Lindsey Vonn when she overcame injury to win the gold in the downhill. It was thrilling to watch Shaun White win the halfpipe on his first run, only to improve his score on the second by performing a Double McTwist 1260. Evan Lysacek became the first American men's figure skater to win the Olympics since Brian Boitano, and you could just tell how hard he had worked for it. (I also enjoyed watching him much more than the defending gold medalist, Yevgeny Plushenko, and was even happier that Lysacek won after seeing Plushenko's sore loser attitude afterward!) I know sports don't mean a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it's great to see the world come together, and the success of US athletes giving the country hope during difficult times.

Watching the Olympics also makes me miss competition. I was a fairly serious swimmer in high school and while I don't necessarily miss the 3 hours of practice a day, watching some of the races makes me wish I could try it again sometime. It's kind of funny, because I'm normally not a very intense or competitive person, but having someone in the lane next to me, making it a close race, would push me to swim faster than I ever could by myself. I wonder if I can take anything from that and apply it to my life now...hm...

Anyway, I can't wait to see what the second week of the Olympics brings! Anyone else addicted? Favorite moments so far?