February 2018: Signal the Winter Olympics. It’s finally that time when the world gets together and gathers together around television sets to watch home-countries compete for ultimate athleticism. It’s always inspiring to watch Olympians test the limits of man, especially when testing these limits in the freezing, icy and windy conditions characteristic of the Winter Olympics. However, the Winter Olympics bring about a completely different experience for me than the Summer Olympics. While certainly both sets of athletes are incredibly inspiring and far more fit and dedicated than I will ever be, there is something (or many things) that make the Summer Olympics more captivating, inspiring (or arguably more entertaining) than the Winter Olympics. Here are the top 5 reasons the Summer Olympics are better than the Winter Olympics. I’m sorry to those I have offended in the sharing of this article.
1. Free time. There’s no way I can follow the Winter Olympics daily like I can with the Summer Olympics. Because the Summer Olympics are in the *cough* SUMMER, I have three months of freedom; so when the Olympics come along, I actually get to watch and follow the athletes and keep track of their medal counts. I can’t say the same for the Winter Olympics, unless I really wanted to sacrifice any sort of academic success.
2. The sports. The sports are just more exciting and diverse in the Summer Olympics. Track and Field, Gymnastics, Swimming, Diving, Synchronized Diving, Synchronized Swimming – so many options! I can only watch so many Winter sporting events. They’re either on snow, snow, more snow. Or ice.
3. And on that note, watching the Winter Olympics makes me cold. I love sun and warmth. Therefore, I hate cold. Therefore, Winter Olympics just don’t cut it for me.
4. The Summer Olympics are incredibly inspiring. I actually want to get out of the house and go for a run, go for a ridiculously long swim, do something. Maybe even learn how to conquer my fear of heights and do ridiculous dancing and jumps on a 4-inch wide beam. The Winter Olympics make me want to curl up and drink hot chocolate and wonder why I’ll never be as athletic as the people I’m watching. I mean, I’ll gladly drink that hot chocolate, but I’d like a little motivation for my life.
5. Lastly, I don’t know if you know this, but the Summer Olympics are in the summer AKA the best season of the entire year. It’s a sunny, warm, blissful, joyful, happy, carefree time of year. I have nothing bad to say about the summer. Nothing. If I want, I can go outside and attempt to be moderately athletic without suffering frostbite. Or I can decide to just eat some ice-cream instead and watch them do psychotically athletic things. I’m just happy I have that option!
So as the Winter Olympics continue, here’s to you, America. Let’s win some medals (please) and continue to be awesome. But know that I’m eagerly awaiting Summer 2020.