I always watched the Olympics as a kid. Mostly because, back then, there weren't many TV channels to choose from, and the Olympics were just a HUGE event. Of course, so were things like the Miss America pageant. But, even as a kid, I think I appreciated the Olympics for what they really are: a showcase for some of the most talented, dedicated athletes in the world.

 

Sure, I enjoy other sports; mostly football. But there is a big difference between an athlete working toward an Olympic medal, and an athlete getting paid millions of dollars, and hoping to win a championship. These Olympic athletes are competing against other athletes from across the globe. And the amount of time and dedication it takes just to compete in the Olympic games is astounding. Winning a medal (gold, silver, OR bronze) is close to miraculous.

 

So, needless to say, for the past two weeks, I have been engrossed in Olympic coverage (despite the fact that I, along with many others, have found NBC's coverage abysmal - but that's another story). No matter how tired I am, I try to stay awake to see the outcomes of some of my favorite events: aerials and figure skating, especially. And I check in with the official web site www.nbcolympics.com during the day to see if the USA still leads the medal count (as of this post, USA had a 6-medal lead over Germany.) And, like many throughout the world, I have gotten caught up in a lot of the personal drama that the Olympic athletes have faced; from the deaths of Georgian Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, and Therese Rochette, the mother of Bronze Medal figure skater Joannie Rochette, to the controversy surrounding Evan Lysacek's Gold Medal win.

 

But, sadly, the 2010 Winter Olympics are almost over. The closing ceremonies are Sunday night, bringing to an end another exciting edition of the Olympic Games.