Why the Olympics Are Worth Your Time

by Slate Quicksilver

Why are the Olympics worth your time? Why are the WINTER Olympics worth your time? The answer is simple. Sports are reality, and drama is a reflection of the human struggle (or something like that). Watching the world go out and compete against each other is the best amount of drama you can get.

Think about it. Ignoring the professional team sports that have mutated the games (hockey, basketball...) most of the sports do not get much credence worldwide. Those athletes who go to the Olympics, particularly the winter one, train their asses off just for one chance at glory. They quit jobs, mess up families and take the hopes and dreams of entire nations on their shoulders just to get .4 seconds shaved off their skeleton run.

Which is where the schadenfreude comes in. Listen, watching the games is fun. Seeing athletes do amazing things is great. Watching Usain Bolt in 2008 obliterate the field why not even appearing to try was awe-inspiring. But it's just as much fun to watch someone fail. They work so hard for that penultimate moment and then BAM! Fail. 15 years down the drain. It's also great to see redemption stories, or to see someone do well who came out of nowhere.

Another great reason is the country rivalries. If you don't think that the Chinese try even harder when competing against the Japanese, you are nuts. The French judges ALWAYS stick it to the Americans, Brits and Germans. Clearly they still aren't over World Wars I and II. And Canada hates the US. I can't imagine why.

Anyway, watch it. Enjoy it. Try to figure out how "curling" works.

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