OLYMPIC MOMENTS

Every other year after two & a half weeks of Olympic viewing, I experience Olympic withdrawal when it all ends. What do you mean there isn't any skiing, snowboarding or skating on TV? Why is Mike Tirico not giving me the schedule for this evening? What do you mean it's over? What am I going to watch today? Fortunately, sometimes, like tonight, there are NBA basketball games featuring my favorite teams to take my mind off the empty feeling of no more Olympics for two years.

My family has always been big sports fans. We all get way into the games of our favorites - the Kings & Warriors, the Giants & the Forty-Niners. And every two years we hunker down in front of the TV watching every minute of the Winter or Summer Olympics that we can. We all stay up too late devouring every event. I'm the worst culprit when it comes to not putting sleep before sports.

I was delighted to see that there were two openly gay athletes competing this year. Both figure skater Adam Rippon & freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy were greatly pleased to be able to participate as their true selves. I sincerely hope they are the first of many & that in future Olympics an athlete's sexual preference won't even merit mentioning.

This year there were three stand out moments of victory for me. Number one has to be the United States men taking the gold medal in curling! Coming into the games they were maybe a long shot for the bronze medal. After losing their first few games most people thought they were out of contention. But the guys sucked it up & turned it around in spectacular fashion winning the first gold medal ever for the U.S. in curling.

I watched most of their matches in their entirety since they were on during the day - & I am retired! About three Olympics ago, Darrin & I were intrigued by the sport that only surfaces during the Winter Games. He looked up the rules & terminology which we studied as we watched. Now that I know the format & scoring of a match, this year my attention was on the strategy.

It sounds a bit stupid but it was electrifying to watch our guys - John, Tyler, Matt & Lanz - play spectacularly as they beat first Canada to get to the gold medal game where they beat Sweden for the win! I was up until 2 AM anxiously watching every move & cheering each great shot all by myself. These are regular guys with families & real jobs (one works at Dick's Sporting Goods & another in a liquor store) who did something magical!

Another special moment was when Jessie Diggins, an American cross-country skier, dug down deep to move from third place in the four woman relay to win gold!  Watching the end of the race, it was apparent that something inside of her snapped & she was NOT going to lose. She wanted that first gold for the U.S. in her sport & kicked it into another gear that no one even knew existed!

And, of course, our women's hockey team beating the powerhouse Canadians in an overtime shootout to take the top prize was agonizing to watch. But the ultimate reward of gold was worth all the torture. Every Olympics has stories that touch us & amaze us.

The beauty of sports is that old opening line of ABC's Wide World of Sports - the thrill of victory & the agony of defeat! Every sport has both - always. I have been upset by all the stories & social media posts criticizing the U.S. athletes for not winning more medals. The projections were for 25 - 39 medals & we only won 23. What the hell? It isn't about a medal count in my opinion. It is about athletes training hard & doing their best. Not everyone will win gold, silver or bronze but the fact that they compete at the Olympic level is an incredible accomplishment.

Occasionally, we find an amazing athlete like Eric Heiden or Carl Lewis or Apolo Ono or Michael Phelps & we cheer them on as they win multiple gold medals in multiple Olympics. Our hockey teams & curling teams & many others win unexpected gold medals. Sometimes our favorites fall short, sometimes they just fall & sometimes they just aren't good enough to beat the competition. But every one of them is trying their best not knowing the ultimate outcome. That is what intrigues me & keeps me coming back for more. Stop worrying about how many medals our team won & enjoy the beautiful stories of all the competitors.