Why I Still Watch the Olympics
Why I Still Watch the Olympics
And Why You Should, Too
Despite its name, this Substack is not about the Olympics, and when I started it I hadn’t planned to write much, if at all, on this topic. However, I find myself wanting to share a few thoughts as we head into the Summer Olympics. When the Games kick off tonight with the Opening Ceremony, all eyes will be trained on Paris - or will they? There is a growing recognition that people are losing interest in the Olympic Games. In the United States, viewership has been on the decline, with the 2022 Winter Olympics reaching a historic low. Some have blamed the low ratings on Covid restrictions, but given that the trend predates the pandemic, I suspect that people are also fed up with the commercialization of sport and the tendency of authoritarian regimes to use the Olympic Games as promotional campaigns. The Paris Olympic Games haven’t officially started yet, and already they’ve had their fair share of cringe-worthy headlines, including the intentional lack of AC in the Olympic Village (the US team is bringing its own) and the 300,000 condoms organizers plan to provide for athletes. On top of all this, it was just announced the the 2034 Olympics will be held in Salt Lake City - on the condition that the FBI ceases its investigation into Chinese doping. There are plenty of reasons to write off the Olympics as too tainted, too scandal-ridden, or just not that important.
And yet, I'm excited to tune in for the Opening Ceremony this evening - that is, if I can withstand the pressure from my 3-year-old daughter, who just wants to watch “The Jungle Book” and is unimpressed when informed that Mommy once walked in an Opening Ceremony, too. Despite its failings, I still think the Olympics is worth watching, and despite fallible humanity’s best efforts to quash it, the Olympic spirit lives on. Although I had dreamed of skating in the Olympics since I was a little girl, I had always assumed the “Olympic spirit” was just an empty name - until I experienced it myself at the 2014 Olympics.
As I wrote when I started this Substack, “Olympian” has become a core part of my identity. Not because competing in the Olympics is the most important thing I’ve done - it’s not. Not because I subscribe to some sort of pseudo-religious devotion to the Olympic movement - I don’t. To me, being an Olympian means living out the ideals of peace, intercultural understanding, and commitment to excellence. It means being grateful for all I learned and experienced during the many years I trained for the Olympics and for all the opportunities I have received as a result. It means drawing on those years of experience as I embrace new seasons in life. The word took on even deeper meaning for me when I discovered the Ukrainian Catholic martyr, Bl. Olympia Bida; in fact, one of my daughters is named Olympia in honor of her and the Ukrainian people, and in gratitude for the opportunity to represent Ukraine in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Being an Olympian ultimately means being an athlete of Christ, striving for the glory of the true Mt. Olympos - heaven.
When I watch the Opening Ceremony tonight, this is what I’ll be pondering. While the Olympics have obviously taken on a deeply personal meaning for me, you don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to share in the Olympic spirit. Yes, the Olympic movement is imperfect, but I hope that many, many little girls and boys will be watching over these coming weeks, dreaming of one day competing in the Olympics. I know that dream made me a better person, and I still dare to hope that in some small way, the Olympic dream can make the world better, too.