There are a lot of sports that people only seem to watch when the Olympics are on - like curling, swimming, gymnastics, skiing, diving, etc. Do you follow any of these types of sports outside of the Olympics?

For me, I tend to fall into the category that you described. Outside of the Olympics, I don't go out of my way to look for any of the sports on TV. I like to watch the Olympics because it brings countries together and for a moment they can put aside their differences in the name of friendly competition.

I really like to see if I can find track and field events, especially the running events. Usually, before the Olympics take place, I'll watch all of the qualifying events to see who will be taking to the world stage for the men and women. It amazes me that people can even run that fast.

That's my favorite part of The Olympics too, @airgold. I like seeing everyone there together, and getting a taste of the hosting city's culture. That's cool, @planetdoom. I've never watched track and field events outside of The Olympics. I don't think I've ever seen them televised before. Where do you usually find them?

@Weasley, the one thing I really dislike is when a country boycotts the games because of political differences. The people I feel really bad for are the athletes who have trained all their lives only to have their dreams dashed because of the politics. If the United States had boycotted the games hosted by Nazi Germany, we never would have heard of Jesse Owens.

After the Olympics, I always tell myself that I'm going to keep up with [insert whatever sport I'm into that year here] once the Olympics are over. I rarely do. Once the US gymnastics team is chosen, I'll usually get online and watch videos of their routines, but that's about it.

@airgold, it really is sad when the athletes aren't able to participate because their home country wants to be petty. This should be a time when we can set politics aside, but maybe that's asking for too much.

 

I do the same thing, @The Wild Things. Well, I try to do that at least. Some years I do better than others!

@Weasley , I really think it's too much to ask that politics be put aside and it's really sad.

 

@The Wild Things , I'm sure there are many of us do the same thing. Because the Olympics are only held every four years, it makes the events so special that we become captured with the pageantry and competitions. After they are over, it's time to go back to our normal routines.

@airgold, that's exactly it. I get all amped up when the Olympics are about to start and while they're happening, but then I'm just like, "Well, in another four years most of these people are going to be different," so, I end up not really following them. That's obviously not true for every sport, but it's not a stretch when it comes to gymnastics. The fact that it's not regularly publicized doesn't help either. If I happened upon a gymnastics meet on TV I would totally watch it. That just never happens and I forget about it.