It's that time again!! THE OLYMPICS! As you all know, I'm a GIANT and idiotic sports fan. So, you can only imagine how obsessed I am with the Olympics. The BEST athletes from around the globe, competing on one stage, every FOUR years. Thank goodness that it's every two years when you throw the winter games in there. I love everything about the games. I love the inspirational stories, I love the phenomenal athletics, I love the spirit of everything, and I love Bob Costas. It's especially great because there are a lot of sports that don't have Super Bowls, Stanley Cups, major tournaments such as golf and tennis, etc.--- and for MY sport, this is swimming's biggest stage. Along with a lot of other great sports.
I take this very seriously. I DVR everything, I wake up early and go to bed late to watch live coverage (this obviously depends on where the Games are held). I basically schedule my life around watching as much coverage as possible. I take off of work and I don't make plans with friends. Unless we're going to be watching the Olympics together, that is. So, here is a list of my favorite twelve sports to watch. Both summer and winter games. They are ranked in order, my favorite being last. But keep in mind that I enjoy watching ALMOST all of the other not mentioned sports as well. There are a few exceptions with table tennis and curling and shit.
12. Women's Track and Field. Track and Field has a long history in the Johnson family. Will always remember Gail Devers and her nails and I'm excited to see what Allyson Felix will do in London!
11. Alpine Skiing in general. There are five disciplines: Downhill, slalom, giant slalom, Super G, and combined, which is a combination of the slalom and downhill. They go so fast! They're so good and it's always exciting. There are some HUGE names in this sport and it's never a disappointment to watch.
10. Rowing. As a rower, it's really cool to see how effing FAST they go. And I love when the oars are the country's flag. That's pretty cool.
9. Men's Speed Skating. Just all around really cool. Their legs are HUGE. Great athletes. The Dutch own this event. Sven Kramer is ADORABLE. But that has only a little to do with how fun it is to watch.
8. SnoX. aka: Snowcross. It's basically a race on your snowboard with turns and jumps throughout the course. It's sort of like short-track speed skating in "anything goes." Frequently there are falls and riders take out other riders. It's very strategic and things can change at a second's notice. I get really nervous before this event. It's very exciting and it's a fairly newer sport, just recently introduced into the Olympics. Both men's and women's are exciting to watch.
7. Biathlon. Now, this was a sport that, until 2010 Vancouver games, I thought was the most RIDICULOUS (in a bad way) sport I had ever heard of. What? You cross country ski and then SHOOT things? seriously? How incredibly RANDOM. But, two years ago, I must've been bored out of my mind, because I watched some of it. Well, needless to say--- I'm now a believer. Holy shit. These people are literally the best athletes in the world. You cross country ski--- which is already really, really hard and physically demanding, but then you have to get your heard rate down low enough to concentrate and shoot at targets. You stop three different times during the race and shoot at five targets. Each stop is a different position. You lay down, you kneel, and you stand. For every target that you miss, you have to do a penalty lap on your skis which is both tiring and obviously also time consuming. There is a staggered start so it's hard to know where you are during the race and you have to wait until the end when you have everybody's time to know the final results. But, HOLY MOLY. These athletes are out of control. They're awesome.
6. Men's Track and Field. Can't be a Johnson without getting into track. My dad has been a runner since forever and so I've been watching for as long as I can remember. Michael Johnson. Badass mo fo. And Usain Bolt? Good lord.
5. Women's gymnastics. This is why I started watching the Olympics. The '96 Magnificent Seven is what got me into the games and the spirit of the whole thing. I was finally old enough to understand and appreciate what the Olympics were and the story of the women's team that year is truly inspirational. My cousin and I would watch hours of coverage and then go to the beach (we were on vacation) and do cartwheels and pretend like we were Olympians. We even went out to Walgreens to buy Ace bandages to wrap our wrists and ankles like the gymnasts did. (super cool, i know) Dominique Moceanu is/was my hero.
4. Women's Swimming. I love swimming. The women aren't QUITE as exciting to watch as the men, but I definitely had my idols as a swimmer growing up and I think these women are fantastic. There are some great stories historically and at these Olympics. It's really going to be exciting to watch.
3. Men's Short track speed skating. So hardcore. You NEVER know whats going to happen, and I get nervous every.single.time. Apolo brought a lot of viewers to the sport, and I must say, I'm a huge fan. But it's just really interesting and exciting to watch, no matter who is on the track.
2. Men's Halfpipe. One of my boys just ROCKS everybody else at this event, and it's just AMAZING to watch. It's ridiculous how frickin GOOD he is. I mostly love it because of him, but there is no denying how great the event is as well. Plus my dad always says things like: "He really stomped that booter!" or "LOOK AT THAT ALTITUDE!" so, there's that.
1. Men's Swimming. This is a no brainer. And with Michael Phelps, I think it's great that he's brought so many viewers to the world of swimming. You have spectacular story lines, great athleticism, and of course--- the prettiest boys. :) I love both Ryan and Mikey equally, this rivalry is really stressing me out.
Need I say more? <3 <3 <3
