By Cory Tell ’14, Sports Editor

In 2010, approximately 3.8 billion people from around the world watched the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. The Olympics are an international phenomenon, as people from every country of world have been captivated by the games since they began in modern times in 1896 in Athens. This begs the question, “What is it about the Olympics that makes people around the world so fond of the games?” Of course we enjoy watching the best in the world compete in sports that we see every day on television, like tennis, soccer, basketball, and hockey, but why do we wait in anticipation over the results of judo, archery, the biathlon, the bobsled, and alpine skiing? Most people do not even know the rules of some of the events they watch and most likely will never try the luge, or do tricks on the snowboarding half-pipe like Shaun White. Nonetheless, with the 2014 Winter Olympics beginning in Sochi, Russia on February 7, people from all over the world will be watching the games yet again.

People love the Olympics because they do not occur every year, which is unlike most other athletic competitions. The less frequently something happens in sports, the more interested people are when something major does happen. While an MLB player may have around 20 shots at a title in his lengthy career, the best Olympians that have ever lived usually only get two or three chances at a gold medal, and that is if they are lucky. People are captivated by the fact that a figure skater or speed skater has just one chance at Olympic glory, and if they come up short, they will have to wait a long four years just to get back on the globe’s biggest stage for another opportunity to claim gold. Eric Schwed ‘14 said, “I think the Olympics are a great chance to watch sports that are not normally shown on TV, and to see people putting their entire professional career on the line for just a few runs in snowboarding, or only a few jumps in skiing.” Unlike a player in the NFL or NBA, Olympians can’t make a mistake and come back the next game or the next season in hopes of a title, which adds to the unmatched pressure on the athletes that spectators love to follow.

Furthermore, much like baseball stats, people love the sanctity of age old Olympic records. Not only are athletes competing against one another, but they are also challenging history. For example, Mark Tuitert of the Netherlands is not only trying to outlast his opponents in the 1500 meter speed skating event to claim gold, but he is also trying to topple Derek Parra’s 12-year-old Olympic record.

The Olympics are inherently dramatic because of all of the different nations that send athletes to participate. There is nothing more intriguing than watching Iran and Israel, two nations that have so much hostility towards each other, enter the Olympic Parade of Nations one after another. For the two and a half week period during the Olympics, national and political interests take a back seat as athletes compete. Miles Park ‘16 echoed this sentiment when he said, “The Olympics provide a rare opportunity for competition between people from around the world.” Park said that he, and others, are fascinated with athletes from Africa, South America, Asia, and everywhere else competing together on one international stage, many with storylines worthy of movies.

Finally, the most obvious reason people love the Olympics is because of national pride. During the Olympics, a nation’s citizens come together and show their patriotism by cheering on the athletes from their country. People love to have a common rallying point, and the Olympics provide that platform. There is no sporting event where the entire nation is truly behind their athletes quite like the Olympic Games.