The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea are underway. I've been an avid Olympics viewer since the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, but the first games I ever watched at all were the 1988 Summer games in Seoul..so in a way, my Olympics fandom has come full-circle.
Every (Olympic) year since that summer of '92 I've chosen at least one athlete to cheer for, and every year I find new favorites as the games progress and athletes I'd never known before win me over. Four years ago in Sochi, I was cheering hard for snowboarders Sage Kotsenburg and Hannah Teter, figure skater Gracie Gold, skeleton slider Noelle Pikus-Pace, and my favorite NHL superstar, Alex Ovechkin. None of them are competing in PyeongChang, so I need some new faves to follow.
I'll admit, I was kinda rooting for Russia to win men's hockey gold in their home country. But a lot has changed in four years. The doping scandal and election meddling have brought those Cold War vibes back into the picture - while the tournament itself is once again tilted in the Russians' favor without the NHL's participation.
Team USA is led by 39 year-old captain Brian Gionta, the oldest American athlete competing (in any sport) in this year's games. "Gio" holds the New Jersey Devils single-season goal scoring record, with 48 in 2005-06. Here's hoping he can lead the Americans to an upset over Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk and the heavily favored "Olympic Athletes From Russia"
On the women's side, Team USA is looking to avenge their heartbreaking loss to Canada in the 2014 gold-medal game. The final always comes down to Canada and the US, and I will be cheering for Hilary Knight, Amanda Kessel, & co to finally break through and beat those damn Canadians (no offense, Mike)
If these Olympics are anything like the last games, I will suddenly become obsessed with Skeleton. Katie Uhlaender (daughter of former MLB player Ted Uhlaender) just missed the medal stand in Sochi - though she might have medaled if a Russian racer hadn't cheated. I'm stoked that Katie is back for a record fourth Olympics, and I will be cheering hard for her to have the same triumphant finish Noelle did.
I'll also be keeping an eye on Erin Hamlin, Chloe Kim, the Nigerian bobsled team, and Olympic stalwarts Shaun White and Lindsey Vonn. It's the last Olympics for Vonn and probably White as well, so I'll be a little more interested in them than usual. I don't often get emotionally invested in athletes who have won gold and/or are favored to win gold.. but this year I might have to make an exception.
Before the opening ceremonies, NBC aired a few athlete profiles, including an interview with skier Mikaela Shiffrin and her mom/coach. There were no tragic tales of losing a loved one or missing out on a medal by tenths of a second, no freak injuries or illness to overcome. If Mikaela has had any major adversity, she didn't mention it to Katie Couric. The interview focused on her early years, her relationship with her mom, and how - despite being a world champion athlete - she's really just a normal 22 year old girl.
Mikaela discussed the pros and cons of having a parent as a coach, and how she was much more eager to do the drills that other young skiers found tedious. But she made it clear that's she's not always in the mood to train. At one point she said - in front of her mother, Katie Couric, and millions of viewers - sometimes she just wants to Netflix and chill.
I know Mikaela won gold in the Sochi games..but I don't remember her being so adorable. Now that she's 22 and I've seen her without all that ski gear on, I have to say that she's straight-up smokey.
*p.s. when writing this post I misspelled Mikaela's name at least five times. For some reason my fingers really want to type "Mikaele."
Once upon a time, the Winter Olympics held my interest. There was a time when I'd cheer for Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan. This year, I'll try to catch the hockey gold medal game (if Team USA is in it) and I'll watch the highlights from the snowboarding events. Excited to see Chloe Kim and a huge congratulations to Red Gerard who brought home our first gold medal. Only saw his second run, but it was awesome!
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