February 20, 2018 By Chris Varney
It seems like there has been a lot of negativity surrounding the United States Olympic team this year. Expectations are high for the Americans at every Olympic Games but this year social media has been highly active with criticism. Lindsey Vonn took a lot of heat for a disappointing finish in the Super G. Nathan Chen and all the figure skaters took a lot of heat for numerous falls. The USA Hockey team took a lot of heat for losing to Slovenia. And the U.S. Curling team is taking a lot of heat for their sport being boring.
At the risk of being cliche, let me criticize the critics. There is nothing better in sports than winning an Olympic gold medal. It is also one of the hardest things for any athlete to accomplish. The pressure of competing for your country, to put everything aside and perform at that particular moment is not easy. The competition around the world is getting better. Remember that a lot of these athletes actually train in the United States. They go to American colleges and universities and use its first rate facilities which they cannot get at home. In many ways, the United States produces more Olympic medal winners than anybody else.
The fact is that the U.S. is not even traditionally strong in the winter sports like it is in Europe or Asia. In the Netherlands, speed skaters are treated like we treat football players. The U.S. has never won a medal in cross country skiiing while Norway expects to win a handful every Olympics. Hockey has to take a backseat to other sports — heck the baseball off-season and major free agent signings get more publicity than the NHL scores. And this year, the NHL players are staying home as the league decided not to interrupt their season for the Games.
I think the real reason for the skeptic public is that everybody has forgotten about the real reason for the Olympics. I think the International Olympic Committee and many others have forgotten too. The real reason for the Olympics is to compete. Its not about getting the most sponsors or making the most money. The Olympics is the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
In 1980, a group of college kids came together and united a nation while winning a gold medal in hockey. The greatest moment in sports history is when the U.S. hockey team beat the Soviet Union and then won a gold medal. There were underdogs. They were simple kids who played the sport they loved. That’s why we cheered for them. Rooting for the underdog is very American and there have been plenty of underdogs who have won in the Olympics.
So let’s stop the tweets, let’s give the curlers a break and let’s watch the final week of the Olympic games and maybe we’ll see a great moment or two and witness history.