Are the Olympics Overrated?  

As the Olympics near, I felt it was a good time to blog about whether or not the Olympics overrated?  Heck no is the most appropriate answer to that.  The Olympics are a time where everyone can gather around the television and enjoy watching their country dominate.  

The Olympics happen every two years alternating between the Summer and Winter.  This means that each season occurs every four years apart from one another.  Each season host different events with the majority of the sports (28) occurring during the Summer.  These events can range anywhere from gymnastics to archery.  The Winter Olympics contains a total of seven sports which are biathlon, skating, skiing, luge, ice hockey, curling, and bobsleigh.

Over 13,000 of the best athletes participate in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.  With this many athletes only the top three are able to score points.  Third will receive the bronze medal, second receiving the silver medal and first receive the top medal which is gold.    

During the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing there was over 4.7 billion people who watched it on television.  
With so many viewers what makes the Olympics so fun to watch?  There is a whole lot of reasons why you should watch the Olympics.  Some people watch the Olympics to show support to the athletes, some people want to show support to their nation, and others watch it because it's a tradition filled with history.   

Nastia Liukin Winning Gold 

Athletes spend their whole lives to become in shape and train for the Olympics.  Gymnast train 40+ hours a week just to ensure that they are the highest caliber they can be.  With all this training involved you can expect to be anything but disappointed from watching each event.  Staying with the topic of gymnast its incredible watching men and women throw their weight around whether it be on the balance beam or the mats.  Watching Nastia Liukin's all around performance for example in the 2008 Olympics was amazing.  She's a great example of someone who has put a lot of time and effort towards her talents.  In fact people of different nations receive respect from those not from their land.          



Another reason people should watch the Olympics is to show support to your country.  After all it is a competition involving all the nations around the world.  The least you can do is watch those performing for you to actually perform for you.  In America alone, 214 million people were documented to watching the Olympics in 2008.  This also
helps the athletes perform to the best of the ability because they know that the support is there.      

1948 Summer Games Relay

The last reason the Olympics is such a great event to watch is because of all the history involved with it.  The Olympic games have been occurring since the eighth century BC in Olympia, Ancient Greece.  They became a lot more popular in 1894 when an actual committee was founded by Baron Pierre de Coubertin.  This committee helps provide structure to this event and regulates how everything is run.  Since then almost every two years there has been an Olympic with the exception of 1916, 1940, and 1944.  The reason the event didn't happen during those times was due to World Wars.  Each Olympic is filled with memorable experiences whether it be for your country winning gold or just an athlete with a unbelievable performance.                 

So with 2012 Summer Olympics in London approaching fast, prepare to set aside time to watch this exciting sixteen day event.  The official start day will be July 27th which is the day that the torch will be lit.  As mentioned before there will be over twenty-eight events will be occurring making it difficult to not be able to enjoy at least one sport.  So plan ahead and make a schedule of all your favorite events.