Olympic Addiction

I am finished at Tabor now and I have been glued to the T.V. ever since. Every four years I become a complete hypocrite. I typically enjoy laughing at football and baseball fanatics who are willing to risk their dignity (in terms of how they behave) for their teams. Generally speaking, the overall daily mood of people from New England can be easily predicted according to how the Patriots or the Red Sox performed the evening before. Truly, it's not uncommon for adult fans to be found screaming at the TV, jumping up and down like a bunch of apes, or even crying over their teams during a given night's game. In short, fans here become emotional and completely consumed by their sports addiction, and I find it to be utterly ridiculous.

Yet once every four years, I am forced to eat my words. I simply cannot overcome the weakness of my own addiction to the Olympic games. Watching our U.S. teams compete on the world stage is captivating and I find myself completely consumed by it for its two week duration. I especially love the gymnastics and swimming (doesn't everybody?), but I even enjoy watching some of the less gripping events, and will find myself totally engrossed in a round of archery or weight lifting. It's the Olympics after all, and these athletes are deemed the best in the world. How can anyone resist it?

Maybe I don't jump up and down over these games, or scream at the T.V. (okay, maybe a little), or cry (okay, I lied), but during these games I admit, I have a much better understanding of my nutty fellow New England baseball and football cohabitants. I probably look just as foolish during my exuberant outbursts when a gymnast sticks a landing or is judged unjustly, but what's so bad about looking foolish anyway? At least I blend in with these folks around here, and perhaps with the rest of the world who are watching these games too. Go USA!