The greatest sporting event of the world is quickly approaching! The 2014 Winter Olympics will take place from February 7th through February 23rd in Sochi, Russia. These will be the 22nd Olympic Winter Games, and I don’t know about you, but I’m really excited! The Olympics allow us to see the great potential and talent that humans have, as well as provide us with entertainment. Here are 10 reasons you should get in the Olympic spirit as well as some parts of the Olympics to look out for!
1. The Mascots
Sochi’s mascots are absolutely adorable, and they include the Polar Bear, the Hare, and the Leopard. The Polar Bear is from the Arctic and his favorite and best sport is bobsledding. The Hare loves all kinds of sports, as well as singing and dancing, but her favorite is figure skating. She is very trustworthy and has a lot of friends. The Leopard is a rescuer and mountain climber in the Caucasus and his favorite sport is snowboarding. The mascots for the Winter Paralympics are the Ray of Light and the Snowflake, or Luchik and Snezhinka in Russian. So cute!
2. The Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony is always a lot of fun to watch! The performances are an incredible spectacle with lots of surprises. At the end, all of the athletes from the participating countries march out, anticipating the start of the Games. They are always met with loud cheers! There haven’t been spoilers regarding Sochi’s opening ceremony yet, but it will be shown on NBC on Friday, February 7th at 7:30 pm.
3. The Journey of the Torch Relay
The Torch Relay began on October 7, 2013 in Moscow, and by February 7, the torch will have traveled through all 83 regions of Russia. This is the longest relay the Winter Olympics has seen. This torch was also the first torch to reach the North Pole, and if that wasn’t awesome enough, it is also the first torch to fly into space! It was flown by Soyuz rocket by Russian cosmonauts Kotov and Ryazansky in November 2013.
4. The Closing Ceremony
Of course there is also the spectacular Closing Ceremony, which is just as exciting as the Opening Ceremony! Again, not a lot of information is known yet, but NBC will show the closing ceremony on Sunday, February 23 at 8:30 pm.
5. The Uniforms
There are always fantastic uniforms for different countries, be it their competition uniforms or the Opening and Closing Ceremony uniforms. Some are very appealing, while others are hilariously funny. My favorite so far includes Mexican alpine skier Von Hohenlohe going for the “Mariachi Olympic Prince” look, as described by Battaglia of NBCOlympics.com. My second favorite is the Norwegian curling team (both pictured below).
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6. Figure Skating
Figure skating is for sure my favorite sport to watch during the Olympic Games! The five figure skating events are singles (both for men and women), pairs, ice dancing, and for the first time in Olympic history, a team event. Thirty countries are participating in figure skating this year, with a total of 149 contestants. Just a few names to look out for (but this is only a small list out of the large pool of talent!) are Gracie Gold, Polina Edmunds, and Jason Brown for Team USA; Evgeni Plushenko, Julia Lipnitskaia, and pair Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov for Team Russia. Japan and Canada are said to have strong teams as well.
7. Skiing
There’s so much skiing during the Olympics and it is so versatile! There are six skiing disciplines – alpine, cross-country, freestyle, Nordic combined, ski jumping, and slightly different but still related, snowboarding. All of these are dangerous and exciting to watch! How could you ever get bored with so much skiing?
8. Original Entertainment
We are so used to the usual broadcasting of football, basketball, and golf in the U.S. Occasionally, it gets pretty boring just watching those sports, and that is why the Olympics are so great – there is so much going on! There are 98 events over 15 disciplines in 7 sports, and there are also a total of 12 new events. Won’t that be interesting and original to watch?
9. Cheering for your Team
Regardless of your nationality, the Olympics give us an opportunity to cheer for your favorite team. Watch the athletes of your choice, wear their team colors, and support them throughout their journey! You can even purchase (sometimes) various team uniforms!
10. The Entire World Uniting as One
Besides cheering for your favorite team, it is important to consider the big picture during the Olympics: the world uniting as one. There are 88 nations competing, and each individual athlete brings something unique to the collective pool of talent. In my opinion, the Olympics are a special time during which political differences should be put aside, and we should focus on the athletes and their amazing work.
I hope you are as excited as I am to start watching the 22nd Olympic Games. Cheers to Sochi 2014!
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Photo Sources:
http://www.logodesignlove.com/images/logos/sochi-2014-logo-4.jpg
http://images.sports.cn/Image/2013/12/03/0935032147.jpg
http://binaryapi.ap.org/eace01c09b30423083ef5b9fbe61a92f/460x.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/JO_B_Miller.jpg
http://www.teamusa.org/~/media/A267A1A18DCF43E38BD91447ABFC30D9.ashx
http://blogs.mtlakes.org/winterolympics14/files/2014/01/cropped-2013-Olympic-Rings-Sochi.jpg