Every four years the world witnesses its greatest athletes coming together to discover who is the best of the best in their discipline. The world watches with anticipation as they wait to find out who will take home the gold. This monumental event is the Olympics.
Enjoy the heat of the Summer Olympics
By: Ryann Deutsch
This summer the Olympics will be taking place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The Summer Olympics are better because they have more to see. According to Olympic.org, “The last summer games took place in London and had a total of 302 events in 15 different sports. While the last winter games held in Sochi, Russia had only 98 events in 15 different sports.” Numbers don’t lie and the fact can’t be argued that when it comes to the Summer Olympics there is simply more to see.
Not only are there more events in the Summer Olympics, but the events are more relatable. The events held in the summer games are more widely known which makes it easier for the viewer to understand what is happening. It is also more fun to watch something that you are familiar with. Some examples of the sports in the summer games are basketball, swimming, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, and, of course, track and field, just to name a few. All of these sports are familiar and attract athletes from all climates, unlike the winter sports.
Often times the events held during the Winter Olympics leave people questioning what is going on. Examples of these winter events are curling, bobsleigh, skeleton, ski jumping, and luge. These events limit viewers and athletes who participate because these sports rely so heavily on climate.
The Summer Olympics have a long history of being held at amazing locations. As some may recall, the last Winter Olympics were held in Sochi, Russia, which came with many problems politically and health wise. On the other hand, some of the past summer games have been held in London, Beijing, Athens, Sydney, Atlanta, and Barcelona, but the list goes on. These locations are historic yet modern and never fail to deliver a great Olympic atmosphere. It’s just as fun to watch the events as it is to see the stunning backdrops of a foreign place.
The Summer Olympics as we know them now were once just known as the Olympics. These games were first held in Athens, Greece, “the birthplace of the Olympics”, in 1896. So, the Summer Olympics are the original games and you can’t get any better than that. According to Nielsen, “More than 219.4 million Americans tuned in, making the London Olympics the most-watched event ever in US TV history.”
Clearly, the Summer Olympics are better because they attract more viewers, are more fun to watch and have a greater variety of events than the Winter Olympics ever have. This summer, be sure to watch the superior Summer Olympic games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
It’s cold outside, so watch the Winter Olympics
By: Wyatt Kmoch
It´s a typical late winter day, cold and bitter. What’s better than watching nations compete in events like team USA’s hockey team, Apolo Ohno in speed skating, or Kaitlyn Farrington in halfpipe snowboarding. These special athletes and crazy events make the Winter Olympics more exceptional than the Summer Olympics.
The athletes in the winter games are much better than in summer. Due to all the cold that the athletes practice in, it makes their events harder, by using more strength and more nerve power to fight through the cold and still try their best. In summer, they train in warm weather, making it not hard for them to do their event, unlike the winter. This makes it much more fun to watch, watching them push their hardest to get a gold medal.
The Winter Olympics also have much better underdogs. In the summer games, we all know Phelps or Lochte will win the swimming events, team USA will win basketball, or that Usain Bolt will win the sprinting track events. In the winter games, people do not know who will win. For example, in Sochi 2014, the Finnish team took a medal while the United States did not in hockey, or that Apolo Ohno or the Dutch would win almost all speed skating events, or that the Italians would place in speed skating. That is the great thing about the Winter Olympics.
Many people say that the Summer Olympics give more countries the choice to participate. That is true. Yet in the winter games, some countries only have winter pretty much. Examples of those countries include Canada, in which hockey and skating is on their money, or Norway, in which the entire country barely reaches 60-degrees-fahrenheit. Many countries can do certain events too, examples include indoor ice events in warm places if they can build a stadium, or fake snow for skiing like places in the U.S. do. Many countries also have mountains nearby to practice downhill skiing, skeleton, bobsleigh or other events that need a mountain.
Also, the opening ceremonies at the Winter Olympics are amazing. From the air ballet of Albertville, the Peace Ceremony in Nagano, the message of faith and sacrifice in Vancouver, and the ceremony shortly following 9/11 in Salt Lake City, the winter games Opening Ceremonies mostly have a memorable opening ceremony, that takes the viewers by a message. The Winter Olympics have also been held in amazing locations including Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, Russia and the United States.
Lastly, the energy from the Olympics is insane. When all these countries join in to watch the people do quadruple-backflips, on skis, everybody, no matter what country loves the energy from it. It’s electrifying in almost all events. With all these people watching and all these athletes trying their best to win gold combine, everyone, competing, watching or visit feels the energy that is there.
Check out the Next Olympics-
2016- Rio De Janeiro, Brazil(summer)
2018- Pyeongchang, South Korea(winter)
2020- Tokyo, Japan(summer)
2022- Beijing, China(winter)