Member-only story
The Largely Forgettable Olympics
They’re not like they once were
I haven’t watched any of the Olympics this year. Come to think of it, I don’t think I watched any of the Olympics the last time around either. In looking back at the Olympics overall, I realized it has probably been a decade or more since I watched them with any interest.
What strikes me as strange is how, as a kid, I was athletic and very interested in most sports, including the Olympics. I will admit my hesitance to embrace curling. Watching people sweep ice in front of a slow-moving object simply didn’t do it for me. It still doesn’t. Now I barely notice the Olympics are taking place. I can’t name a single gold medal winner, let alone winners of silver or bronze medals. I did hear the name Simone Biles, but I couldn’t tell you what she competed in or how she did. And I heard that someone had their bronze medal taken away.
That had to sting.
As for other sports, it took me some time to warm up to bowling, but once I bowled myself, I learned an appreciation for the skill required to knock those pins down. Similarly, I wasn’t particularly interested in golf either until I began golfing with my dad following his retirement. It was only then that I came to appreciate being able to drop the ball on the green close to the hole or drive the ball hundreds of yards…
