2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

I'm so glad the Olympics are back. Now there's something besides football, basketball, baseball and hockey getting some real coverage on the big name sports channels. The Olympics are great, because they allow people to share in a worldwide competition, in an arsenal of events. You also get to see some of the great talents and cultures from around the world, especially if we can set aside politics and our international skirmishes.

Unfortunately, the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics are getting overshadowed by a large political shadow, it seems. Old anti-Russian sentiments are flying again, the homosexual campaigns are waving their war banners, and as always everyone's worried about the terrorists (Rightfully so though. A terrorist tragedy would be heartbreaking.). I wish we could go back to the age when only amateur athletes were allowed to attend the Olympic games, and when people could quit using the games as a means to forward their personal agendas, political and otherwise. These are games, people. It's not a U.N. council session or a battlefield of war; it's a worldwide athletic competition. These are games, meant to bring all nations together, set differences aside for a couple weeks, and share world talents in a host of athletic events. What's so bad about that? Why do we have to sully everything with personal and national agendas?

Anyway, I'm glad the Olympics are on again. Over the years, I have been inspired by competitors in each event and the hosting cultures. I loved it when the Olympics were here in Utah back in 2002. Events were going on all around me here in Ogden. Now it's the citizens of Russia's chance to show off their hospitality and the beauty of their nation. I'm loving the background scenery around the events in Sochi nearly as much as the games themselves, and so far the games seem to be going well. Despite what people may want to believe, there are some wonderful people and some beautiful terrain in Russia.

Some people are breaking their heads over where the games are being held and why people aren't boycotting them because of it. But these people miss the point of the games. The Olympic games are a third-party entity, and they hold no mono-national allegiance. They aren't forwarding any political cause, just the cause of good sportsmanship. Therefore, I'm excited to watch the many events and cheer on the competitors from my home country (and maybe even a few from elsewhere in the world). The talent of these athletes is awe-inspiring.

Props to you, Olympians!

Go, USA!