USA! USA! USA!!!

(Confession: I'm supposed to be getting ready for my ladies' Bible study so I can feed Elizabeth when she wakes up and go... but instead I'm here with you on my computer. :)


The 21st Olympic Games start tomorrow night in Vancouver, in what is apparently the first Opening Ceremony to take place indoors, and I COULDN'T BE MORE EXCITED!! And yes, I am yelling. Really, the level excitement has hit critical.

I am passionate about the Olympics. I'm crazy about them. It's the one time in my life when I seriously could sit and watch the TV all day, or news coverage all day (as I hate the news). It's a biannual event that I never want to miss: the Olympic Games. Give me Summer, give me Winter, just give me the Games!

Why? I don't really know what it is. It is the internationality of it all? The various nations and cultures converging on one spot to share camaraderie and friendly competition? Maybe. Is it the human drama as you watch all these athletes strive to achieve their dream, a gold medal? Possibly. Is it the pride and patriotism of keeping the Medal Watch count, to see how many medals the U.S. can bring home? Could be. I don't know. Maybe it's all of the above. Maybe I've been influenced by feel-good movies like Cool Runnings or Miracle, both of which I really enjoy (but maybe because they're about the Olympics? I don't really care about hockey...). I don't know. All I know is that starting tomorrow night at 7pm CST, I will take my biannual place before the television and barely move for the next two and a half weeks.

Already, I've begun my research. Who are the notables in my favorite events (which would be figure skating, freestyle skiing (particularly moguls), bobsledding, and snowboarding. Would I even know what the moguls are without the Olympics? Certainly not. What are the new sports, if any? Who's expected to take the gold? I'm actually a little behind as everything starts tomorrow and I should have been up on this at least by the beginning of the week! Last Winter Olympics was my first to really watch snowboarding and I loved every event. This year I expect to enjoy the Ski Cross, a new sport, much like Snowboarding Cross where skiers compete on a course where they have to include jumps and tricks, etc. SO COOL.