As a kid, I was obsessed with the Olympics. It was a sporting spectacle I eagerly awaited every two years.
I recall having the TV on all day in August 2004 and 2008 so I could cheer on Canada's most elite amateur athletes in Athens and Beijing. I remember the joy of watching Canada's hockey teams win gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010.
To me, watching the Olympics was like watching sporting history in the making. I can still recall the amazing spectacle that was the opening ceremonies in Beijing in 2008, or how funny it was to see Jon Montgomery traipse around the Olympic Village with a mug of beer in hand after winning his gold in the skeleton in Vancouver. I remember watching in awe as Michael Phelps won gold after gold medal in Beijing in 2008, while Usain Bolt broke the 100-metre and 200-metre world records in the same Games, seemingly with ease.
While soccer has always been my sport of choice, I considered the Olympics an opportunity to watch, learn about, and become enthusiastic about other sports. I even took up rowing for a year while I was at university, having become interested in the gruelling physical and mental demands of the sport while watching it in the Olympics.
I always preferred the summer Olympics, even though I come from a family of skiers, and my older brother was an elite-level freestyle skier who competed at both the Canada Winter Games and other high-level competitions as a teen. In fact, two of his former opponents competed in Beijing this year – Noah Bowman in half pipe, and Mikäel Kingsbury in moguls.
By the Sochi 2014 Olympics, my enthusiasm for the quadrennial sporting spectacle faded. I haven't watched significant Olympic coverage in any of the Games since, including Rio 2016, Sochi 2018, Tokyo 2020, or Beijing this month. I'm now at the point where I barely paid any attention to the Winter Games – and I say that with some level of embarrassment, as a former designated sportswriter. While I caught bits and pieces here and there, it didn't capture my attention and awe the way the sporting spectacle did when I was younger.
I can't put my finger on what exactly led to my loss of enthusiasm for the Olympics. I still love sports and spend a big chunk of my Saturday and Sunday mornings watching German soccer. I still enjoy photographing and writing about Airdrie's local sports teams and athletes, regardless of the sport, and I'm always the first to suggest catching a professional sporting event in person if the opportunity presents itself.
I hope my enthusiasm for the Olympics returns in the future.
