The Opening of the Winter Olympics

On February 12th the biggest sporting competition in the world started with a beautiful ceremony. The ceremony showed every country that was competing in the olympics walking in with their nation's flag being held high. Every olympic athlete showed great pride being able to represent their country. I can only imagine how satisfying the walk in must feel. This year the Winter Olympics are being held in Vancouver, Canada, where they average over two feet of snow every winter. The story early on, however, was the lack of snow which was causing events to be postponed. The impact on the Winter Olympics is massive. People all over the world tune in to watch their countrymen compete for the highly coveted gold medals. What is up for grabs? Only everything. The Canadian hockey team not only wants to win the gold they are EXPECTED to win. When the Canadian's took the ice for their first game on Tuesday, the whole country had their eyes glued to the tv. When they went the whole first period without scoring a goal the fans starting to get nervous. The rest of the game was a breeze as the Canadians scored eight goals and won the game in a shutout. If the team lost? The country would go into an almost instant riot. Thats how big hockey and the olympics are in Canada. So what is the impact of the olympics? Well lets just say it has the ability to completely control and fascinate a country.

When I tune in to the olympics my immediate reaction is to check the medal count of the Americans. Most of the time I am happily rewarded as the American's usually dominate the Olympic games. In my opinion nothing can compare to the Olympic games because this is a congregation of the best athletes from around the world. When you see the opening ceremonies it really hits you that each and every person on the screen is incredible at their sport. The impact the Olympics has on a country is huge. I remember when all of America was watching as Michael Phelps chased history. Swimming suddenly became the most important sport in America as everywhere you went you heard people talking about Phelps and his pursuit for perfection. The Winter Olympics are a little watered down but they still have the whole country watching and its not just America. The whole world enjoys watching the Olympics and every two years when the games return viewers continue to tune in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZX-CzXyXDo