Olympic season is upon us once again.
Whether you've followed the Winter Olympic Games for years or are just now learning what curling actually entails, there has never been a better time to start watching. Every four years, the world comes together to display athleticism, dedication and sportsmanship, and it's a chance to revel in some good, old-fashioned competition.
There is a little something for everyone in these games: skiing, bobsledding, figure skating, hockey, snowboarding and speed skating to name a few. The U.S. has athletes to watch in all events, including Shaun White in snowboarding, Apolo Anton Ohno in speed skating, Evan Lysacek in figure skating, Lindsey Vonn in alpine skiing and Kikkan Randall in cross-country skiing.
This is the chance to see unique sports that aren't widely known, such as the biathlon (cross-country skiing combined with target shooting), skeleton (head-first luge), curling (throwing a 42-pound stone toward a series of circles) and nordic combined (ski jumping plus cross-country skiing).
Sadly, the Opening Ceremony on Friday was marked by the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili earlier that day in practice. Participants and viewers alike felt a mix of sorrow about the death and excitement about the upcoming events. While we never want any athlete to get hurt, at least we know Kumaritashvili died doing something he loved. We can honor his death by helping support our respective countries' athletes.
It's never been more important to encourage goodwill between countries. Why don't we use the Winter Olympics as an excuse to restart that effort?
To bring a bit of Olympic spirit to Muncie, why not take a break from studying in Bracken Library to make up a winter sport in LaFollette Field — especially before the rest of the snow melts.
Who knows? Maybe ultimate snow frisbee might make it onto the roster for the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia.
To see graphics of each sport and how they work or find out the medal count for the U.S., pick up the DN each day or check bsudailynews.com for new information each day of the games.
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