Also written by Olivia Caldwell
With the 2022 Beijing Olympics coming to a close, our staff had a bit of a disagreement over which variety of Olympic is superior, and so, here we are to close the case once and for all: which is the better Olympics?
Winter
I like the Winter Olympics much more than the Summer Olympics because what else are you supposed to do in the middle of February? There is nothing to do, and when the Olympics are on, you have something entertaining to look forward to every night and it can at least get you through.
Also, the sports are so much more interesting in the Winter Olympics than in the Summer Olympics. The only sports people watch during the summer are swimming, beach volleyball and sometimes track. I get that they’re trying to add action sports with skateboarding and surfing, but the Winter Olympics have been giving action sports like snowboarding and skiing so much more attention than the Summer Olympics will ever give skateboarding or surfing.
In my opinion, the Winter Olympics have been putting more obscure and interesting sports on a pedestal since they started. The Summer Olympics always puts swimming and track above other sports but in the Winter Olympics, there isn’t really anything that is as popular as those other sports and no matter how hard they try, people will always choose to watch swimming and track over the newer sports.
Plus, the Winter Olympics are so much more interesting to watch. You’re telling me that you’ve willingly watched other sports in the Summer Olympics and haven’t been glued to your TV watching any sport that the Winter Olympics are showing? Figure skating is interesting to watch, no matter how hard you try to not be interested in it. Even curling is more interesting than equestrian or mountain biking.
The commentary is also so much more interesting during the Winter Olympics in my opinion, since the sports also involve so much more precision. In figure skating, if they land a little bit not perfectly, they fall. If the snowboarders lean too far to one side, they fall. If the curlers don’t sweep hard enough, they don’t earn as many points. Also, style points are literally a part of how they judge so many of the sports which is arguably cool.
For me, it’s so hard to see how the Summer Olympics are better than the Winter Olympics. I love watching Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps as much as the next person, but in the Winter Olympics I can see Nathan Chen, Chloe Kim and Mikaela Shiffrin all in one night and not get bored instead of changing the channel after Katie Ledecky has won another gold medal.
Summer
I believe the Summer Olympics are superior to the Winter Olympics. The Summer Olympics are held in July and August which are some of the hottest months in the year. I enjoy getting home after a hot day in the sun and turning on the Olympics. It’s a nice way to relax and spend time with families as we cheer for our favorite athletes.
Both the Summer and Winter Olympics have fun sports to watch however the Summer Olympics are much more engaging. In the past twenty years there has been fifteen new sports added. This has made room for more athletes to participate and for more people around the world to have something to cheer for. The new sports bring more people together in the excitement for the games.
Swimming and track are some of the more popular sports in the Summer games but that doesn’t mean that other sports aren’t featured. Skateboarding, climbing, and surfing are the three newest sports. Surfing and skateboarding made up two of the top ten most viewed sports in the Summer games. It’s not true that not as many people watch the new Summer sports. While the new sports aren’t as popular in the US, they are very popular in other countries around the world.
I believe the commentary in the Summer Olympics are just as interesting as in the Winter games. There are many more rivalries in the summer sports because there are more records between the athletes that are close. The commentators make sure the viewers know about the competitions between the teams and the competitors. The close records between seasoned athletes keep it interesting for the millions of people watching around the world.
I find it difficult to appreciate the Winter Games as much as the Summer. The Summer Olympics provides more sports and over a hundred more countries’ the opportunity to compete. The games are more inclusive to everyone and far more interesting.
