Olympic Rings and Emotional Things: What is it about the Olympics that make us ugly cry over sports and athletes we've never heard of?

I'm sitting here on a Wednesday afternoon where, from my couch,  I am transfixed by the multicast view of the Olympics. A quadrant of screens take up the TV where a medal ceremony, men's basketball, skateboarding and a women's soccer game are all happening at the same time. Now, I've always been someone with a love of sports - and it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for me to watch multiple events at the same time, or maybe even grab a stealth peak of the ESPN app to check the score while at a wedding...but to have a quad screen up with multiple sports - even for me, that seems excessive.

It got me thinking, what is it about the Olympics that continually captures my attention so fully I can not simply fathom picking ONE of these events to watch? The simple and most obvious answer is that it's fun to watch the world's best athletes compete against each other. You get the super teams, the living legends, the hometown heroes, the underdogs, the record holders - and the record breakers all competing against each other to bring home the gold for the letters across their chest. Without a doubt I get fired up watching Team USA kick ass, but for me it's something a little deeper than the final outcome.

And then I saw something that put exactly into words all the feelings I've been trying to corral. The athletes are undoubtedly powerful, but what makes them the most powerful isn't their finish line time, or the records they break - it's something so much more simple. Humanity. They might do super-human things, but above all else - they are human. As they compete in their sport, we see the entire spectrum of emotions. The juxtaposition of agony and elation, redemption and frustration, fear and excitement playing out in front of us as their dreams are either solidified, or broken. What a thing, to be human. To be able to feel and express the magnitude of emotions. 

I am, and always have been, so drawn to the human in these athletes and the stories they bring with them to the highest stage. It's the individual story lines that help us, average joes, tie invisible strings to the world's best. It's stories of redemption, mental health, grief, adversity, joy, perseverance, dedication and determination that resonate within all of us. Stories help us find a connection to not only the athletes, but to each other. If you look close enough, it's possible to see even the smallest glimmer of reflection of ourselves within these athletes. 

The Olympics brings together the best athletes of the world, but also inevitably brings us some of the best story lines as well. Because let's face it, becoming the best doesn't happen over night or alone. Becoming the best requires an incredible amount of sacrifice, adversity, hustle and determination - from not only the athlete, but everyone that surrounds the athlete as well. The families that have sacrificed weekends or picked up extra jobs to support their child's dream. Or the coaches, teammates and staff that helped physically and mentally prepare each athlete for the world's stage. I think about the long and often times isolating journey these athletes have taken to become the best, and I realize that's what gets me so choked up. The simple dichotomy of the end result. You have a winner - someone has achieved their highest dream , and you have a loser - someone who fell short. To be human is to recognize that both have a place in the world, we can't all come home with gold medal. We need to know what defeat feels like, in order to crave victory. We need to know what victory feels like in order to justify the hard work and sacrifice. There's a delicate balance and it's at the Olympics we get to see it all unfold

The story lines run like veins through the Olympic village, deep and plentiful, supplying life and connection into all us back at home cheering them on. Each story helps us find compassion, empathy, respect and understanding of each other. 

There are at least 11,000 athletes competing in the 2024 Olympic Games this year. That's a lot of story lines. Every day I find something new that captures me and pulls me in deeper. A headline that drives me into an obscure sport or athlete and suddenly I find myself fixated on equestrian or kayaking because those invisible strings start to tug at me and suddenly, I'm cheering and crying for a sport or an athlete I found out about mere minutes ago. But that's the power of a story for you - they find ways to tie us all together. 

I'm curious, what are the stories that hooked you? Was it American super hero Stephen Nedoroscik owning the pummel horse in his now meme-able moment? Was it the incomparable Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee leading the redemption tour for women's gymnastics? Are you eagerly awaiting the reveal of what British diver Tom Daley is knitting this year? Or, maybe it was swimmer Ryan Murphy taking home Bronze looking up in the crowd to see his wife holding up a sign letting him know that he was going to be a girl dad. 

The worlds greatest athletes are all just human. Find your invisible string, give it a little tug, and see where it takes you and watch what stories begin to unfold.