Like millions of others, I have tried to watch the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang as much as possible. Ever since the games started more than two weeks ago, I've tried my best to follow almost every event that has been on.
So far during these fifteen days, I've managed to watch tons of stuff: events like curling, biathlon, cross-country skiing, slalom, half-pipe, nordic combined, ski jumping, speed skating, luge, freestyle and ice-hockey among other events.
Still, when it comes to my very favorite event at PyeonChang, there's one sport that I have preferred watching over the others. Of all the events that I have followed during these games, I have loved watching figure skating the most.
The reason that I have enjoyed watching figure skating so much is that figure skating is not just a sport - it's also an art form. It's an art form that manages to combine skating, spins, step sequences and jumps with music and choreography.
In figure skating, even though winning and competing is obviously important, it's not the only thing that counts. The main reason to watch - at least for many of us in the audience - is not that much about who wins or who places on the podium.
In figure skating, even though winning and competing is obviously important, it's not the only thing that counts. The main reason to watch - at least for many of us in the audience - is not that much about who wins or who places on the podium.
In reality, it's the artistic side of figure skating that draws us to the sport and makes it so popular. It's the jumps, the moves and the music combined with the performer's charisma and personality that matters the most.
Instead of us simply watching the athletes performing and winning or losing, in figure skating we get to forget the 'competition' and enjoy the performances. We get to listen to the music and enjoy their skating programs with our souls.
Compared to the rest of the sports, figure skating is such a fresh exception, because almost every other event is only about winning and being the best. They are only about being the best and getting to the podium to hear the national anthem.
After all, ice hockey for example is all about winning and your team scoring more goals than your opponent's team. It doesn't really have that much of a special 'meaning' or purpose as a game when you think about it.
The same can also be said about a physically demanding sport like cross-country skiing. There's not that much meaning or artistic merit in being faster than the rest of the athletes and reaching the finish line before everyone else.
After all, ice hockey for example is all about winning and your team scoring more goals than your opponent's team. It doesn't really have that much of a special 'meaning' or purpose as a game when you think about it.
The same can also be said about a physically demanding sport like cross-country skiing. There's not that much meaning or artistic merit in being faster than the rest of the athletes and reaching the finish line before everyone else.
Still, just because I'm being critical of these other events, I'm obviously not to say that there's anything wrong with watching these other sports. I'm not saying that you're not supposed to or not allowed to enjoy watching them at all.
After all, I myself have watched almost every event during these Olympic games. I have spent countless hours cheering for my countrymen while hoping that they would succeed and win medals in their respective events.
At the same time, it cannot be denied that a sport like figure skating manages to be a bit different. It manages to remind us that there's more to sports than just competing and being best based on points or numbers.
In that sense, as we're reaching the last days of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, we should keep in mind that the Olympics are not supposed to be only about winning. They are not only about who's supposedly the best in the world.
After all, the real purpose of the Olympics is to bring people together from all over the world. These games are supposed to be about uniting us so that we would forget the differences that we supposedly have as human beings.
In the end, the truth is that who eventually turns out to be the winner in any of these events isn't really that important. It's not that important who manages to win the gold medal in these more than hundred events that they have there.
After all, even though it does feel great to watch your fellow countryman win a gold medal or place on the podium, that's not all there is to it. There are other aspects too that are important and that matter in sports.
In that sense, we should be grateful that a wonderful sport like figure skating exists. We should be grateful, because it's a sport that shows that it's not all about winning and that as an athlete, you don't always have to win in order to be considered a winner.
After all, the real purpose of the Olympics is to bring people together from all over the world. These games are supposed to be about uniting us so that we would forget the differences that we supposedly have as human beings.
In the end, the truth is that who eventually turns out to be the winner in any of these events isn't really that important. It's not that important who manages to win the gold medal in these more than hundred events that they have there.
After all, even though it does feel great to watch your fellow countryman win a gold medal or place on the podium, that's not all there is to it. There are other aspects too that are important and that matter in sports.
In that sense, we should be grateful that a wonderful sport like figure skating exists. We should be grateful, because it's a sport that shows that it's not all about winning and that as an athlete, you don't always have to win in order to be considered a winner.
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