Senior government and politics and information systems major

In seventh grade, I was obsessed with a guy some people called “The Flying Tomato”: Olympic snowboarder Shaun White. I couldn’t have cared less about snowboarding itself. I knew nothing about snowboarding or skateboarding. Rather, it was my childish obsession with redheaded men that motivated me to tune in to the Winter Olympics every four years.

I never watched the X Games or any international snowboarding championships and knew nothing of other snowboarders who were just as good as White. For me, watching the Winter Olympics didn’t serve one of its purposes — to honor the hard work athletes put into their sports.

Think about it: Every four years, we watch athletes (who perform their best) win medals and break records.

In the months (or years) that follow, many of us can remember some of these athletes by name: Shaun White, Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin. However, some compete, win international competitions and achieve scores just as good as their Olympic counterparts yet receive minimal recognition — no corporate sponsors, no magazine covers and no excessive fan mail.

So what’s the difference between the Olympics and any international competition in a particular sport? Is an X Games gold medal just as good as an Olympic one, especially if the competitors are the same? Some say the Olympics differ from other competitions because they are a passive-aggressive form of international diplomacy — a safe gathering of different nations where athletes fight for first place.

Some say it’s important because it makes us pay attention to sports, but I beg to differ. It only forces us to pay attention to particular sports and athletes, forgetting about their other achievements.

I’m not one to whine and mope about how unfair an event is because it promotes corporate recognition and reward. All athletes should receive proper recognition for their achievements. Take Kevin Pearce, for instance. Before the 2010 Winter Olympics, he was a gold medal contender against White, but we never saw him compete due to a critical injury during training. Although he’s won several competitions, your average college student (or Olympic Games follower) has no idea who he is.

I’m not saying the Olympic Games are pointless or we should all be anti-corporate spectators and avoid famous athletes. I think the games are simply less than they are hyped up to be.

If you really claim to love watching snowboarding during the Olympics, why not follow it every day of the year? If you were pissed Team USA didn’t win gold last week, why not cheer on American figure skaters during the world championships?

People who are the best in their sport shouldn’t feel pressured to do well once every four years because that’s when people happen to care about them. Athletic records should be viewed holistically, and athletes shouldn’t be valued by how many Olympic medals they have.

When I’m older, I want to label myself as someone who follows all aspects of American snowboarding, Hopefully my memories of watching sports won’t boil down to thinking about a prepubescent girl obsessing over an amazing athlete just because he has really cool hair.

Caroline Carlson is a junior government and politics and information systems major. She can be reached at ccarlsondbk@gmail.com.