OLYMPIC FEVER!! Or... well... it's cold... so... not like hot fever... but... icy fever... like when you get chills when you are sick.

For some reason, even though I never watch sports on a regular basis, I get crazy insane whenever it is Olympics time. I literally tore through all 4 hours of the PBS Emma miniseries on Monday just to free up my DVR to tape moguls, snowboard cross and short track speed skating. No, really. I can't quite explain what it is about Olympic sports that captivates me more than, say, Major League Baseball. I think the international angle is pretty cool, it's true, but mostly I think what I like the most about it is that it only takes 2 weeks. In a two week span, I can totally pretend like I knew who Lindsey Vonn was before a month ago and root and cheer like everyone else when she wins gold. Also, races I totally understand. Look! That guy got to the finish line before the other guy! He wins! Yay that guy! OOOOH MAN! Did you SEE how that South Korean speed skater totally knocked that other guy over?! SNAP! Simple stuff. Figure skating, like gymnastics, I'm not a big fan of. I don't really understand this subjective "style" judging. Half pipe snowboard, on the other hand, is pretty awesome even though its judged on execution of certain tricks. Maybe it's just the outfits are better.

But by far of course, the best thing about a lot of Olympic sports is that they last about 5 minutes or less. My attention span is completely suited to watching this kind of excitement. I get this immediate satisfaction when people win or lose and I don't have to wait around for a few more hours to find out what happens. JUST WIN ALREADY! I've often wondered why we can't just reduce most NBA games to just the last 7 minutes. Anyway, because I don't particularly have any vested interest in any of the teams, I'm just happy to watch. Seriously. I don't even root exclusively for Team USA. Why should I, when the Germans are so much better at luging? How did I know the Germans are better at luging? Because some guy on TV told me yesterday.

Also, the mascots are wicked cute. I mean, look at these guys! I want to snuggle them to death.

I sometimes wish that the Olympics came on more than ever 2 years, but I have this sneaking suspicion that curling might not be as interesting if it came on prime time TV every Sunday night.