Face Off
PAGE 16
Sept. 2 2016
Face off: are the Summer olympics or winter olympics better? sydney hutchinson
The Summer Olympics versus the Winter Olympics shouldn’t even be a comparison. The Summer Olympics are the obvious choice when faced with the freezing cold and dreary Winter Olympics. In the summer, you have the actually interesting events, like swimming, women’s gymnastics, field hockey and even table tennis. There are 46 different sports in the Summer Olympics. Meanwhile, the Winter Olympics only have 15 different sports. Some may try to argue that figure skating is an amazing winter sport. Although, when you have the amazing Laurie Hernandez, Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman and Madison Kocian, who are all some of the most talented gymnasts that America has ever seen, who needs figure skating? All of these women have won at least one gold medal in this year’s Summer Olympics. I know that ski jumping is pretty intense, but have you seen diving?! Aside from the Philippine’s sad attempt at diving, the event itself is pretty sweet. In order to even qualify, the divers must hit the water at exactly 35 miles per hour. Thats faster then most people drive out of the school parking lot. Another amazing event is swimming. I don’t have to even explain this one. I’ll just leave a few names here: Michael Phelps (he has won 23 gold medals) and
Katie Ledecky (a gold medalist at only 19). Talk about world records. The fact that the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics are used in the same sentence is beyond me. Another great point to bring up is the super cool uniforms you see at the summer olympics. Between all the metallic prints and sparkles, it is easy to forget you’re watching sports. At the Winter Olympics the uniforms are basically parkas and weird jackets. Where is the flair? Where is the fun? Not here. The Winter Olympics happen, and then are, thankfully, not talked about until another four years roll around. The Summer Olympics have people talking all four years in anticipation of the next Summer Olympics. This is simply because the Summer Olympics give people something to talk about. Summer Olympics may have you breaking a sweat in sheer excitement, but at least you aren’t freezing body parts off watching Winter Olympics. At least at the Summer Olympics you can watch the better sports and be entertained, while the Winter Olympics give you a bored face that’s frozen in place.
evan schoettle
VS
Many people love the Olympics, and how could you not? The unity of it, the enormity of it all and the sense of the best from around the world coming together to compete for glory. However, the only thing better than the Summer Olympics is the Winter Olympics. The Winter Olympics hold the far superior and more entertaining events. To name a few, the Winter Olympics include curling, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, figure skating and snowboarding. Overall, the events in the Winter Olympics are more fast-paced, more exciting and more enjoyable. The monotony of soccer is replaced with the much faster paced and far more eventful, hockey. Also introduced is ski jumping, known for its simplicity and grace, yet also for its high risk and danger. While gymnastics does hold its ground as being elegant and graceful, it doesn’t nearly compare to the splendor of figure skating. Other events, such as bobsleigh, cross-country skiing and snowboarding, also fill the roster for the long list of exciting events that take place. And among that list is the oddity that is curling, easily
one of the most interesting. Comparatively, the Summer Olympics have very few to no other events as fascinating as this one winter event that involves brooms and a large granite stone. Overall, the events that take place are more interesting and are much better at getting the viewer more invested in the sport. This one event sends the Winter Olympics from entertaining to interesting. I strongly recommend taking a look at this one. While it isn’t the fastest moving event, it’s one of the most visually interesting and entertaining. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love the Summer Olympics. I enjoyed almost all of the events that took place in Rio and overall still have a fun time cheering for whoever is winning. Not to mention, both events fulfill their overall purpose of unity among nations, the bringing of people together as one. No matter which one is , there’s always fun to be had watching and enjoying the events taking place in a country on the other side of the world. However, when it comes down to which one I find more fun in watching, which one has the more entertaining events and which one I feel no guilt for cheering for Canada for almost every event, the decision is rather simple. The Winter Olympics are just all of the things the Summer Olympics are, only better.