The 2014 Winter Olympics are finished and, as an American, they definitely fell short as compared with other years.
Team USA only took home 28 medals total. In Vancouver in 2010, the medal count was 37.
Additionally, there weren’t a lot of events that stood out. While there were a couple good wins for the U.S., most of what I watched was nothing special.
There weren’t any moments that had me on the edge of my seat or excited for the outcome.
For me, the Summer Olympics are always more exciting, but usually there’s at least some sort of draw for the Winter Games.
Shaun White, a prominent winter Olympian, was hardly even mentioned this year on account of the fact that he underperformed. He didn’t medal at all.
The men’s hockey team also disappointed fans. After T.J. Oshie’s winning goal in the shootout against Russia, team USA was expected to medal. However, it lost to Canada in the semifinals and lost to Sweden in an embarrassing "attempt" for bronze.
Apart from team USA's disappointing Olympics, none of the other country’s athletes stood out for me either.
I saw a video going around online a few weeks ago of Russian figure skater Yulia Lipnitskaya’s routine. While I’m not a huge figure skating fan, her routine was pretty mesmerizing. She fell in both of her routines in Sochi and didn’t medal at all.
Overall, this Olympics was disappointing. I made an effort to enjoy the winter sports, but there wasn’t anything exciting enough to keep my attention.
Well, at least there are only two years until Rio.
Reach the columnist at mkavy@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @meggiekavy
