This year alone, so many tragedies, misfortunes and setbacks occurred in the view of the public. Every time a breaking news headline debuts, it’s rarely something good, which makes sense since people would rather be alerted about their impending doom than humanitarian efforts.

With the news of coronavirus outbreaks, the deaths of public figures and the Australian fires, it seems as though people recently are more drawn to optimistic reports. For 2020, that exciting news headline for many could possibly be the Summer Olympics.

Well, not for me. Subjectively speaking, the Summer Olympics are far too repetitive, sporty and appeal to a very specific demographic. It’s difficult to watch a Summer Olympics event and immediately be able to gauge what is happening.

The Summer Olympics also has nearly three times the amount of sports and events, many of which appeal to a very small demographic of people who follow the sport regularly. Many events are honestly too boring for most people to tune in, so whenever the Summer Olympics does come around, you only ever hear about the same five or six events, alienating most of the other sports.

This is not to say that any sport represented isn’t any more difficult or important to the public, but looking at the list of events, I can easily say I have never seen most of these or even thought they would be in the Olympics as a sport.

The Winter Olympics has about one third the amount of sports, which makes sense because most sports are hard to do with the presence of snow and ice. However, that makes it all the more impressive for the contestants who are able to participate in the events and compete like it’s second nature to them.

Visually the events at the Winter Olympics are far more appealing. Events like figure skating, snowboarding and skiing are all entertaining to watch, even without knowing the exact specifications of scoring. I might not know how many points a twirl on the ice or a backflip on a snowboard will score, but I sure do know it looks pretty.

Although I can say that events at the Summer Olympics do look hard and are impressive to see, they’re rarely ever entertaining. Other than the gymnastics events, the sports seem redundant and irrelevant in comparison. Surely I’m not the only one that holds the same sentiment since Summer events I have never heard about are never at the forefront of media reports.

In these trying times filled with public fear, mourning and anger, the people need something to look forward to. In 2020, the Summer Olympics may just be that thing, if they even occur at all amid spreading fear of coronavirus. However, I will look elsewhere in finding entertainment and will be eagerly anticipating the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Maii is a freshman in LAS.

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