How We Watch the Olympics in Our House

USA Women's Hockey player Haley Skarupa and her gold medal from PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games

My husband is the biggest Olympics fan you will ever meet.

In the 21 years we’ve been together, he has watched more hours of Olympic coverage than any human I know in real life. It doesn’t matter the sport. It doesn’t matter the matchup. It doesn’t even matter if there’s a gold medal on the line.

He is emotionally invested.

The way he watches the Olympics is the way I watch my own children compete.

He cares deeply — not because he knows the athletes personally, but because he loves the quality of competition. He loves what sport reveals. He loves the opportunity it gives people to rise.

And one of my favorite things he does? He saves moments.

If something incredible happens late at night, he’ll tuck it away to show the kids in the morning. He won’t let them miss a gold medal performance, a comeback, or even a gnarly fall. But more importantly, he never misses the chance to point out the lesson.

“Did you see how she responded after that mistake?”

“Watch this display of sportsmanship.”

“Listen to this story about how he prepares for his event."

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Olympics too. I love the backstories, the human side, the vulnerability. And this year felt different - It felt like more people were invested in the lessons.

Influencers. Journalists. The overall media coverage.

We were invited into self-talk routines, Post-it notes stuck to mirrors, visualization practices, mental reps, and sports psychology sessions. We've always been given a peek into their physical training - but this year, we got to see their mental training too.

And even more powerful? The openness around struggle. The willingness to talk about anxiety, pressure, burnout, and the need to support athletes beyond just their performance.

As the Games ended and I felt that little twinge of sadness, I realized something - In our house, the magic of the Olympics never really ends.

Every morning we recap. Top plays. Tough finishes. Clutch moments. We talk about composure. Effort. Leadership. Response.

Sport is woven into our daily rhythm.

As my husband and I trade Instagram posts — usually about my ADHD or the latest furry animal I want to adopt — we also trade quotes, lessons, and stories of athletes doing hard things well.

The inspiration doesn’t have to come from the Olympics alone. We don’t need a global stage to talk about grit, preparation, courage, or recovery. We just need to share the stories with the same intention.

Because that’s really what the Olympics are in our house: Not just medals. Not just incredible athletes. But moments worth learning from.

And those are available to us every single day.