It is an Olympic year and I love watching the Games. The longevity, sheer pageantry and ceremony surrounding this globally watched event every four years draws in even those not often inclined to sit around and watch sports.

The Olympics has the ever-popular, splashy, attention grabbing sports such as swimming, gymnastics, track and field and so on. The Olympic magic I enjoy most lay in its ability to turn the less known and less watched sports of the world into competitions and races so special that within minutes of tuning in I am on the edge of my seat, cheering and rooting for countries and athletes I have never heard of and some I can’t begin to pronounce.

It is being able to sit on my couch and watch the best of the best duke it out every four years for a brief and limited number of days. No team owners, no players unions, no lockouts or salary strikes. No drafts or trades. Just the greatest athletes of this Olympic generation whose passion and love of their particular sport has them striving for the glory that comes with obtaining one of those three pieces of metal, national pride and the title of the one of the best in the world.

Sharing the Olympics with my son Nick this year has simply added to the fun. He has finally reached an age where he understands what is going on and finds it fascinating. These games are opening up a whole world of sports that he never knew existed. I tuned in to the water polo game the other day and you could have knocked him over he was so excited that such a “cool” sport existed and where could he sign up?

Wrestling competitions start this coming week. Nick wrestles at the youth level, so he can’t wait to start watching. He’s outlined highlights of the entire broadcast schedule. My poor DVR is going to explode or die trying to keep up. I had to implement a “record one, delete one” policy just to stay under the capacity of the hard drive.

I am realistic about Nick never becoming an Olympic athlete, but if taking a passion in the games and a few new sports inspires him to take pride in what he does, try harder, push himself further and accept defeat with good grace and sportsmanship in his own life, then I am satisfied with the lessons learned.

Go team USA.