The Olympic Games - Michael Phelps

Growing up, and even now, I have never been someone who's enjoyed sports. Growing up with brothers, going to youth groups, summer camps, etc. I was the girl who sat on the side and watched. Lame right? 😜
I much preferred to read a book or make up stories with my dolls, or create something. I prefer literature, music, art, and theater over sports. I don't like basketball or football (gasp). I strongly dislike watching it on TV, I don't get into the Super Bowl, like, AT ALL.
I know, I'm writing about sports on a fantasy blog. Please bear with me!! I just want to tell you guys what I've been doing the past few nights. But first...

I remember watching the opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympics with my mom. Later, I watched very little swimming, and little more of the women's diving, which I fully enjoyed. I didn't really watch anything else from the Olympics that year. In 2012 I watched the Olympic games more than I ever had before. I watched several different events with the girls in the staff cabin at the camp I worked at and in the basement of my brother's house (long story). That was the first time I heard of one of America's greatest athletes ever - Michael Phelps. 

Swimming was already one of the sports I enjoyed watching most of all. And then I saw how many gold medals Michael Phelps was winning, and he was representing Team USA, and he was really entertaining to watch.

And then the Olympic Games Rio 2016 came. 😄
I wasn't aware that it was going on again, but a few days after the fact, I saw something about it on the internet. My sister and I then began watching it, streaming it live a few times, but mostly watching YouTube videos. Eventually, we turned the TV on and watched it for several hours one night. But swimming wasn't on. I watched a lot of team sports like basketball and women's field hockey, amongst other sports. Most of it was entertaining too! But where was Phelps?

The online schedule was no help really. We sat up later than I care to admit, but we watched about 6-7 hours of the Olympics on TV a night for several consecutive nights last week to catch swimming. No, I'm not obsessed. It's just good.

During the Olympic games, I'm proud to be an American! My sis and I were cheering on every American team that was competing.

And then Michael Phelps came on for his final olympic challenge and the USA won the men's 4x100m medley relay. The finger wag he did after winning the Men's 200m Individual Medley was hilarious!! And let us not forget about the Phelps face which fans are saying is better than McKayla Maroney... 😂 "The memes are hilarious," he explained to Access Hollywood's Billy Bush.

Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian athlete ever, with 28 Olympic medals, 23 of those being gold medals.
He first competed in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney at the age of 15, winning no medals. He took 5th in the Men's 200m butterfly.
In 2004 Olympics in Athens, winning 6 gold medals and 2 bronze medals.
At the Olympic Games Beijing in 2008, he won 8 gold medals.
In 2012 at the Olympic Games in London, he won 4 gold medals, and 2 silver medals.
In 2016 Rio, he won 5 gold medals, and 1 silver medal. Phelps came in second to Joseph Schooling in the Men's 100m butterfly.
He's extremely talented at what he does, and he's really fun to watch. It's just kind of bittersweet that he insists that this year will be his last time competing at the Olympics, especially after watching him get emotional during his last award ceremony. In an interview with Bob Costas, Phelps stated, "Where I am now is exactly where I want to finish my career." I'm glad America had someone like Michael Phelps representing the country. For someone who doesn't like sports as much as I don't, I thoroughly enjoy watching the Olympic games. ;)

*All photos courtesy of Getty Images.*