I’m going through Olympics withdrawal. I love the Olympics. I particularly love the Winter Olympics. There isn’t a winter Olympic sport I won’t watch. I even watched part of a hockey game this year! And somehow, the 50K cross-country skiing race is exponentially more interesting to watch than marathon running. And then there are crazy things like bobsled to ponder. I mean, what other Olympic sport is so full of people who defected from other sports, or people from unlikely places like Jamaica, or people who’s only contribution after the initial start is ballast? The sport is nuts! Oh, and this year one contestant even won a platinum medal! I just love the Winter Olympics.

But the sport that really divides people is curling. (Talk about a crazy sport!). Liking curling isn’t just a preference, it’s an identity. The more you tweet and blog and talk about watching curling the more the rest of us know that you wish to be known as a connoisseur of the Olympic games — a really with it kind of person with personality and a well-developed sense of geekish superiority. It’s kind of like being a goth in high school. You get to revel in being so totally different from everyone but without actually having to be different in a unique way. You get to be exactly the same as other goths, and do so in protest against sameness. Brilliant.

Meanwhile, I will continue on with my omnivore style of Olympic enjoyment. While I do, I may sip a glass of wine, which I will enjoy without knowing if it’s mediocre or stellar. I may even dress in black. And while I’ll sit slightly smug in my ability to tell the various figure skating jumps apart, I’ll know, deep down, that I’m no connoisseur. I just love the Winter Olympics.