What a weekend we have coming up! With both the Winter Olympics kicking off and the Super Bowl taking place on Sunday, could things be any better for sports fans?!

Well, from my perspective, only one of those events truly piques my interest. If you haven’t read my blog for that long, I will give you a hint on which one it is…

The Winter Olympics begin this weekend and the Super Bowl will be played on Sunday. I am excited for one of them.

Let’s go Seahawks!!

I am really looking forward to the Super Bowl. Every year I give the game my undivided attention as I engage myself in the football and scrutinize the commercials/game entertainment. As per usual, I will have a complete review on Monday morning. The fact that Seattle is representing the NFC this year just adds even more excitement to my Sunday.

But guess what? There is even an additional cherry on top! Watch closely because Eastern Washington University will have a commercial during this year’s Super Bowl (airing locally). In fact, it will air a total of three times—once pre-game, once during the game, and once post-game. The spot is super creative and super timely as it will give a nod not only to our brand identity as the region’s polytechnic but also to the two EWU alumni playing in the Super Bowl. What a fun project this has been to work on!

Okay, back to the “other” sporting event taking place this weekend. I consider myself an Olympics fanatic. I watch them non-stop, follow the medal counts, and try to get my kids as interested as possible. But, oh yeah, that is just for the Summer Olympics.

Sigh. I am not trying to be a downer—really, I’m not. But over the decade+ I have authored this blog, I have written extensively about why the Winter Olympics don’t engage me like the Summer Olympics do. I won’t get into it all here, but the winter games are just too specialized and lack global representation.

With that said, let me check my Winter Olympics cynicism right now. Even though I prefer the Summer Olympics, the winter games still boast top-notch athletes, incredible stories, and superb competition. I will still expose the 2026 Winter Olympics to my children, celebrate the significance of the games, and seize all learning opportunities possible. One such opportunity will revolve around the location of the games—Italy. Hopefully I can use this geographical backdrop to teach Sloan and Beau about their ancestral roots.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. Enjoy these hallmark sporting events and keep an eye out for the EWU Super Bowl commercial. Don’t Blink.