Winter Vs. Summer Olympics

It's easy to feel lazy while perched on the couch, watching the Winter Olympics. It's about 25 degrees here in New England, so even going outside to dump the trash seems like an immense undertaking.

Meanwhile, these Olympic athletes have to one-up me by going outside in the snow and actually doing stuff, like winning athletic medals for their countries. Sheesh, what show-offs!

Seriously, though, even if it weren't frigid out, I'd be hard-pressed to separate myself from the Olympics. I'm ... addicted, you see. The further I get from my youth, the more impressive each installment of the Olympics becomes.
But what if winter and summer had to compete against each other for overall supremacy? Well, now they do. I scored each category with medals.

STAR POWER
The winter games have a few names that the Average Joe has probably heard: Shaun White (1 gold) and Apolo Ohno (2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze).
But nothing can compare to the celebrity of the summer games, which includes super-swimmer Michael Phelps (6 gold, 2 bronze); tennis queens Venus (3 gold) and Serena (2 gold) Williams and the country's best NBA players, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Dwyane Wade (3 gold).
Summer reigns supreme here.
Winter medal count: 3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze; 6 total
Summer medal count: 14 gold, 2 bronze; 16 total

SPORTS
Don't get me wrong: The summer games require a great deal of athletic prowess.
But most of the sports (running, table tennis, swimming, basketball, volleyball, etc.) are things any regular person can do at their local gym. True, summer Olympians can do things faster and better than a normal folks (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze). But the sports themselves can be performed by laymen without undergoing rigorous training.
Not true with most of the winter Olympic sports. Based on blistering speeds (luge, skeleton), towering heights (snowboarding half pipe) or a combination of the two (freestyle skiing), many of the winter sports can result in life-threatening injuries, or death, if even the tiniest error takes place. (Rest in peace, Nodar Kumaritashvili.)
Winter athletes not only have skills, they have colossal cajones, willing to risk their lives for sport (15 gold medals). Disagree? Then go slide 90 miles per hour on a skeleton next week and report back to me.
Winter: 18 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze; 21 total
Summer: 15 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze; 19 total

CONVENIENCE
Let's be honest: When it's gray, depressing and freezing outside, the Olympics are a fantastic distraction. There are certainly ways to chip away at two weeks of winter (1 gold, 1 silver).
When the summer games are on, however, there's so much else to do. Instead of watching people play volleyball, tennis, basketball or badminton, for instance, you can go play them yourself.
Admit it: The only times you watch the summer games are on your computer at work, and before bed at night (1 bronze). Anything else that's worth seeing will be on sports highlights.
Winter: 19 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze; 23 total
Summer: 12 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze; 20 total

INTENSITY
Because so many winter events are solo missions, the summer games boast a stronger intensity. From the incessant, serious grunting of the tennis players (2 gold), to the blink-and-you'll-miss-em short sprints (3 silver) to action-packed basketball games (1 gold, 1 silver), head-to-head competitions are usually more dramatic and offer instant gratification!
Winter has a few such sports, including speed skating (1 gold), snowboarding cross (1 silver) and cross-country skiing (1 bronze). But in every other event, the athletes sit and watch their competitors instead of going against them simultaneously.
Winter: 20 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze; 26 total
Summer: 15 gold, 8 silver, 4 bronze; 27 total

EXHILARATION
What the winter games might lack in head-to-head contests, they more than make up for in the wow-factor.
Tell us you haven't drawn in a sharp, nervous breath watching a snowboarder soar above the crowd during the halfpipe (2 gold); an athlete careen through an icy track face first during the skeleton (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze); or a skier taking a huge tumble, bouncing off moguls (3 bronze).
Watching the winter games is exhilarating because the sports are often daring, and there's a very real chance the athlete won't be able to complete their task without a brutal spill.
Meanwhile, during summer, there's usually no doubt whether the athletes will finish rowing or swimming... it's just a matter of how fast they can do it (1 silver).
Aaaaand, it's winter for the win!
Winter: 23 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze; 34 total
Summer: 15 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze; 28 total


Bottom line: We love us some summer games, too. But the winter games are riskier, more unpredictable and rich with events/tricks that the average person can't even fathom doing. Winter doesn't start with W-I-N for nothin'.