I'm gonna be brutally honest. I hate most of the Olympic games. I understand the importance of it - the fanfare, the patriotism, the greatest athletes in the world. But I just can't get into it. My wife on the other hands watches it for HOURS at a time...especially the figure skating.
Which I find excruciating.
But, with a simple rule change, Olympic figure skating might actually pique my interest, and it was on full display at the U.S. Championships in Denver last night.
Jimmy Ma, a 22-year old from Queens, is competing for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, and he caught social media's attention last night by doing a figure skating routine to DJ Snake and Lil Jon's "Turn Down For What".
If that seems weird to you, it's because it is. The rule in the past has been that figure skating routines could only be done to music without lyrics - leading to performances mostly over classical music or electronically modified versions of popular songs.
Now, though, allegedly to generate younger interest in the sport, the 2018 Winter Games will be the first Olympics in which figure skaters can dance to music WITH words.
Which led Jimmy to turn down for what.
And the world fell in love.
Now, here's the bad news. Jimmy finished this portion of the competition in 11th place, and there are only 3 slots on the Olympic team, so he's got a pretty slim chance of actually representing the U.S. in South Korea, but maybe this will set a precedent for other skaters?
An ice dancing version of "Trap Queen" maybe? Or a double-axle to DJ Khaled? Count me in.
Also, I just had to google double-axle to not sound like a total idiot.
Anyway, whether or not Jimmy Ma makes the Olympic team, he'll forever be a trendsetter, and for that we thank him.