Acutus, Immuniditiam, Stolidus

From nearly the moment Sochi was announced as the venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics, the decision was criticized from all sides. The human rights community decried Russia's deplorable record on gay issues. Others pointed out the irony in the fact that Sochi is a summer resort, and climatically inappropriate to host a cold-weather Games. International diplomats offered stark criticism of Vladimir Putin's lengthy and ongoing violent repression of rebellions in any number of Russian states, not the least of which are within mere hours of Sochi. Add to that massive costs for development and transportation, incomplete and poorly built facilities (which are injuring high-profile athletes even in training), and substantial concerns for the security of participants and spectators, and the Sochi Games are off to a dismal start, even before they've officially begun.

With all that as backdrop, and from the safety and comfort of the G:TB World Headquarters in the U.S.A., we're still firmly on board as huge fans of the Olympic Games. We'll be hunkered down in front of our televisions for the better part of the next three weeks, and spending much of non-viewing time hoping to avoid spoilers. Like #lastman, only not limited to sycophantic loonbats.

There are lots of terrific stories, both in the U.S. delegation and others, and we encourage our readers to share their rooting interests in the comments below. People like White, Lolo Jones, Ashley Wagner, Alex Ovechkin, Ted Ligety, and Kelly Clark will get a lot of press coverage, and we'll get our once-every-four-years appreciation of lesser-known athletes like U.S. bobsledder Steve Holcomb, the defending gold medalist in the four-man, and cross-country stud Kikkan Randall.

We featured Randall in our 2010 Winter Olympics Preview, which was far, far better than this one. In 2014, we'll be pulling hard for her to become the first U.S. woman to win a cross-country medal.

HAIL TO THE REDACTED!

Another of our favorites comes from far closer to home than Alaska's Randall. 20 year-old Ashley Caldwell was born in Ashburn, VA, home of the NFL's Washington REDACTED and Lost Rhino Brewing (and my barber shop). She was an accomplished gymnast as a young girl, competing for Apex Gymnastics, the same gym for which my youngest daughter competes. In 2006, Caldwell watched the Winter Games in Turin, and was transfixed by the ski aerials competition. Within three years, she was a world-class competitor in the event. She finished 10th in the 2010 Games, and heads to Sochi as a medal threat.

We'll be rooting hard for Caldwell, for obvious reasons (and because my nearly 10 year-old is as stubborn and lazy as any kid on the planet, and anything that motivates her to get off her ass is a good thing). But we'll be rooting for all the athletes. That's what we do, at least every four years.