Six months out?

Tokyo has been in the news a bit this week, and honestly, it wasn't terribly encouraging. But then again, that's pretty much been the case ever since last March.

It was reported by one news outlet that officials in Tokyo were likely going to cancel the Olympics, which have, for the first time ever, been postponed from last year's scheduled dates to this coming summer. It didn't take long for officials from both the Tokyo Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee to deny those rumors and state they are planning on moving ahead with the competition coming in July.

Obviously, for me, this has been a pretty frustrating year for many reasons. Of course, the layoff back in April was a big part of it, but also a big part of that was the cancellation of five different trips I had planned, including two huge ones, Ireland and Tokyo. I was really looking forward to spending a few weeks this past summer covering my first Summer Olympics. But, that didn't happen. 

But, beyond me and my, on a larger scale, very small issues when it comes to the Olympics, the focus needs to be on the athletes and the work that they have put in working up to the Olympics. A lot was made when the Olympics were postponed last March about how athletes would adjust, since many of them plan out their competitions, practices, workouts, etc. with an end goal of the Olympics every four years. There was a lot of talk about the adjustments they've made and how they are adapting to their plans being a year off. 

So, if the Olympics are cancelled, what becomes of these athletes and all their hard work? Too many people have too much riding on this series of competitions and to deny them the chance to see the culmination of their hard work would be a travesty. There needs to be a way to make this work for their sake.

I know that in many ways, I have a personal investment in these Olympics, but that's not the main reason I am pulling for the Olympics to happen this summer. I love the Olympics. They are some of my favorite sports competitions to watch every couple of years. While the Winter Olympics are my favorite, I still love the Summer Games as well and look forward to watching them. In fact, a lot of my DVR gets filled up with FIS alpine skiing, bobsled, luge, cross country skiing and biathlon races from around the World Cup circuit, whenever they are aired on NBCSN. Additionally, I've also been watching some swimming competitions lately, so it's not just the winter sports.

The other reason that the Tokyo Olympics were in the news this week was the fact that Friday marked six months until the start of the Olympic Games. I have booked my airline tickets (again) and my hotel rooms are still reserved, so as of right now, I plan on being there. However, if it turns out that I can't go, I am just hopeful it's not because they cancelled the Olympics but rather they are limiting the people that can go. And if that's the case, I can look forward to the possibility of Beijing in 2022.

But for right now, I am looking forward to Tokyo. Watching the Olympics on television is great, seeing them in person is even better. There is no doubt that this could be another fantastic experience in my life. I have been lucky to experience two Olympics in the last seven years, something that I am incredibly grateful for and no matter what, those experiences are something that I will never forget.

NBC has been promoting the Olympics coming in six months. Here's hoping.