They’re finally over, two weeks of hype and media attention and debate. Whether you watched any or all of the events, the Olympics often seems reduced to commercial interludes and semi-professional athletes.

Many media outlets are running recaps and highlights. I know I was rather excited to watch Michael Phelps shatter world records on his swimming adventure. And while I’ll never be so elegant, seeing lithe little gymnasts and divers always makes me feel more graceful, as though I can absorb something of these atheletes through the magic of television.

Glancing at a list of Olympics-related headlines, one caught my eye as it was about a story that never got told. As a writer, I love stories, so just seeing that five-letter word is enough to excite my curiosity. And so, I clicked on the link and read about Samia Yusuf Omar, one of two atheletes from Somalia who competed at the 2008 Olympics.

I didn’t watch her race; track and field events have never been interesting to me (even though I used to do rather well in standing broad jump). Reading the story, though, I wish now that I had seen it.

Can you imagine how it must have felt to realize that everyone is cheering for you? And while it may have been a different cheer than it was for the winner, it seems to me that this is what the Olympics is really about. It’s the athletes’ chance to display their love of their sport to the world. It’s an opportunity for those of us raised on American football and baseball to see sports we’ve never even heard of before, with athletes who aren’t on breakfast cereal boxes.

It makes me feel as though the real reason for the Olympics still exists, somewhere beyond corporate sponsorships and scandals and all that real world stuff. I feel graceful and swift and love the Olympics once again.