We've got spirit

If you're tired of the Olympics, I apologize, because I'm still addicted and I can’t not talk about it! The comebacks. The records broken. The teamwork. The people who made it despite incredible odds. Summer or Winter Olympics—doesn't matter; I'm so inspired. And I'm moved to tears every time I hear our national anthem during a medal ceremony.

I'd like to bottle up these feelings of pride to use once the Olympics are over. When political mudslinging and annoying campaign ads take over the airwaves, I'm going to need a reminder of the friendly and sportsmanlike competition of these summer games.

I do wish we had this Olympic pride and unity for other things. Of course, we had "spirit" in high school. I have fond memories of cheering alongside the pep band, waiting hours in line for state tournament hockey tickets and Spirit Weeks. We've even had a couple of Spirit Weeks in my office, complete with a Hawaiian day, 80s day, crazy t-shirt day and, of course, pajama day (don't worry, I changed clothes to attend meetings outside my department).

Maybe we need to bring back Spirit Week. True, a national pajama day won't give me the same satisfying feeling as watching our gymnasts stick a landing or our swimmers being first to touch that wall. But there's not a lot of room for controversy when we share a common goal to have fun and be a little silly. I'm not trying to minimize the very serious issues of our country, but when we're all supporting the same team, it sure is refreshing.

What's been your favorite Olympic moment so far? As proud as I am of all the U.S. athletes, I've especially loved seeing smaller countries cheering for their small contingent of athletes—like when the runner from Grenada won his country's first Olympic medal ever (a gold!) in the men’s 400m. I also admired this very classy show of respect from Jamaican runner Usain Bolt.

Go USA!