Tonight is a big night for fans of the Olympic games as the opening ceremonies for the 2022 games will air from Beijing, China.

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I absolutely love to watch the Olympics and I wondered if perhaps my love of them stemmed from growing up with my eyes glued to the television with my siblings as our mom made the games a larger than life affair.

I decided to take an informal office survey to see how others felt about the Olympics and I was pleasantly surprised that the response from people was that the majority have some sort of an interest in watching them.

I think that for people around my age (I’m in my early 40s) the fact that the Jamaican bobsled team is returning to the Winter Games after 24 years says everything that needs to be said. I mean, we've been waiting nearly half of our lives for this moment to recreate.

The first time the Jamaican bobsled team made it into the Olympics was when we were just kids  in 1988 and it was the appearance of the team in the Olympics that year that inspired the movie, “Cool Runnings.” You can bet I will be following what happens with the Jamaican bobsled team.

Upgraded Points decided to dissect Google data to find out once and for all which sport has the biggest draw in each state. Interestingly, the bobsled portion of the Winter Olympics was only the top choice for one state and it wasn’t New York or Pennsylvania. No, the state most interested in bobsledding is Utah.

If I were a betting woman, I’d have placed money on curling being the favorite of the sports as far as New Yorkers are concerned because it’s pretty much the only sport my co-workers have been talking about for the last week. But, no. According to Google analytics which collects data from the things that people are searching for the most, New Yorkers love figure skating. On the other hand, out neighbors in Pennsylvania are most interested in ice hockey.

LOOK: 20 Fascinating Photos From the First Modern Olympic Games in 1896

To celebrate the history of international sports cooperation, Stacker took a look back at that groundbreaking event in Athens, when the modern Olympics were born in 1896. Keep reading to learn more about the athletes, spectators, and sports at that iconic event.

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