It’s like watching the last pitch in the 9th inning with a 3-2 count. It’s like seeing the buzzer shot in a tied game. It’s the moment during a game winning-penalty shot. It’s nerve wracking. It’s intense. It’s short track.

Short rack speed skating, where have you been all my life? I went from being a spectator who knew very little about the sport, to becoming a fan who can’t seem to sit down in the last laps of the race. It’s very difficult to watch, but something I can’t take my eyes off of it. It’s about strategy. It’s about making the right moves and making quick judgments. The last person could end up first and the first person could end up last. You really never know how a competition is going to end, until the very end.

If you can’t tell by now, I am a huge fan of short track. I had an awesome seat to watch the men’s relay and the women’s 1000m, but I don’t remember ever sitting down. Jumping I remember. Screaming was a definite. Sitting, not something I recall doing unless it was during intermission. Those nail-biting moments where your muscles tighten from the tension of the game, is what you feel watching one short track race.

Short track is absolutely without a doubt, my new favorite sport. I was lucky enough to actually witness Katherine Reutter and JR Celski medal during the Winter Games! The problem is I can’t wait another four years to get this feeling of excitement. The sport that practically gives me a heart attack every time I watch, is a sport I don’t think I can now live without.

Thank goodness for World Cup competitions. I will start saving my money to get to the 2014 Games today. In the meantime, short track speed skating, what will I do without you?

-Sarina