A reason to root during the Winter Olympics

The Olympics opening ceremony starts Friday at 3:30 a.m. That’s the middle of the night for most of us, including me. Still, I’m getting up to watch this one so I can see members of a particular team walk into Beijing’s Olympic stadium.

I was once a sports-spectating fan. I had favorite college and pro teams. I had a favorite AAA baseball team, the Spokane Indians; a favorite boxer, Muhammad Ali; a favorite play-by-play announcer, Kevin “Achtung Baby!” Calabro of the SuperSonics; and a favorite speed skater, the boy with the golden soul patch.

I’ve had several conversations with fellow fans ab...