Let’s be honest with ourselves. As we watched Shaun White take his final run on the half-pipe, whether we were rooting for him or not, we all held our breath.

When Shaun White finished his final run and held his hands up, you could see the tears welling up in his eyes, and yes, maybe a few tears came to my own as I watched the TV screen, because expectation takes it’s toll on even the very best and sometimes being the underdog is better.  Shaun White, who everyone expected to win or least get silver or bronze, ended his final run in fourth and came away from the Olympics for the first time ever with no gold, and even more shockingly, no medal at all.

Patrick Chan, the Canadian three-time World Champion, who has been dominating Men’s Figure Skating for the last four years leading up to the Sochi Olympics was the favorite to win gold.  When Yuzuru Hanyu left the door wide open in his free skate with not one but two falls, everyone watched as Patrick Chan slowly closed the door on himself with a couple stumbles and landed himself in second.  Second is good…but sometimes it’s just not good enough.

Shani Davis won two gold medals in the 1000 meter in Speed Skating and was looking to make another gold at his third Olympics.  When he took to the ice and couldn’t get up to speed and ended up in 8th place, he blamed his suit…which, maybe would have shaved a second or two off his time, but certainly wouldn’t have gotten him on the podium.  Maybe Shaun White and Shani Davis should have quit while they were still wanted.  Like a well-loved television series that says goodbye when they know they will be missed.

Because it just wasn’t meant to be.  Shani Davis and Shaun White were not meant to become three-time gold medalist.  Patrick Chan was not meant to get his gold (still torn up about that one to be honest).

When Kim Yuna took to the ice for her final competitive skate in the Women’s Free Skate, the pressure and weight of South Korea was on her shoulders…though you could barely tell with her flawless performance.  After all, she led in the short program, and maybe skated better then she did four years ago when she won gold.  She should have won gold in Sochi, but instead placed second after an under the radar Adelina Sotnikova placed herself in first.  Kim Yuna announced her retirement right afterwards and like in everything, she gracefully bowed out.

When Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue placed second in Ice Dancing, failing to win back to back gold medals.

It’s heartbreaking and sometimes it’s not fair, but maybe the Olympics aren’t about fairness, maybe it’s more about acceptance and learning the lesson again and again that life just isn’t fair, no matter how hard you work for what you want, no matter how much you want it, sometimes you just don’t get it.

But through all the heartbreak, there is also triumph.

When the US beat Russia in a shootout after the eighth round in Ice Hockey.

When Noelle Pikus-Pace won silver in Women’s Skeleton after having two children and retiring from the sport.

When three fine American men swept the podium in gold, silver, and bronze in Ski Slopstyle.

When David Wise, a 23 year old husband and father, won his first Olympic gold in freestyle skiing.

When Charlie White and Meryl Davis won the first Olympics gold for the United States in Ice Dancing.

Why do we love the Olympics so much? Because it’s the most dramatic two weeks out of every two years.  Sports are the rawest reality we will ever watch on TV to be honest.

The next time the Winter Olympics will be on, I’ll be 22 year old.  Who knows where I’ll be in the next four years.  Four years ago, I never would have thought I would be where I am today.

Who knows where the next four years will take these athletes, but for some it’s time to say a sad goodbye.  Goodbye to the athletes like Kim Yuna and Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue…who gave us performances we will re-watch on Youtube and in ten years tell our kids about, just like our parents do when they talk about the Miracle on Ice, or Sergei Grinkov and Ekaterina Gordeeva.

So goodbye to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.  See you in South Korea in four years, where we will watch old record be broken, new faces emerge, and veterans return.