The Five: Olympic sports worth watching

The winter Olympics begin this evening with the opening ceremonies on NBC. That means, for the next two weeks, you'll hear a lot of people chanting, "USA! USA!"

Personally, I love the Olympics. I let myself get caught up in the drama and the action, even though I'm definitely not a sports fan any other time of the year. The most popular sport during the winter Olympics by far is figure skating, specifically women's or pairs skating. Here, I'm listing the other sports that I will definitely be watching:
5. Freestyle skiing  While most of the Olympic events are about racing the clock, Freestyle Skiing is about looking awesome (and racing the clock). Remember Jonny Moseley rockin' the "dinner roll" twist in Salt Lake City in 2002? Since then, the sport has become even more complicated. Keep an eye out for the quintuple-twisting backflip (five twists, three flips). Plus, the skiers are allowed to go upside down this time, which wasn't allowed in Salt Lake. Aerialist Jeret "Speedy" Peterson, of Boise, ID, has his own version of the quint, called "The Hurricane". The top female aerialists, Li Nina and Guo Xinxin, are from China. Schedules are here.

4. Speed Skating  Apollo Anton Ohno is getting a lot of face time in NBC Olympics promos because he was the chosen one in 2002 who fell during competition, and was denied a gold medal. Ohno is back, along with is soul patch, but the break-out star may be Chad Hedrick, who is skating for five medals. Also worth mentioning is the emotional return of Chris Witty, who was dealing with some serious issues regarding sexual abuse in her past when she won a gold in Salt Lake City. Witty is carrying the American flag in Opening Ceremonies. Here's the skating schedule.

3. Snowboarding  Also about looking awesome. This is snowboarding's third year in the Winter Olympics. Competitors are fresh off the Winter X Games competition earlier this month in Aspen, CO. Americans are the favorite all around in snowboarding events, including kick-ass board chick Lindsey Jacobellis, a speed demon in the snowboarder cross (SBX) race. Red-headed wonder Shaun White (AKA Flying Tomato) is a crowd favorite. He won two gold medals in the X Games recently for all the air he catches on the halfpipe. Schedules are here.

2. Alpine Skiing  These skiers go wicked fast down the slopes so it's both frightening and invigorating to watch. While Bode Miller has been all the buzz in the U.S. lately, because he told Mike Wallace that he sometimes skied drunk, he's turning out not to be the one to watch. Keep your eyes peeled for American Daron Rahlves in the Downhill on Sunday, Feb. 12, Super-G on Saturday, Feb. 18, and the G. Slalom on Monday, Feb. 20. Also watch for Hermann Maier, hot shot skier from Austria who will give Rahlves a run for his money. Or vice versa.

1. Curling  You have an Olympic dream, don't you? Watching curlers can keep that dream alive because you will know that you are not too old or too out of shape to be an athlete in the Olympics. Plus, it's entertaining to watch a bunch of people furiously scrub at the ice and erupt in cheers when a stone goes in the right direction. It's just so unusual that it's captivating. The American women's team is led by two young sisters from Minnesota, Cassie and Jamie Johnson. The big competition this year are the British, the Swedes, and (of course) the Canadians. Schedules are here.