HOUSTON – Texas is the best. We are superior to all other states. We know this, and one of the many things we do better than anyone else is support our own.
Now is our chance to show the entire world that Olympians with Texas ties are getting the backing of the greatest state in the land.
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There are several athletes with Texas connections competing in the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Here's a list of Olympians with Texas ties:
Jonathan Garcia
This Houstonian is a long track speedskater. This is his second time competing in the Olympics. He was in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, but did not win a medal. Garcia is a big Astros fan and even took an Astros flag to hang over his bed in the athletes village in Pyeongchang.
Sam McGuffie
This is a name many Houstonians will recognize. McGuffie is competing in the bobsled event, but he first became known when he was a running back for Cy-Fair High School. One play during his high school career made him a YouTube sensation; it showed him hurdling a defender and then racing into the end zone for a touchdown. McGuffie continued to play football in college; first for Michigan, then for Rice. He even had a few stints with a few NFL teams. But a few years ago, he decided to try bobsledding. Hey, why not?
Justin Olsen
This Texan hails from San Antonio and also has ties to Lubbock. Olsen is a pilot on Team USA's bobsled team. He already has one gold medal (from the Vancouver games in 2010) and hopes to add more medals in Pyeongchang. Texans, this athlete may need a little extra support -- he had a medical emergency just days before the start of the games. Olsen was admitted with acute appendicitis on Monday night and had a laparoscopic appendectomy in Gangneung.
Katie Uhlaender
This appearance at the Winter Games makes the skeleton racer the first American to be a four-timer in the sport. While Uhlaender has strong ties to Colorado, she grew up in McGregor, Texas, running track and playing on the boy’s baseball team in high school. Uhlaender will technically be looking for her first medal in Pyeongchang, but the Russian doping scandal may give her one retroactively. Uhlaender finished fourth at the Sochi Games four years ago. The bronze medalist from that competition had her medal stripped because of doping violations. That medal will be reallocated at some point (and go to Uhlaender), but that hasn't yet happened.
Ashley Caldwell
This freestyle skier is a gold-medal contender. She is not from Texas, but her family now lives in the Houston area. Their excitement is reason enough for Texans to send their support her way. This is Caldwell's third Olympics. The first time she competed (Vancouver games in 2010), she was just 16 years old. The second time (Sochi 2014), she had just come off a stretch of bad injuries. So this is her time to shine, in Pyeongchang. Right now, she is considered the best in her sport, favored to win gold. Click here to visit her Olympics page.
Other athletes to watch:
Nigerian women's bobsled team
Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga train at the University of Houston.
Aimee Buchanan
This figure skater, who will represent Israel, trains in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Tara Lipinski
This famous Olympian from Sugar Land has hung up her skates, but she will be doing figure skating commentary for NBC.