The Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, are just over a week away, and I, for one, could not be more excited. Unfortunately, unrest and threats of terrorism in the area of the Games are distracting many from celebrating the core principles that have guided the Olympics for over a century.

The Olympics are one of my favorite events of all-time, and I love the Games for a lot of different reasons. I have a great respect for all the athletes involved in the competitions. The sheer dedication it takes to become an Olympic athlete is something I wish I could replicate in my everyday life.

In fact, in a meager attempt to emulate the athletes’ focus and commitment, I challenge myself during each Olympics to put many hours into completing a difficult knitting project. Two years ago, I completed an entire sweater in the first week of the Games, which should have earned me at least a bronze medal.

But most of all, I love the Olympics because the Games symbolize unity, peace, and multiculturalism. I understand that the threat of a terrorist attack at the Games is real, and that threat must be reported and investigated. However, I worry that misplaced media coverage is creating irrational fears and distorting our perspective on the risks and consequences of acts of terror.

First, some historical context: Targeting the Olympics to make a statement is certainly not a new idea. In 1936, Hitler used the Summer Games as a platform for his propaganda of racial supremacy. In 1972, Germany had hopes of erasing this image from the world’s mind when they hosted the Summer Games in Munich; unfortunately, the long-time unrest between Israel and the Palestinians spilled into the Olympic spotlight when the Palestinian group Black September kidnapped and ultimately killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team.

Then, in 1996, Eric Robert Rudolph bombed the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta to protest the government’s stance on abortion. To this day, I fail to see the correlation between the Olympics and women’s reproductive rights, but I digress.

A terrorist attack at the 2014 Games would be a tragedy. But as history shows, it would not be the first such attack. And while the loss of a single human life, anywhere in the world, is to be avoided if possible and mourned if not, the scope of a potential attack must be viewed in proportion.

What we have, though, is a 24-hour news cycle generating a never-ending stream of worry. Instead of a single, front-page article reporting the threat on the Games, we are bombarded with media outlets showing coverage of burning buildings and giving us geography lessons on the location of the Caucasuses (they’re here). Most, if not all, of the American mainstream media have written headlines and stories that give off the vibe that a terrorist attack is imminent.

The sensationalist coverage is having tangible effects. Some Americans have even begun to cancel their travel plans in order to watch the Games from the security and safety of their own homes. After seeing the aforementioned coverage, who can blame them? Instead of reporting the facts, the majority of news outlets, in their unquenchable thirst for ratings and page clicks, are creating a narrative out of “what ifs” and “could bes” that is altering the course of the Games themselves.

Let’s be real. We live in a world where a terrorist attack could happen at any time, on any day. The Olympics are obviously a logical target, but the event has gone off without a hitch 47 other times. In fact, the most dangerous attacks are the everyday ones, the ones no one has planned for: the attacks of Sept. 11, the Boston Marathon bombings, the car explosions and suicide missions that are a part of the everyday life of people all over the world and receive nearly no coverage in our media.

I have to wonder if our visceral reaction to the safety measures in Sochi are remnants from the Cold War. What if, instead of Russia, the Olympics were being held in France or Spain and suddenly there was an uprising in the Basque region? Would we call in to question French President François Hollande’s ability to keep our athletes and citizens safe? Or is it just easier to question the motives of Russian President Vladimir Putin because he has been seen as the enemy other times in U.S. history?

Holding Russia to a higher standard is unfair. No American can forget that our country has not prevented every terrorist attack. The Boston Marathon, 9/11, and, yes, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics are just a few examples of when terrorism has struck on our own turf. On the other hand, the U.S. hosted the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City a mere five months after the 9/11 attacks. There were probably plenty of countries that were wary about sending their athletes and citizens to our seemingly “unsafe” nation. The 2002 Games were without incident and provided some much needed peace and unity.

Thankfully, the U.S. government is responding to the terrorist threat more responsibly than the media is. Instead of just finger-pointing, the U.S. is working with Russia to share our knowledge and expertise in counter-terrorism. This type of global dialogue is encouraging and, to me, what the Olympics are really about.

The beauty of the Olympics is that it doesn’t matter how many people use it as their political platform for acts of terrorism. It will remain a symbol of global unity. The Olympic spirit and ideals are not tangible things that are able to be destroyed. Long after we all have shuffled off this mortal coil, the Olympics will continue so that our grandchildren’s children can cheer on their favorite sports (I’m looking at you, curling) and chant the always inspiring “USA! USA!”