What NPR reporters will remember most about these Winter Olympics

NPR's reporters on the ground in Italy reflect on a far-flung, jam-packed Winter Olympics. What NPR reporters will remember most about these Winter Olympics February 23, 202610:41 AM ET By Rachel Treisman , Brian Mann , Becky Sullivan , Pien Huang The Olympic cauldron at the Arco della Pace in Milan on Sunday. Maja Hitij/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Maja Hitij/Getty Images A global event can feel like a small world These were famously spread-out Olympics, but to me — who mostly stayed in one city covering one sport — they felt almost immediately like a small world. Soon enough, I had my go-to food spots and preferred transit shortcuts, friendly bits with venue security guards and a hilariously high number of Snoop Dogg near-misses (I finally saw him sitting rinkside with Martha Stewart and Ilia Malinin, worth the wait). Best of all, I got to know many of the other reporters covering figure skating. We spent long, late nights in the trenches: watching the extreme highs and lows of competition, alternately discussing and distracting ourselves as we waited downstairs to talk to athletes. We shared quotes, saved seats and — once — sprinted up multiple flights of stairs just in time for the next skater to take the ice. And it wasn't just at the rink; I ran into multiple compatriots around town, too. I'm so grateful for their friendship and wisdom, whether about the figure skating scoring system or recommendations for salad places (both are trickier than you'd expect).— Rachel Treisman Kaori Sakamoto of Team Japan poses for a selfie with other figure skaters at the Exhibition Gala on Saturday. Jamie Squire/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Jamie Squire/Getty Images Memes have their limits I'm used to covering the Olympics from afar, which involves keeping a close eye on whatever or whoever is suddenly trending (chocolate muffins, "pommel horse guy," a certain shirtless torchbearer). But on the ground, the meme firewall is pretty strong. For one, we're not hearing TV commentary at live events, and rights restrictions keep us from seeing most of NBC's viral tweets and clips. Plus, many of these events (certainly figure skating) go late into the night in Italy, so I'm asleep when things are starting to take off online — and don't have my usual amount of time to scroll-slash-research anyway. Don't get me wrong, I've still gotten to enjoy Quinn Hughes' blank stares, Elmo's escalating beef with Rocco and the smooth moves of the curling ice master. But it's been interesting to see the internet's reaction as the cherry on top of my viewing experience, rather than the lens for it.— Rachel Treisman Mark Messer, Ice Master of the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, watches as the ice is checked between races last week at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium. Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images Family moments meant the most My biggest, kind of unexpected joys during the Winter Games were the moments with family. Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaillie Humphries with their kids at the finish line of the monobob bobsled competition. Mikaela Shiffrin speaking beautifully about her father's death and how these Olympics helped her learn to live with that loss. Seeing young athletes with their parents. Seeing the remarkable number of athletes competing here with their siblings! I also like the fact that these young athletes seem a lot healthier, mentally and physically, than when I first started covering Olympic sports 20years ago. There's more of an effort to make this fun, more support for their mental health, a lot less (not zero) grinding pressure.— Brian Mann Gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor of Team United States celebrates with her family after winning the monobob heat 4 last week at the at Cortina Sliding Center. Julian Finney/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Julian Finney/Getty Images The pros and cons of being far-flung I spent a lot of time on streetcars, buses, taxis, trains and walking … endless walking … and I have to say it all kind of worked. It was a pain in the butt sometimes. There were days when I thought maybe I wasn't going to make it home. But in the end, Italy managed to string together towns and sports venues spread over more than 8,000 square miles, including some of the most rugged terrain on earth, and it all kind of held together. I do think there are downsides to a widely dispersed Olympic Games. It's harder to dive into different sports, sampling a little of this and a little of that, when events are three to four hours apart. It's also harder to celebrate (and party) after big wins when you have to catch that last bus to your sleepy little mountain town. But the arrangement also meant tiny villages in the Alps weren't totally overrun with mobs of people. So a lot of my skepticism faded during the Games, especially when buses carried me through high Alpine mountain passes, where the beauty was cinematic.— Brian Mann Jordan Stolz of the U.S. competes in the speed skating 1500 meters last week in Milan. Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Ge