I can't come up with any other winter sport that is so strongly and predictably cyclical. But why?
Hockey (men's hockey, if we're being honest) has professional leagues in many countries around the world, and draws huge crowds and zillions of television viewers every year.
In contrast, bobsled, skeleton, luge and curling are rarely ever in the spotlight. Even during the Olympics, the only things most people heard about them was when the Canadian player cheated and when the Ukrainian racer got banned for wearing a helmet with political messaging.
Figure skating isn't like either of those, though. The women's free skate is one of the most watched events at the Games, and every newspaper is full of pictures of pretty girls in their sparkly dresses. After that, though, it's total silence for the next four years. Why?
I can understand a sport being popular, or it being niche. But what makes so many people want to watch skating at the Olympics and then so quickly forget about it afterward?