My Minority View of the Olympics

I watched very little of the Olympics over the last couple of weeks. When I mentioned this to friends and family they all looked at me like I was defective. I guess I should have known, on some level I did know, that the Olympics are a big deal to a large majority of the public.

Why do I not watch. I am not a two week a year Sports fan. Most of the events in the Olympics are events that the rest of the year I do not watch, I am not a big fan of swimming or track and field or most of the other events. I love my country, I certainly want them to win. I admire how hard these athletes work.

Still thirty years ago in the Olympics there was a vision that a victory over East Germany or the U S S R was an endorsement of our way of life over the totalitarian regimes behind the Iron Curtain. I do not believe anyone can really look at success in the Olympics meaning anything on a geopolitical level.

Of special concern is the basketball event. I do not embrace ninety percent of the NBA players during the season I certainly cannot do so now. And victory. Really, did anybody expect anything less. I know that we are told sometimes the hardest thing to do is win something that you are supposed to win and the Gold Medal Game showed that certainly it was possible for the Red, White, and Blue to lose to Spain had a couple things gone differently. The truth is I would not have minded. I do not think it means I love my country less. Maybe it means that the idea of multimillionaire athletes acting like winning the Gold Medal is the greatest thrill of their lives is little more than playacting to me. Or maybe this is one of the cases where I cannot keep my cynicism in.

I did enjoy the opening and closing ceremonies very much. I know everyone raves about the Chinese ceremony a few years ago, something about a bird, and I am sure the event in Rio in four years will be spectacular as well, still the common culture shared by the United States and Great Britain made these ceremonies more relevant to me. I enjoyed them. NBC had an untenable position, not showing the events live and trying to edit them into their allotted broadcast times made in the end everyone have something to nit pick. I think overall NBC did a good job, although perhaps the announcers should be taught to talk less and watch more. That too might be a matter of personal taste too however, I often tell my son to turn off the sound for a ballgame, he insists, however, he wants to hear what they are saying. Different viewpoints thats all.

My opinion on the Olympics is in the minority, I realize and accept that.