My Olympics Rant
[Obligatory note: If you read this as a personal attack on your participation in sports or in a sports event, then you haven’t read what I’ve written. I may not understand the point of sports, but I don’t understand the point of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches either. I will still defend to the death your right to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, if you so choose. Just don’t go promoting them as good for World Peace and I’ll say nothing further about your culinary leanings.]
*sigh* What is it about the Olympics? I don’t get sports in general, but the Olympics fever that’s overtaking my coworkers is starting to really annoy me.
The whole idea is supposed to be peace, brotherhood and understanding. Exactly how is competition between countries supposed to promote peace, brotherhood and understanding? Isn’t it a bit self-defeating to promote peace through setting up a situation where people are there to prove that they are better than everybody else at something? How does it promote brotherhood (or sisterhood, or siblinghood, for those of you who are going to play semantics games) when you create an “us versus them” arena for the whole world to play in? What is it that people are coming away with an understanding of?
The Olympics are merely another political platform for those countries that can afford to use it as such. Yes, go ahead and point fingers at the Americans, with their silly multi-million dollar basketball amateurs and their countrymen’s absurd chants of “U – S – A ! U – S – A!” But we aren’t the only offenders, nor the first ones. Look at the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany if you want to see a country using the games for its own purposes. Or take note of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which regarded every medal won by its citizens as proof that it was a rising power in the world. How many different countries have boycotted the Olympics to make some political statement or another? Even the French baron who created the modern Olympic games did so because he wanted a platform for French athletes to show off their superiority. As long as Olympians compete for their countries instead of for themselves, the Olympics will always be a political arena.
As for the “code of amateur participation” employed by the Olympics… here’s an interesting tidbit for you. The original Greek Olympians were “professional” athletes. Yes, all they took home with them if they won at a game was a laurel on their heads, but once home they were set for life. They were supported by their community and never had to work after that. I’ve read that the Greek medical schools even had scholarships used to endow their athletes with an income while they trained.
Our current code of “amateurs only” comes, according to David Wallechinsky (an Olympic historian) from “upper class English to stop the working class from being able to compete against them because if you couldnât afford to–if you werenât a rich person, then you had to take time off from your training to work, or you had to become a professional, and, thus, not allowed to be in the Olympics.”[from a 1996 interview with Jim Lehrer]
While we’re at it, what’s the point of being the person who skis the fastest downhill, who skates the most accurate figure 8, or who fires his gun most accurately while on cross-country skis? Why does the media, the advertising corporations, the White House, the masses fete these athletes? What skill have they acquired that will make life better for humanity? I don’t deny exercise is good, necessary, and even noble, but to devote your life to being the best luger is hedonism taken to extremes. You’ve done nothing for the world, for your community, or your family. All you’ve done is spent a lot of time going down hill. I’m a big proponent of “be all that you can be”, but I am not a proponent of turning it into a multi-billion dollar industry that celebrates what can be seen as a very selfish and self-serving endeavor.
So, flying in the face of politically correct posturing, I see the Olympics as a rather hypocritical and very political sideshow. You want to make it real? Strip the athletes of any country-of-origin identification. Have them compete against each other as individuals. Let them be professionals; if they’re good enough to compete then they ought to be able to make money at doing it while they train. Maybe they can even teach, and do a little good for others while pursuing perfection for themselves.
Make all those changes and I still won’t watch the Olympics, because I still don’t get sports. But it’ll take the wind out of my sails and I’ll stop griping for a while.
I haven’t watched the Olympics.
Good idea you have, no tags.
=)
Well spoken. I agree with you completely. That and I don’t like sports…hehe.
Lil –
My mother was a sports freak. I grew up force fed on Superbowls, Kentucky Derbies, World Series, car races, and once every four years, the Olympics.
I’m proud to say that, while I follow the scandels in the paper, I have never watched another sports event since escaping the nest.
well, i have to say, it’s difficult to disagree with your reasoning. i love sports. i used to run high school track. my 4 brothers were all involved sports.
but i agree. take away the labels and get rid of the medals, and Nike ads…
i do think that sportsmen like Lance Armstrong can have a positive influence. not because he had cancer. but because he had the stamina to beat it and still ride his best. that is inspiring to me.
all in all though, i’d love to see an olympics such as you described.
Lets add more fuel to the fire. During the holacaust.. Germany used the games to prove the point about blond haired blued eyed.. blah blah.. though the point didn’t go though because (I think it was about half.. dont excatly remember) where beat by people who didn’t fit what they wanted.. basically Hitler tried to use the games as a form of proving why they where right with the genocide.. and some people still go by it that live there because some people did when that fit what he wanted as perfection.
~Wolf
bravo, bravo!!!!
Deliciously well said. Have a good one Ms. Sal!
Sugar
Salamander, peanut butter is not worth dying for. Chocolate, maybe. Peanut butter, no. Got to choose your battles.
The original Olympic athletes received more than mere laurel wreaths…they got money, real estate, and carnal carnival favors as well.
People have this misguided and rather unlearned ideology about the ancient games.
Good to see someone questioning the silliness of it all.
I’ve never understood why people get all excited about olympics. Bunch of people running like they’d wanna die, jumping like they’d wanna die, and whoknowswhatelse like they’d wanna die.
And anyway, I’d never want to be the world’s best athlete. What’s the fun in being the best? Bleh.
cur
Damn you gotta love a good well thought out rant. I’m not a passionate as you obviously are but I’ll agreee with ya. Just get over the PB&J thing. How can someone who doesn’t get PB&J be trusted:)
Personally, I hope we mop the floor with those Ukranian figure skaters…
I think they should have to compete like the Greeks did…..NEKKID!
Alli
I think they should have to compete like the Greeks did…..NEKKID!
Alli
I’m not a sports fan, but I never really stopped to think about that view of the olmpics- well said, and it makes sense!
One thing about the olympics bothers me though- it’s sponsored by "McDonalds" of all places- you can’t tell me those happy athletes we see in the commercials eating fries actually frequent there as a part of their training regimen. Shouldn’t it be something like Powerbar?
I agree, well said!
Here is the breakdown of fluids requested:
This is based on the fact that females have a bit more fat (less water) to protect a fetus and guys have more lean muscle (more water) mass (hunters/gatherers from caveman days). So, females are 50%—Men are 60%. That being said and based on kg’s:
Total fluid: 38.63 L
Intracellular fluid: 25.88 L
Extracellular fluid: 12.74 L
Interstitial fluid: 10.2 L
Intravascular fluid (plasma) 2.5 L
Thanks for the practice, it is fun to figure out.
Sue
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/phunnymanohman
I enjoyed reading your rant. My favorite thing about DD is the opportunity to see so many different viewpoints. You made some very valid points that made me think…but I still love sports, still love the Olympics and will be watching as much as I can.
I’m not the athlete I once was, but there is nothing like the thrill of competition. When you work hard and do your best and play against the best…it is an amazing thing. I’ve never competed in anything near the Olympic level but I’ve competed in tournaments and at the state level. During the tournament it is "us" against them – but when it’s done you feel like a part of a much bigger team. So while I see what you’re saying and can understand why it would be hard to understand how it builds comraderie – I have to disagree. I think it does build unity. There are many many athletes that compete in the Olympics knowing that they will not medal. Everyone else would have to have a very bad day for them to even come close – so why even compete? I think there must be more to it than proving who is THE best…
~QE