Winning vs. Whining
In a few weeks, that grand celebration we commonly know as the Olympics will be starting up again. Countries all over the globe will be sending their best and brightest to compete in a range of different events, all coveting a little gold disc.
I began watching the games back during the winter venue at Calgary in 1988. To this day I can’t put into words why I felt so compelled to do so, but ever since then when the Olympics came back around, I find myself keenly anticipating its return.
Not so much this time, I’m afraid…
One small reason is the fanfare. The Olympics have gone from being a venerable gathering of athletes to a smorgasbord for corporate sponsors and media hacks. In other words, the Olympic Games have become not unlike the Superbowl. I’m tired of NBC attempting to play up the drama by revealing the life stories and portraying the trials of these competitors as though they’re the only ones. Here’s a newsflash: EVERYONE has trials and tribulations in their lives. The only difference is that these people gave up the notion of working a normal 8-5 job and decided to play a sport for a living.
But, for all that, it’s not the chief reason I feel this ambivalence toward the forthcoming games.
It started a few Olympics ago, this decline in my interest level. The explanation is really simple: whining had officially arrived to the games. Now, practically every event has this black cloud hanging over it, the unspoken question of; which country is going to cry foul? Which competitor is going to bitch and moan over whether or not they were robbed?
It’s happening with more frequency. Events like the figure skating debacle in Salt Lake City, to the uproar regarding men’s gymnastics in Athens in 2004. There was even a problem in 2002 involving a short track speed skater who won a medal, and South Korea got so bent out of shape they threatened to boycott the games. The skater who won actually started getting threats.
It has gone beyond the level of being disgusting.
Every appearance of impropriety, regardless of whether it’s real or imagined, is being heavily scrutinized and used as potential ammunition when protests are lodged. Somewhere along the line the strength of the athlete’s performance became a secondary issue, and now it’s all just a numbers game. I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised. Some governments invest vast amounts of resources into their Olympic programs, all for the honor of bragging rights in the medal count. When things don’t go their way, that’s when the whining begins.
Some of the blame for this belongs to the media. Having maintained a long running love affair with scandals, the media will quickly pull air time away from actual coverage of events to talk about who’s pissed off and why. When some unknown from a third world country manages to pull off a personal best for both him and his country, the media goes right passed it. They would rather talk about countries like Russia or South Korea who can’t bring themselves to keep it together and remember that competition or not, it’s still just a goddamn game.
I detest that this kind of crap has found its way into the Olympics. It sours my experience to the point where I don’t go out of my way to make time to watch the events. This year, I may just skip it altogether.
Comments
Leave a Reply
