the message of this Olympics?
I’m not prepared to pass judgment on these Olympics yet although there has been an air of public malaise since the get-go. Whether it was the protests on human rights with China, the large swath of athletes who were positive of drug abuse or organizers’ deciding which child is the most physically attractive, the stench is thickening by the minute.
As investigation after investigation finds very solid evidence that China’s gold-medal winning gymnastics team were in-fact children, some the age of fourteen, the biggest message is what will this Olympics be remembered for? Has the Olympic spirit been long since put out and is the image of the Olympics as tarnished as the filthy Beijing skyline.
A number of years ago I was approached by “insiders” on how the Olympics will try to liven their audience up from the sleep. They knew full well at the time that in the early 1990’s, the classic Olympic sports weren’t going to grab the attention much less that broadcast revenue they so coveted. With this in-mind, they began to do a bit of “sprucing up”, putting a sexier image on the Winter Games with Snowboard Boarder Cross and turning beach volleyball into a excuse to have great female athletes compete in boy shorts while giving the men an element of respect. That message alone has me disgusted as they engrain sexual stereotyping that should have been expelled decades ago. However while I embrace the addition of new and exciting events but I trust they would follow the spirit of the Games and rise above, well, common street-corner Johnny marketing attempt and hold true to the real reason the Olympics exist.
As a professional with a trace of gray on the side and I like to think a level of maturity to match, its nauseating to see the Olympics forget the Olympic spirit. The Olympics have nothing to do with child athletes or teaching that rules are made to be circumvented. Enjoy your gold metals, their tarnished now and forever. As these Olympics move forward it is clear that the Olympic movement needs to address what these Games are truly about and sadly if things don’t shift shortly, it’ll be solely up to London to resurrect them.
(Photo Credit: Mark Ralston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)
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August 15, 2008 - 3:44 pm MDT at 3:44 pm
Nice words. Another thing… Someone (non-Chinese national please) break out a tape measure and check that pool. A world record in every event I watch? Are today’s athletes THAT much better? Call me cynical, but after learning that the fireworks were fake, the ugly kid swapped out for the "cute" one, and the gymnasts are babies, why wouldn’t they shorten the pool by a few inches or so…?