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What happened to the Olympics?
By Moryt Milo
I'm coming down the hall after putting my kids to bed and look over at the TV. I catch a glimpse of the Olympics and say to my husband in disbelief, "You're kidding me. This gymnastics stuff is still going on." He just laughs.
The gymnastics competition had been on for over a week and somewhere around the fifth day I completely lost interest. So I keep walking and wonder, "When did they lose me?"
I started out being excited. I looked forward to the opening ceremonies. I was eagerly anticipating the big events. But I think the writing was on the wall when the countries started entering the stadium and my husband turned to me and said, "We aren't going to watch them all come in are we? They're only on the A's and it's going to be a long time before it gets to the U's."
To which I said, "Good point. Go ahead and turn."
But I was still looking forward to the next day's action. I wanted to see Ian Thorpe do his thing and the American swimmers bring home the gold. But after watching numerous qualifiers and heats, everything began to lose its appeal. And the network didn't help much. They kept putting the best stuff on late at night, which made no sense because everything was taped.
Now don't think I'm unpatriotic because that's just not so. I can cry with the best of them when a U.S. gold medalist gets up on that podium and they play our national anthem. But nothing in these particular games has really grabbed me. And I have a suspicion I'm not alone.
So what happened? I think the answers are many. For starters, when did the summer games end up in the fall? I don't get that. Did I miss something here?
Perhaps the games are being held in September because it's still actually winter in Australia, but September has way too much going on. Kids are returning to school. Football season is starting. Baseball teams are in pennant races. Those things alone are more then enough to put the Olympics on the back burner in my house.
The night the Giants clinched the Western Division I could have cared less about what happened Down Under. We were all too hyped up watching the Giants and listening to "Who Let the Dogs Out?" When the celebration was over, we turned to the Olympics out of default. And there were those gymnasts again.
Perhaps it's the nature of the competition that has, to a degree, turned me off. It just doesn't seem as pure. I'm not talking about all the athletes who work and train for years to capture this one defining moment. I'm talking about the players who are actually professionals in their given sports.
When did we start allowing professional athletes to compete in what I always thought was an amateur event? We have pros that play on the basketball and tennis teams, and would probably have them in baseball if they weren't finishing the season. This seems completely contrary to what the Olympics are about.
Then there is the lousy attitude thing. I'm sorry to say it looks like the women are the culprits here. The Russian and Romanian women gymnasts all seem to have facial expressions saying, "God help me if I lose."
And we have a swimmer who spits in another swimmer's lane. What happened to the spirit of the games?
Of course, no Olympic competition would be complete without controversy and medal stripping over the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Every time this happens it leaves so many questions about who the true medalists should be.
I think another problem with this year's Olympics was the huge time difference. Every morning, as I listened to the news in my car, I learned the results. And if I missed it on the radio, I saw it as soon as I logged on my computer. The Internet has brought the whole affair into real time no matter where we live.
Which leads me to the very last question. When did the Olympics turn into a three-week event? Wasn't it always two? Perhaps they've added so many new events that it requires three weeks to finish.
Whatever the answers are, I know one thing for certain. I couldn't wait until the closing ceremonies. Because until it ended, all the season openers were on hold and I was going crazy wondering who got shot in last season's finale of The West Wing.
Moryt Milo, a citizen of Campbell since 1990, is a frequent contributor to The Campbell Reporter.
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Campbell, California
