In this
past weeks issue of Sports Illustrated there was an excerpt from a new book by David
Maraniss on the 1960 Olympics. Reading the excerpt, especially the section on the
competition in the Decathlon between my two heroes CK Yang and Rafer Johnson
made very nostalgic about the good old days. One thing that I did not know was
that the 1960 Olympics were the first Olympics televised internationally. I do remember
seeing some of it on TV, perhaps that is why I remember it so fondly. Sure
there was commercialization, professionalization and drugs, but nothing like
today. It really got me thinking about the relevance of the Olympic Games aside
from a worldwide media happening. It is no longer about the athletes; it is
about sponsorships and money. I do not know about you, but I am going to stage
my own Olympic Boycott and watch as little of it as possible. During the
cycling events I will go for bike rides, during swimming I will go swimming and
during track I will go run or throw a medicine ball around. That will be my
Olympics. I welcome you to join me in my silent protest. I am sure no one will
notice my boycott, all the better. It is not about Tibet or Tiananmen Square it
is about the loss of an ideal. We have brought back the Roman circus.
3 Comments
James Marshall
Vern, couldn’t agree with you more. It is even worse here in the UK as we are having to pay for the next one. $2million to cover the costs of running the Olympic torch through London- that money could have helped a lot of people train here.
Money is getting channelled from local projects to help build facilities that will be torn down 2 weeks later. The politicians are tripping over themselves for photo opportunities, but none of them are actually interested in helping the majority of youth get better access to good facilities in their home towns.
Sympathy
I boycotted it because of Tibet, but I agree it has become a spectacle rather than a competition
St patrick
I also did not watch it because of Tibet, when the Olympics is about the show, and has to proceed by battering and murdering people, then it has really lost its way.