I'm not.To tell you the truth, I lost interest in the Olympics back around the time of the first "Dream Team." It was then that the Olympics gave up all pretense of being for "amateurs."
I know that there were paid athletes even then. Still, there was some hint of amateurism. Occasionally, true amateurs would perform well in an Olympic event. And amateurism was helf up as an ideal.
But now everything about the Olympics, from the opening ceremonies to the sponsorships and beyond have been "monetized." I just can't get into it.
My wife has said that she would be watching the Olympics this year were it not for there being in China. She, like me, abhors the Chinese government's abysmal human rights record, among other objectionable things.
Are you watching the Olympics?
Are my wife and I simply being contrarians?
What makes you watch if you do? What stops you from watching if you don't?
I'll be interested in your comments.
6 comments:
I'm watching some of it, but because of the time difference and the tape delay to the West Coast, I know the results of the key events before they're shown on NBC, which takes some of the excitement out of it (though I sound like a prophet when I tell my wife what I "think" is going to happen).
As far as amateurism, the Olympics hadn't been about true amateur's for a long time before the Dream Team came along. Our amateur athletes and teams often had to compete against state-funded Soviet or East German teams for many Olympic cycles. Remember how shocked we all were in 1980 when a bunch of college kids beat the vaunted Red Army hockey team?
If anything, allowing pros evened the playing field a bit for those countries that didn't make Olympic athletes a government job.
To answer one of your questions: yes, it does seem a tad contrarian to me.
Don't get me wrong, I get that they're not "amateurs" anymore, and I agree that China should NOT have been awarded the Olympics.
But, just because those two things are true doesn't mean there aren't good things happening in Beijing.
First, you just know there are a lot of Christians there spreading the Word (right in China's front yard, no less!) in and around the games. Whether or not it gets attention is irrelevant; an even that lends itself to that kind of global outreach probably shouldn't be ignored.
Too, I'll never be able to escape the feeling that despite myriad issues present to detract from the games (which, you are right, could be much purer than they are), there's just something amazingly special about the work the athletes (pro or otherwise) have put in, about the team spirit evidenced (the men's 4x100m freestyle relay gave us a perfect example last night), and about the inevitable instances of international camaraderie between athletes who, despite living in countries possibly diametrically opposed, can look beyond the ridiculous politics of the day to root for and congratulate each other--and most enthusiastically, at that. Those are good things, attitudes I'll want my children to learn, and the games provide not only fun & fellowship for those watching, but a good teaching tool for little ones (with respect to sportsmanship, etc.).
I'll admit it; I'm something of a sports junkie, so I imagine I'm more psyched about the games than a lot of people, but I don't think that nullifies my point. The games can be great, and they can be terrible, like just about everything else we humans put our minds to; by simply ignoring them, not only are you missing out on what is great about them, you're chancing losing an opportunity for relevance, however small, and let's face it: there are a lot of people watching the games who do not know the Lord, and you never know what will allow you to better connect with them.
(Now, I realize that argument can be dismissed on the grounds that it lends itself to the obvious abuse of paying attention to every little thing in the interest of relevance, therefore rendering oneself functionally useless, but I hardly think the Olympics count as a "little thing", given their scope, which puts them--in my mind, anyway--on the level of things we should probably pay attention to because they are important in a big way to a lot of people around the world).
And I know you're plenty smart enough to have considered all these things, but they're why I'll watch every minute I can, and you asked for it!
And my, goodness, that was unnecessarily long. I guess I'm just feeling verbose today!
You're being unnecessarily contrarian. I, myself, am contrarian at times, but never about the Olympics. No way. I'm a fan all the way. 2-women scull? Oh, yeah, I'm watching it. Weightlifting? Bring out the popcorn. I can't tell you how excited I was that we swept the women's sabre. The men's swimming relay last night? Too marvelous for words.
I respect your reasons for not watching. I was unhappy about the games being awarded to China, for all the obvious reasons. I'm even more unhappy with the way we have exported so much manufacturing there -- you have to search hard to find a product that isn't made in China these days. So our consumerism underwrites the Chinese government and its repressive policies.
Nevertheless, I believe they will only change their ways through engagement with the west, and their own people will be the catalyst of that change through their own contact with westerners.
There is more money in the amateur sports these days, but these are all sports requiring years and years of discipline and hard work. The single-mindedness of these athletes is remarkable. I love seeing what we humans are capable of when we work our bodies, these bodies God created, to the limits of what they are capable of. It's beautiful and amazing to watch.
An interesting story in the BBC this morning about the opening ceremony. A beautiful little girl sang a song during the ceremonies and it turns out that she was lip-syncing while another little girl sang. The producers said they were in a quandary because the girl with the best voice was not the girl with the prettiest face, and it was important to show the prettiest girl on camera to give the world the best impression of China.
Which is a clear look inside the psyche of the Chinese leadership and the lengths they will go to to make China look good, and hide the ugly realities from the world.
Contrarian? Probably. Am I watching? Not really. I happened to catch a bit of men's gymnastics yesterday and was amazed at what some of these Chinese men can do. I found myself wondering, however, if they'd be relocated to Xinjiang if they didn't get the gold medal. They certainly didn't seem to be enjoying themselves, particularly. Sad.
For me, the thing that keeps me from watching in spite of the wonderful athleticism of most of the competitors is the coverage. Every time the Olympics roll around I wonder if the network providing coverage will get it right but they never do. I assume that means I'm in the minority but I'd like to just see the sports and do away with all the inane chatter and the heart rending back-story of the poor athlete who is about to win gold (or not). I find myself imagining a Super Bowl game where they spend ten minutes talking about the quarterback's son and how football saved his life. When the story is over, we come back to the game, having missed a fumble, two 40 yard receptions, and a touchdown. Then, we get to hear about the kicker and how he injured his knee when he was a child and struggled for years just to walk. Now, he's going to kick a field goal to take the lead. What, I thought we were winning 17 to 10. No, while we were listening to the story, the score changed. Can you just imagine? It drives me crazy. Am I the only one?
Finally, as for China hosting the games, remember that the Communist Soviet Union hosted them in 1980 and Nazi Germany in 1936. So, there's a history of awarding them to countries with pretty awful human rights records. Still, it's wrong, as far as I'm concerned. You might appreciate this alternative logo that Beau Bo D'Or came up with for the Beijing Games.
http://www.bbdo.co.uk/blog/archives/540
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