Ideology Has Ruined the Olympics
The 2021 Olympics started yesterday. And frankly, I couldn’t care less.
As a kid, I would anticipate the Olympics for months ahead of time. We were never a TV family, but, during the Olympics, we would spend hours in front of the TV every day, glued to the different events. I find watching sports dull, but I enthusiastically cheered on Shaun White and Simone Biles. Michael Phelps was an American hero to me as a kid. I am fairly certain I used to get tears in my eyes every time Phelps won a gold medal. My siblings and I would perpetually check the computer when we weren’t watching the TV to see if the US were top of the medal count.
But the Olympics is being ruined, just like everything else. The number of US athletes who have already made disgusting, ungrateful spectacles of themselves by anti-American or pro-Biden displays killed the last lingering interest I had in the games. If Team USA is really Team Anti-USA, who cares if they win? The Russians or Chinese might as well win. And stupid Covid-related actions such as banning spectators (except, apparently, Jill Biden, who not only was allowed but was cheered) and demanding athletes at the peak of physical condition follow strict Covid rules just makes the games that have stood for prowess and daring for thousands of years just another cowardly control-fest.
So no, I will not be watching the Olympics this year. I am sure there are a few patriotic athletes and many of the competitions will have exciting moments, but the Olympics has become just one more ideological forum.