Quote:
I'm probably in a minority here, but the Olympics really don't interest me that much.


These days, I'm not so sure you're in the minority. The Olympics, at least among the people I've been talking to, aren't grabbing nearly as much interest as they used to, and I think that's sad. I absolutely love international competition at the highest level, except in the most bogus of Olympic "sports" (synchronized diving, air rifle, etc.) Sometimes, for sports I don't really follow or appreciate very much (weightlifting, judo, etc.) it takes a good "underdog story" or something like that to really grab my attention, and if there's an American athlete/team involved, that can certainly raise my interest. But even in the absence of those elements, I think the Olympics are worth watching, because they're everything that being human is all about -- trying to be the best you can be at something.

Now, we can go into a big long discussion about why the Olympics seem to have fallen off... Some here are choosing to blame crappy TV coverage, and I've heard others cite the allegations of drug use and other types of cheating as the reason they've lost interest. But I think both of these factors, while relevant, are overstated. A vast majority of the athletes do not break the rules, and the TV coverage is just a bunch of talking heads telling you what to look at in case you don't know already, along with a bunch of vignettes with dramatic music in the background, aimed at raising interest and appeal to the marginal sports fan. If you truly appreciate athletic competition, you should be able to enjoy the Olympics on a 3" black and white TV with no sound.

Or maybe what's really happening is that the masses are getting tired of the same old events each four years. After all, who would want to watch stories of man vs. man or nation vs. nation when you can watch six attractive 20-somethings eat sheep intestines for a chance at $20,000?

On second thought, I guess I'm way off here, the Olympics suck. Give us back our Fear Factor!
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- Tony C
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