As I’m sure we’ll all aware, the 2004 Athens Olympics are (somewhat surprisingly) underway on time. To me, the Olympics are still one of the most exciting and engrossing events of the year. They represent the highest level of competition in nearly every sport represented therein, and there’s someone to cheer for in every event. Hell, you don’t even have to understand the event you’re watching to become totally captivated by it.For example, I have no idea what happens in men’s gymnastics. I don’t know how much better a double twist with a flip is than two flips. I have no clue what they’re even doing most of the time. But despite my ignorance, I enjoyed watching the U.S. men try to capture the gold. I yelled at the TV when they got low scores, cheered when they got high scores, and I was first excited, then concerned when another team fell. Sure, I don’t have much idea what’s going on, but I still loved it, and that’s why the Olympics are so great. Almost everyone has someone to cheer for. In the Super Bowl, most people that weren’t from either New England or Carolina and didn’t have money on the game didn’t care much for how it turned out. In the Olympics, the entire country is united behind one team. Whether you’re black or white; red or blue, you can always cheer for America at the Olympics.
The thing we all know about the Olympics is the stories, and I enjoy these as well. I love the fact that a kid who slept in a dresser drawer (Ron Siler, Boxing) can make it to the Olympics. In every event there are inspiring stories like this. I take delight in the stories of perseverance and commitment at the Olympics. I’ll bet we will all be able to name at least five great stories from this year’s Olympics.
Another thing that makes the Olympics great is the lack of Randy Moss types, if you will. After Tuesday’s fantastic 4×200 meter freestyle swim race in which Klete Keller, who got massacred by Thorpe when they went one-on-one beat Ian Thorpe to win the US gold, Keller said, “It hurt like hell. I could see [Thorpe] coming up. But when I was breathing, I saw my team going crazy — and that really kept me going.” How refreshing is it to see a statement like that in an age where we have players like Carlos Boozer, who abandon their teammates at the first sign of more cash somewhere else? Sure, a lot of major athletes care about the game and work hard, but at least an equal amount could care less as long as they get paid. When you watch the Olympics, you can be assured that every single competitor there has worked hard for most of their lifetimes. There’s no one out there who half-asses even a second of a race or event on purpose (perhaps from fatigue, see Michael Phelps), except maybe the U.S. men’s basketball team. And when the athletes don’t work hard, they get beat. Badly. Including the U.S. men’s basketball team. Even the cocky sprinters work hard. Sure, they have fun out there (see Maurice Green’s celebration), but only after a race. And there’s no pseudo drug tests in the Olympics like there are in the NFL and other leagues. Not like it matters, if an Olympic athlete went out and smoked weed before a race, do you really think he’d be able to compete, let alone win, no matter how much “masking agent” he used? I don’t think so.
In our major sports leagues, the athletes can do that, and apparently often do if you put any stock in Ricky Williams’ statements. To my knowledge, no Olympic athlete caught using steroids has competed and gotten away with what most sane people consider cheating. Read that sentence again, no one who got caught cheating was allowed to win. Sounds simple, right? In the MLB, as we all know, people have tested positive for steroids, and aren’t punished at all. We don’t even know who they are. The NHL doesn’t even test for steroids. Olympic athletes are just much easier to cheer for than the ones we see every day; and maybe that’s because we don’t see them every day, but they still come across much better. If you can name five Olympic athletes you can look at and say, “I hate him, he’s such an asshole,” I would be surprised. If you can’t name 10 from every major sports league, I’d be shocked.
The Olympics are my favorite sporting event of any year, and whether I’m watching crew or the 100 meter dash; the marathon or fencing, as long as I’m rooting for an American or at least someone who’s worked hard to get there (read: everyone) I’m happy.