The Olympics are coming... are you going to watch? At first I thought no, because China's record of human rights is not exactly clean, and the fact that we get almost everything from there. But my wife and I were talking and we wonder if any of that has anything to do with the sport of the Olympics?
I know, there is plenty of reasons you could "boycott" the Olympics. But would it actually do anything? I think not. You could miss the whole spectacle and nobody would care. You could "boycott" all sponsors of the Olympics but I'm suspect of anything happening there too.
I got out of the Army and moved to Atlanta right during their Olympic heyday. It was crazy. You couldn't find a place to live, in fact I lived in my boss's basement for a month. I didn't go to any events or anything like that, though I probably should have. But one of the happiest days in my life was the day I moved out of Georgia and into South Carolina. Too much traffic, too many people, I'm a smallish town kinda guy. But you never know where I could go next.
Back to the Olympics, I think if something bad happens everybody will say "See, I told you" and if nothing happens, then nothing happens. I'm still at an impasse as to whether or not I'll watch the Olympics.
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Olympics
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4 comments:
One thing I've never done is gone to any of the Olympic games, winter or summer. It would have been easy to go to Atlanta, and I really don't remember why we didn't. My media daughter lived there then (she still does) and she rented out her condo. I keep thinking it's something I should do, but then it all seems overwhelming unless you're with a group. And China isn't any place I want to go again. But, yes, I'll keep an eye on the 2008 Games....from my couch.
I only watch the Winter Olympics anyway. But you're right, any refusal to watch,for political or social protest, or any other reason, would be totally unnoticed. I've given up on protesting the evils or even peccadilloes of the masses or individuals anyway. There's no point - not only can you not fix stupid, you can't educate it, you can't eradicate it, and you can't stop it from perpetrating itself on others. There's too many of them. All you can do with stupid (or rude, or murderous, or selfrighteous, or pompous, or...) is walk away, leave them to joyfully promote and wallow in their own stupidity... with the tacit approval of everyone else. Shrug. When's the downhill skiing?
I won't be watching, mainly due to the lack of a TV.
But I barely watched the last few anyway. I got frustrated at the tape-delayed coverage...the 24 hour news places reporting results before TV coverage aired...it all got too overproduced, too sports-tickerized on every channel.
There was no suspense, in other words. Every media outlet bombarded me with results, and then I'd have to sit through 90 minutes of Bob Costas pontificating before I could see footage from an event for which I'd already seen the results.
Plus, those new suits the swimmers are allowed to wear! What the heck?! Why not just give them little motors?
Wiley:
Love your comments on "stupidity"...!
I also have never "been" to an Olympic event, but I DO make a point to watch them, whether they are held in summer OR winter.
To me, it's the BEST way to see REAL athletes perform, as opposed to the much over-touted and overpriced "professionsal" venues we see today.
I mean let's face it...when ticket prices become SO outlandish becasue some team "needs" a new stadium and has to pay for it (and all these "superstars" as well) with YOUR money along with those $4 hotdogs and $8 beers (prices subject to change at any time), what's a person to do?
It's a far cry from the days when we (as kids) LOVED to go to a ballgame and Dad could actually NOT have to take a 2nd mortgage to get us all tickets, concessions AND souvenirs.
Those were truly the days.
B.G.
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