Johann wrote a post this morning that caught my interest so I thought I’d reply here:

First, let me be clear that I don’t care if you speak ill of the Olympics 🙂 But I did find your post interesting.

On Rooting for U.S.A.

I think that most Americans are able to separate their love of country from the decisions their policy-makers have made in the past. Otherwise there would be nobody rooting because everyone would have disagreed with some decisions made sometime in our past.

International politics and the Olympics will always be heavily intertwined, but setting aside domestic politics to enjoy good competition is pretty easy to do – for most.

On Competition

Since when has any sport not been about competition, and therefore beating your opponents? If this weren’t the case, I suppose they should only show the first 4 seconds of a sprint. Hell, why even get on the track then? You even mention remembering when Olympics showcased the world’s best amateur athletes. If winning doesn’t matter, how do you define Best? Winning implies beating others, you can’t have it both ways. If you want to win, you want to beat others.

It’s Sport. It’s about watching amazing athletic feats and seeing the joy of years of hard work paying off. And in the end, if it’s your country’s athlete atop the podium, all the better.

On Professional Athletes

I agree that putting professional athletes out there takes something away from the games. However, it seems the professional/amateur line is getting more and more blurred. For example, do you take into account endorsements? I just read that after the ’04 Olympics, Phelps received some $5Million in endorsements, should that matter? I don’t think so, but it does muddy the waters doesn’t it?

On Cheating

Agreed that doping is cheating. I think that the athletes should be tested aggressively, and have some blood stored so it can be tested using better testing capabilities in the future. I’d think that would provide a real deterrent – sure you probably won’t get caught today, but I bet they’ll be able to find that substance in your blood a few years from now.

On Phelps

I don’t think I’ve heard anyone mention that if Phelps hadn’t won every single gold, that he would have been considered a failure. That’s just laughable to me. It’s amazing to be so good at so many events, simple as that. I can’t recall ever watching the games with someone that got upset that the USA lost an event – it’s usually just a “Darn!”, and we move on.

Go USA!

We’re just one week away from the start of the 2008 summer games!  Excited?!  The opening ceremonies will be airing next Friday evening, with plenty of events starting the following day.  I need to take the time and figure out what needs to be watched and recorded, and on what channels.   The olympics always provide a nice diversion from the norm, it should be fun.

This year in particular, there are a few side-stories that I’m interested in seeing play out:

Pollution in Beijing

Ever since Beijing was awarded the 2008 summer games way back in 2001, they have been working on plans for curbing the pollution for the games.  They have spent a fortune. According to this article out of China, they were planning on spending $3 Billion on pollution control in Beijing – last year alone. They’ve even employed a Research Center for Weather Modification (that’s a little scary, isn’t it?).

I’ve tried to find updated figures, but haven’t been able to really track any down.  Probably because it isn’t working.  They have shut down factories in something like 5 provinces and mandated a 50% drop in car traffic (you can only drive every other day, based on license plate), but the smog persists (note: that article puts the pollution control cost at $17 billion).  It’s so bad that it’s nearly triple the World Health Organization’s acceptable levels, and at least one athlete has pulled out, guarding his health.  The US Olympic Committee has apparently been developing a top secret mask to fight the pollution, and some teams are going to be wearing red contact lenses to help see through the haze.

So, it’s going to be interesting to see how many events will be impacted by this – both in delays and just poor performances by the athletes.

Censorship and criticism in Beijing

Related to the pollution topic, I’m curious as to how Chinese officials are going to react when they start hearing public/broadcast criticism of the poor air quality.  Or will the broadcasters keep mum until they’re out of China?

The censorship issue is rearing its head again.  China is known for its notorious censorship, in recent years for their stranglehold on the internet with the Great Firewall of China.  When they were given the Olympics, they agreed to allow free access for visitors, but as of today that is a lie (can’t have a reporter looking up Amnesty International or reading about the monks’ plight!).

New Speedo Swimming Suit

With the help of NASA engineers, Speedo came out with a controversial new suit last year called the LZR (pronounced Laser).  It’s controversial because of its amazing ability to reduce drag on a swimmer. Those countries that don’t have it are protesting its use, and those that do are breaking records at a dramatic pace.  Only time will tell how many Olympic records are going to fall.

Local Diver

The Springfield area is seeing a local athlete in the competition.   Kelci Bryant of Chatham, IL is competing in synchronized diving – definitely an event I normally wouldn’t watch, but will now.  Good luck Kelci!

Algae Bloom

There’s an enormous algae bloom overtaking the water where the worlds best are supposed to compete.  Thousands and thousands of citizens and fishermen are trying to clean it up – will it be enough???

It’s going to be a fun couple of weeks!

And on a related note, I saw a photo today on one of the news sites of a Chinese worker tending to the grass outside of the massive Olympic Greens.  You know you have too many people when you’re cutting the grass with scissors!

Anyone else out there find any of this interesting?