In a week or so one of the greatest spectacles in amateur (and
in some cases pro) sports will descend upon Beijing, China. Despite
political unrest, athletes will convene to compete for gold, silver
or bronze at the Olympic Games.
Athleticism at its highest caliber will take center stage and
the culmination of extensive training will leave some competitors
in either a euphoric state or downcast at their performance.
It will be fierce. Pride will be present with every athlete. For
two weeks, it’s all or nothing. Dreams will be fulfilled while
heartbreak, for some, will be inevitable.
There are a number of things I’d like to see this time around
and some things I’d rather not.
In a week or so one of the greatest spectacles in amateur (and in some cases pro) sports will descend upon Beijing, China. Despite political unrest, athletes will convene to compete for gold, silver or bronze at the Olympic Games.
Athleticism at its highest caliber will take center stage and the culmination of extensive training will leave some competitors in either a euphoric state or downcast at their performance.
It will be fierce. Pride will be present with every athlete. For two weeks, it’s all or nothing. Dreams will be fulfilled while heartbreak, for some, will be inevitable.
There are a number of things I’d like to see this time around and some things I’d rather not.
Staying away from the politics between nations is one thing I’d like to see. The spirit of the Olympics is not about religion, political forums or boycotts. It’s about athletes training practically their whole lives in pursuit of standing on the winners’ podium. Let’s keep it that way.
I really don’t care to watch the men’s basketball team, made up of multi-millionaires, slam dunk over some hapless Lithuanian player. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have nothing to prove.
Listening to studio host Bob Costas is something I’d rather not have to endure. His mundane interviews and the questions he’s getting off the teleprompter add nothing but boredom, although he has successfully managed to put me to sleep every four years.
We need Al Michaels and John Madden diagramming a play, showing us why team handball didn’t score a goal in the waning minutes of a game, or why a swimmer’s flip-turn was a bit slow. Charisma and excitement need to replace Costas and his evening-news approach.
Give me features on human feelings. I don’t need a segment on the ozone layer in Beijing. We already understand you can cut the smog with a knife and residents sometimes walk down the street adorned with masks. We heard enough about polluted air in 1984 at the games in Los Angeles.
I don’t need another feature on Amanda Beard and her Playboy exploits out of the water. Her efforts in the water are commendable, so let’s just leave it at that.
I’m hoping we see more primetime events. I can’t fathom getting up at 4 a.m. to watch a gold medal event in badminton because I couldn’t even open my eyes to see the birdie, let alone focus on the TV.
While the Olympics’ media coverage usually targets the major sports, I’d like to see some time given to Judo and some of the lesser-known sports. These athletes train just as hard as anyone and deserve some recognition. For me, missing a few slam dunks for a pentathlon competition would be okay.
Former gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi makes his network debut for NBC and I hope he remains partial. Every time I’ve heard him in the past, he’s constantly touting the USA women’s gymnastics team as the best in the world and how the girls are wonderful little pixies. I get the picture. Now let them go out and prove who’s the best.
Let’s keep the commercials to a minimum. I realize sponsorship is essential in making the games a reality, but I can only take so many golden arches ‘I’m lovin it’ spots in the middle of a crucial soccer game or a Johnson and Johnson feminine hygiene break during dinner.
Baseball and softball will appear in the Olympics for the last time and the person or group responsible for their omission should have their head examined. Both sports are played throughout the world and have demonstrated popularity among spectators in the past. I would like to see a reinstatement in the future.
I’d like to learn how to pole vault, hold my breath under water for an extended period of time or clean and jerk a weighted barbell. If I, or you, go to the NBC Web-site for the Olympic Games, you can learn how to do these things. I’ve got the hold-my-breath thing down, but I’d rather leap across the living room than over a bar 18 feet high.
Actually, if I was in Beijing, I’d much rather learn how to master eating with chopsticks, which sushi item won’t make me gag and where can I get a good Chicago-style hot dog.
Of the 2,197 medals the United States has won since the inception of the modern day games, I’d like to see us add to those totals, but with dignity and class. I don’t need star-struck winners proclaiming they want to go to Disneyland or what agent will have them endorsing Hanes Underwear.
I hope, as a country, we attain a winning attitude with class and character, free from scandals of any nature, and the knowledge that every athlete gave their best, no matter what the outcome was.
