The Olympics

When I was a kid, the Olympics was so exciting. I could hardly wait to see Olga Korbut and Mark Spitz at the end of the day. It was a hot topic of conversation. Over time, it seemed to change.

Cynical as it may be, I can’t help wondering how much China paid off the Olympic committee to hold the winter Olympics. A couple of facts. The winter Olympics is held in a city; the snow is primarily artificial, the conditions are terrible, the smog looks deadly, the old nuclear power plants don’t exactly exude excitement, and the facilities look very budget. The media doesn’t say a thing. The ski jumpers were landing on a mixture of dirt, ice, and snow, and nobody mentioned it.

The Olympic committees have turned a blind eye for years over the sexual abuse that has finally been acknowledged in multiple sports. How can we all not ask, why China? What were the rules that China put forth that everyone had to follow? Did the athletes have to bring burner phones to talk to their families in other countries?

Dedicating your life to a sport and rising to the top of your game should be applauded. It is time to have a massive reboot of the Olympics? Perhaps an XGames type of event for each individual sport? The Olympic committee should consist only of athletes. The guidelines should be completely transparent. The athletes should have fun at the peak of their game. Nobody looks like they are having fun in China. They are all just going through the motions. It is sad.

The worst part is that the athletes have no choice because getting into the Olympics is the ultimate. We should all be watching with bated breath. It isn’t Covid; it is China. It is also the way the Olympics are managed. Athletes, take notice, get Simone Biles in there to shake up the place and reboot the Olympics. I love watching the games, but something has been lost. China seems like the bottom of the barrel.