In 776 BC, it all began. A contest of champions which was also a ceremony to pay homage to the great mythological, pagan gods -those pillars of folklore who resided in the heavens and were giants among men.
The contests, as with religions, evolved over many centuries. It was halted in 393 at the hands of the Roman ruler Theolosius and we would not see such competition again until the Olympics were resurrected in 1863.
The modern day premise of the event is a celebration of amateur sport — the best amateur athletes from around the world, on the world’s stage competing for glory and gold.
No longer a pagan ritual, the Olympics are a magnificent feat of indulgence by that nation which wins the right to host the event every 4 years and in these modern, technological times -show the world how incredible they are. It’s kind of a pissing match. It starts out with an idea that your city is good enough to warrant spending millions of dollars to put a bid in and then courting and schmoozing Olympic officials with the hope that your city will be chosen and the golden rainbow will lead a path to your door with the open wallets of big corporations and tourists clamoring to visit.
And visit they do. Calgary (my home town) won the right to host the 88 games and the pay off was everything the organizers had dreamed. It put the city on the map and it also employed a lot of people just as Calgary was coming out of a rather dismal downturn after the big bust. It was only 2 years earlier that oil prices plummeted as did our economy.
City leaders had the vision to see that the investment in an Olympic games could bring us out of the bust and they were right. The prosperity Calgary has seen since is almost unparalleled. We are considered one of the most prosperous and cleanest cities to live in, in the world.
Winning the right to host the Olympics isn’t always a win however. Just ask Athens (ironic) about 2004 and a city and country that was already heading towards a massive bust, spent 6 billion in taxpayer dollars and lost 14 billion when the smoke settled.
Obviously, there’s the significant element of money when it comes to the Olympics. Which is why the rules have changed so dramatically over the years. So much so that we’ve seen high level, professional athletes step in to compete for the glory of their country. The spectacle, which was once a pure endeavor to celebrate amateur competition, has become somewhat less noble.
I’d love to blame it all on governments and big corporations trying to cash in but, truth be told, it rests in the hands of the citizens who want, who need the bragging rights that those athletes, holding their flag, indicating to the world a sense of superiority — even if only in one discipline, fleeting. The endorphin's firing off when “your” athlete, as you claim ownership of said athlete wins, is quite real.
When I say “they” I am referring of course to that 1% that fly in the face of decency and moral obligation. That 1% that puts profit above all else regardless of pain or suffering. The other 99% - unwitting puppets in the grand design. We obey and as sheep do, follow the pack.
The Olympics do not make a profit for the hosting city. It’s been proven time and time again and while there are residual dollars from tourism, the real winners are big corporations to the tune of tens of billions. Below is a link of all the companies that made out well in the London Olympics.
http://www.businessinsider.com/who-makes-money-on-the-olympics-2012-7?op=1
None of that matters. When the opening ceremonies begin; we’ll all have our favorite athletes to cheer for in sports we’ve never heard of. The promise of a medal is what we’ll hang on every day as we try to make sense of how we fit in with the rest of this great big world.
We’ll forget the important stuff. That gold medal hanging around the neck of a 16 year old in a sport we didn’t know existed will trump everything. We’ll casually make a mental note of the American Express commercials playing over every heartfelt moment and yearn to have our card so we’ll be prepared for next time…
Meanwhile, we’ll forget about the tyranny of governments that would subdue or discriminate against another in the name of a god or simple moral indignation. We’ll set aside our obvious differences in what it means to treat human beings with decency and respect. Our focus will remain on the pomp and circumstance that is…
My personal feeling is that we should not send any athletes to Sochi. I’m sorry to those “amateur” athletes that may not get another chance and that have dedicated their lives for a chance at greatness but, when do we take a stand? When does the human element trump self-satisfaction or profit? When will the time be right?
I fear it won’t matter. The experts already agree that it will be impossible to control the radicals that live within the boundaries of Sochi. There is a storm brewing and political upheaval, human rights issues and a country so corrupted by organized crime - it would seem unfathomable -the idea that radicals would waste this opportunity, on a world stage, to make a statement.
Gay rights are only the tip of the iceberg. Media blackouts are common in Russia and there is and has been significant signs of upheaval for many years and desperate people take desperate measures.
According to international human rights organizations as well as domestic press, violations of human rights in Russia[10] include widespread and systematictorture of persons in custody by police,[11][12] dedovshchina in Russian Army, neglect and cruelty in Russian orphanages,[13] violations of children’s rights.[14]According to Amnesty International there is discrimination, racism, and murders of members of ethnic minorities.[15][16] Since 1992 at least 50 journalists have been killed across the country.[17]
The situation in the Russian republic of Chechnya, ravaged by war, has been especially worrying. During the Second Chechen War, started in September 1999, there were summary executions and “disappearances” of civilians in Chechnya.[18][19][20] According to the ombudsman of the Chechen Republic, Nurdi Nukhazhiyev, as of March 2007 the most complex and painful problem is finding over 2700 abducted and forcefully held citizens; analysis of the complaints of citizens of Chechnya shows that social problems ever more often come to the foreground; two years ago complaints mostly concerned violations of the right to life.[21]
There are a lot of disenfranchised living in that country. Bombings by radicals and terrorists are an almost daily occurrence. With Russia’s current track record in regards to human rights, one has to wonder if it was irresponsible for the Olympic committee to award them these games.
One thing is for certain -if there is blood shed, I’m guessing we won’t find a member of the IOC to answer the most obvious question: Why?
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