In The Interest of Sport

Honestly, I don't know. Though I end up watching some of the games, I have lost a great deal of interest. The games seem to have lost much meaning. On the athletic front, they were the rarified air where obscure sports specialists practiced their craft or even mainstream competitors got to play at a international level. But now? Tennis players compete in international competitions every day. And each year, we are given some "sport" like snowboarding or motocross bikes or trampoline.

But the great olympic moments of the past have been deeply connected to the cold war, and when that ended, the games degenerated into just another sporting event. Worse, they degenerated into a huge orgy of consumption and advertising, complete with idiot coverage that injects "drama" into every moment. Well, every moment about American athletes. Who can forget the "rivalry" between the American and Australian swim teams? Yawn.

But this year is different. {continue...}

[via Streak's Blog]