Olympic Haze

Last week I heard that President Obama had taken the time to call the US women's gymnastics team to congratulate them on their gold medal in London. He quoted himself as having told them "The wonderful thing about the Olympics is that it reminds us for all our differences, when it comes down to our country we're Americans first and we could not be prouder of them and everything they're doing on our behalf."

This made me think of the advertisement Visa began running before the games began. At the end of the ad it read simply  "Go World." In this vein, I would have preferred to have heard Obama say that first and foremost we are members of a global community. And that despite our differences we are united as one. However, that's not what the games seem to be about. The Olympics provide that once-every-four-years opportunity to root madly for some previously unknown American to beat the bejeezes out of that cocky looking [insert any other nationality] swimmer in lane four.

I remember watching the Olympics as a child. Rooting interests were crystal clear - we watched and prayed that the United States would beat the much-hated Russians. Supremacy over communism was being waged in the form of boxing, sprinting, and pommel horse. It seems silly now but I really got wrapped up in it back then. I don't know that there's so much of that anymore. Maybe if Syria or Libia had better beach volleyball teams?

For the most part I don't really care for the Olympics anymore. We have watched more of them this year thinking that it might provide some worthwhile family time together every few evenings. The first night we coerced the kids into watching the opening ceremonies. After about half an hour of a symbolic reenactment of British history Ty looked over and asked "What ARE the Olympics?" I tried to ensure him it would be about sports but he didn't look all that convinced.

Over the next few nights we all sat and watched a good bit of gymnastics and swimming.

"Wow, America wins at almost everything!" Muluken declared.

"No, Muluken," I corrected. "They just show the sports on TV that are most popular. They're generally most popular because those are the sports we usually have a good chance of winning. In China they are probably not showing swimming. Just like here they're not showing so much ping pong or badminton."

These types of conversations popped up more than once. The sacrifices (and subsequently, priorities) of the gymnasts who leave their families to train under great pressure. The lone swimmer who passed on corporate money so she could remain eligible to swim with her high school team. Oh, and the advertising.

Especially the Olympic advertising.

There was one ad where a swimmer was training in the pool and at the end of his swim he pulled up at the edge of the lap lane where there was an ice cold bottle of Coca-Cola waiting for him. Smiling, he reached over and took a big drink.

"I don't think Olympic swimmers probably drink Coke while they're practicing," someone mentioned.

Another "favorite" came, not so surprisingly, from Mc Donalds. They were promoting a game where you can win food prizes as American athletes win gold medals. This struck us as an odd pairing. Basically, we win the opportunity to clog our arteries as reward for the athletes demonstrating great fitness and strength.

I tried my best to explain that these companies pay millions of dollars to attach themselves to the Olympics so that when you feel elated by the victory of athletes you might also feel elated by their products. It is as if you can become a part of this Olympic experience by purchasing a GE product or filling the refrigerator with Coke.

It's hard to pick which of these sponsorships is worse but, if pressed to do so, I might have to go with the trio of BP, Rio Tinto, and Dow Chemical Company. In what have been dubbed "The Green Olympic Games," these three companies serve as sponsors despite all the harm they cause to the Earth. Many have accused them of trying to "greenwash" the public concerning their many unethical corporate and environmental policies. Some protestors have taken to splashing their large print ads with oil.

After a few nights the kids lost interest and moved on to other things. Soon after, so did Tricia and I. The Olympics are about to come to a close and I think we are all relieved.

We're about Olympic-ed out.