I would take the Olympics any day over all other sports, and this is why: the athletes are there for the love of their sport and competition. There is no million dollar contract incentivizing them, no contracts or agents. Only a pure spirit and some patriotism.
Of course how the media portrays the Olympics is different. While I do believe the network does well in preserving the spirit, they certainly don’t hold back on picking favorites and unfavorites.
Take for example the men figure skaters. That Russian guy is an ass-kicker, but I can tell they don’t want us to like him. So they portray him in a sinister light, then hype up the other two top guys.
This leads me to my next point, which is the next Olympics I want to experience in person. I want to be there without any influence but my own and my wife. In fact it’s something I have to do. Hopefully I can do well enough to go every time there is an Olympics.
The Olympics is only one of the world events I feel I need to be a part of. TED is another. All things international. How is it that some people have the privilege to do these things and others don’t? Wouldn’t you think people without means have something to contribute. So interesting.
Back to the title of this post. I like the Olympics because it seems more in tune with the rest of the world. More art, less transaction.
American professional sports suck the purity of spirit and replace it with capitalist exclusivity: massive cash incentives to kick ass, topped with fame and consequent gaudy attention. Ego trip for life.
Of course there is some irony to this. I know that athletes in at least China and Russia get paid huge bucks (read: set for life) if they get the gold. But that’s because there’s not really any other chance to make it big.
Funny how some of the greatest American Olympians (actually all Americans Olympians) aren’t high rollers, and therefore not in the mainstream spotlight. They get attention only when it’s the Olympics, and only if they bring in gold medals.