My Uneasy Relationship With The Olympic Games

I'm on a bus as I type this to a needed R&R break in Las Vegas – and if they even think of giving that British swimmer in the 100 breaststroke final even money or better, I may lay (what I consider) a mint on that lock.

Anyhow, to kill some time: I've always enjoyed the Olympics to a certain extent – but, at the same time, I've had a bit of an uneasy relationship with the Olympics as well.

To give you an idea of the latter and why I really look at these Games (barring Homophobe-lympics boycotts – fuck you Vladimir!) as great blog material, I give you three stories which have, to one point or another, tempered my enjoyment of the Games.

First one is 1984, Los Angeles. I'm entering my sophomore year in high school, so watching the afternoon coverage of the Games on ABC, and it's a rowing final. Forget which specific final, could almost certainly look it up at some point and remember.

Anyhow, the race ends, and the USA boat clearly finishes fourth – it's not close to even bronze. The rowing announcer states USA won bronze and I'm like: “Wait a minute...”

To the live announcer's credit, after the ensuing commercial, it was corrected. That wasn't the problem.

What was was when they threw back to the studio, the afternoon studio host (I believe Al Trautwig, but not 100% sure on it) said, “I liked it better the first time.”

Dude, whoever you are, anyone with a working set of eyes saw that. You've got enough gold medals with the boycott to flag-wave about. You don't need more medals than what you got.

The other two stories are both to my visit to Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Games, an experience I will not soon forget. After my release, I had three years of probation that ended the Friday before Salt Lake City, so I used those Games as something to shoot for.

Anyway, first one from Salt Lake was the Opening Ceremony. Salt Lake City set up a large television screen for the NBC feed in a local downtown park, which I partook. I noticed, sitting next to me, a Canadian father with a teenage daughter (13-15, I'd guess). We struck up conversation and then Canada entered in the Parade of Nations. Talk on NBC immediately went to the impending showdown between the Canadian pairs' figure skating superstars and a Russian juggernaut which had a winning streak in the event decades long.

The daughter then pronounces, to me and to anyone else who cared to listen: “THEY WILL NOT WIN PAIRS!!!!”

You know what happened. I actually was in the (corporate) fan zone, and had just walked into the Samsung building where the world feed of all of the events was being shown on Samsung televisions. The Canadian pair had just finished, and I didn't need to see the routine to know they were happy and felt they'd won.

I remember, after they got screwed, asking everyone I could find coming out of the Salt Lake Ice Palace adjacent to the zone (where the figure skating was held) what they thought. To a one, no one could believe the result.

The third story actually involves that Samsung building. I will make no secret I cut my fair share of corners to make that trip work. By about Friday of the first week, though – even though Salt Lake City had announced the world feed was being broadcast to watch at that building – I was getting more than my fair share of dirty looks from staff at the building and I really felt the welcome mat yanked out from under me. I left for home two days later.

Why? I wasn't in a position to buy Samsung TV's, so I was of no use to that building. Typical corporate bullshit.

I am still enjoying a lot of these Games (where else, on a Sunday morning at 6 AM, can you pick up a team handball match on an American stream, for one example?), but I hope this allows people to understand some context as to why I openly search for problematic situations in these Games.