Why I don’t hate the Olympics

July 8th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanR

I have not been combing the sports blogosphere anywhere near the frequency I usually do as of late, something I hope corrects itself in the coming weeks. (I’m really getting sick of the shakes.) But from what I’ve seen, the general sentiment on the Olympics — and please correct me if I’m wrong on this — has been it sucks balls. It sucks balls because as Will Leitch wrote in God Save the Fan:

“I’m not sure any real sports fan like the Olympics anymore … Why is it that we have to pretend to care about the discus throw every four years? Never mind the fact that no team sport has anything  resembling the motivation Olympians bring to injecting his/her body with every undetectable performance enhancer. Olympic sports appeal only to those single-minded enough to devote their entire lives to them. Have you ever attended a track meet in person? There are thirty events going on at any time.”

Now, I think there is a ton of validity to Leitch’s overall thesis on the Olympics: there’s a lot that isn’t very appealing or exciting or jaw dropping about fencing, and Americans just latch on to whatever athlete is on their screen and start putting every ounce of energy into cheering for that athlete without having any real good reason. (Other than that is what we are supposed to do. I suppose these are the people that are not “real fans.”)

This is a theory Chuck Klosterman largely backed up in a 2004 Esquire article:

“… the Olympics are designed for people who want to care about something without considering why. In order to enjoy the Olympics, you can’t think critically about anything; you have to root for America (of whatever country you’re from) and assume that your feelings are inherently correct.)

Again, these are not outlandish claims: they make a considerable amount of sense and I agree with them … to a point. Because they are generalizations and observations; they obviously have exceptions and people that don’t quite tie in with the overall argument. I am one of these exceptions.

Get this, I happen to follow competetive running. And I’m excited to see it on its grandest stage in Beijing. I know Bernard Lagat is America’s best hope to medal in the 1500 and 5000 — though I’m not sure how legit I’ll equate a victory, considering he was a Kenyan citizen till 2004  — and I’ve enjoyed the human interest pieces the New York Times has been rolling out on a consistent basis leading up to the games. I’m by no means a hardcore follower of the sport, but the Olympics give me a reason to get swept up in it all for a few months.

For me, the Olympics — particularly the running — reminds me of my past, of the miles upon miles spent on the track and out on the path during my high school years. Following names I remember from five years ago — Alan Webb, for instance — is fun for me. Sure, I may be rooting blindly with some events I watch — actually, I doubt I’ll watch too much other than the running events, maybe the figure skating, that’s always fun –but setting aside that and focusing on the nostalgia that competitve running brings out in me: I don’t think it makes me single-minded or a faux sports fan. I don’t think it makes me someone devoid of critical thinking skills.

It just makes me human. And I am more than comfortable with that.