Who doesn't love the Olympics? How can you not but feel the spirit of unity and the greatness of the human body and its ability to reach beyond that which is impossible? In just a matter of a week almost every American was in love with Michael Phelps because he represented our country as the man who could do the impossible, win eight gold medals in a single Olympic games.
Although I am not a huge sports fan, the Olympics some how captivate me more than any other athletic entertainment. This last August I would take every chance I could to watch the Beijing Olympics, and it didn't really matter what sport it was, I didn't really care, it was the Olympics! I always look forward to watching the Olympics every two years and whenever I hear the NBC Olympic theme music I just feel the excitement of the games. I remember when I was a sophomore in high school and my older sister and I had an Olympic Opening Ceremony party with our friends because we were so excited for the Olympics. The excitement of the Olympics for me is like that of a child going to Disney World for the first time.
But what is it that makes the Olympics so exciting? Why do so many people who normally not take interest in sports during other seasons find the Olympics so captivating?
Since 1894 the modern Olympic games have been held all over the world in many countries that open their doors to everyone to enjoy something that all people of the world have in common; athletic competition. And I believe they honestly do it with a pure motive - to bring athletes from around the world together to compete in a variety of events. Money is actually probably not the main motive here unlike most sporting competition because the host country actually ends up loosing a lot of money because it is so expensive. Besides, when it was started advertising didn't play such a large role in society.
Lastly, what benefits do the Olympic games bring to the world? Do you think sporting competition has the power to unite the world and put politics aside? Why do you think it does or does not and how have the Olympic games helped or hindered bringing about world peace?
43 comments:
The Olympics is an opportunity for people around the world to watch their country compete on the world stage. People (myself included) love to watch as our country stood toe to toe with the best athletes in the world. I felt so proud to see our country get the most medals in the world. Despite recent claims of commercialization, the Olympics are the purest from of sport. The athletes compete not for money but for the glory of the sport, and the honor of their country.
I think the Olympics provide a great way for people to share a sense of unity. When we watch them, sure we cheer for our country, but we can't help but feel excited when we see the others and see them succeed and hear their stories.
On a side note, it should be known that though a lot of money is spent on the Olympics, it does bring a lot of money to the local economy. Salt Lake City made a lot of money on the Olympics.
the olympics rock. i was in new zealand when 2 sisters there won gold for rowing. man it was rad, so much country pride. i love the usa. when i saw lebron james block some poor schmo's layup this olympics i stood up and screamed USA!!!!!!!!!! God bless america.
I love the Olympics, and I totally watched the Beijing Olympics every chance I got this past summer.
The funny thing is, when you mention sports, the Olympics are not the first thing that come to mind. I usually think pro football and other professional sports or big name athletes. I think this has something to do with the appeal connected to the Olympics. They don't mirror traditional U.S sports, and because so, more people can relate. I also love watching athletes from underprivileged countries come out and gain recognition.
Brendan, you write: "Salt Lake City made a lot of money on the Olympics."
What is your source for that info? Certainly there was revenue, but was there a profit for Salt Lake City?
--"Money is actually probably not the main motive."
Michael Phelps was making $5 million/year in endorsements prior to the Olympics and had a guaranteed bonus from Speedo if he won at least 7 gold. He went to the Olympics because he had to in order to keep his sponsors happy (CNN.com, "Endorsements pure gold for Phelps").
Since the Olympics, he has signed deals with Frosted Flakes, Guitar Hero, Rosetta Stone language learning CDs, and a private jet company named CitationShares, to name a few.
This IS why so many athletes train for the Olympics: endorsement deals. Plus, a number of them, including US athletes, are paid in cold hard cash by their country's Olympic committee for each medal they win.
As for the national Olympic committees, they too are in it for the money. They get a piece of the IOC revenue from each episode of the games based on the number of athletes they qualify, plus they make money from sponsors during the games.
Look at the image of the relay sprinters you put up: it marries nationalism ("USA") with commercialism (the Nike swoosh). These are the two driving forces behind the Olympics today. Corporations play on people's nationalistic sentiments to get them to spend money.... If the athletes are not in it for money, they like to talk about doing it "for their country." The fact is, though, that this nationalism amounts to one more commercial: nationalism helps sell Speedos.
**The Olympics are definitely not a time to put politics aside.**
The time in our history where we competed most at the Olympics (and watched it the most) was during the Cold War. The Olympics gave us a chance to compete with Russia without annihilating the world through Thermo-Nuclear conflict.
Winning against Russia at the Olympics was like asserting the superiority of the American way to Communism.
I think they still have that kind of overtone, though it doesn't show up quite so much. We want to beat the countries that defy us and criticize us on a world stage. We do like to cheer on the accomplishments of athletes from other nations, but not our political rivals. And the same goes for other nations.
In any case, politics definitely enter into it.
I adore the olympics. I love being part of the team that is honestly competitive in every event. :) I really do watch any part of the olympics that is on. I recently fell in love with Curling :) Y'know when they throw the stone across the brushes, and people that seem to have been part of the live studio audience try to get it on the target. It's hilarious to watch, and I never would have watched it if USA wasn't the underdog. :) It doesn't matter what sport it is. It matter's that it's the USA and we're a part of that. When they win, we win :)
Kristin, why do you feel that way? Why wouldn't you rather see someone from, say, Central America win? Someone who struggled to qualify for the Olympics without lucrative sponsorships, without top-tier training facilities, and without well-paid coaches. Isn't that a better human story? A better Olympic story? I'm not saying you're not right to cheer for the USA, I just wonder why you do.
To support Drew's point, remember 1980, when the USA beat the Soviets in ice hockey? The "Miracle on Ice"? I remember thinking (as an 8 year old) how much better our way was than theirs. That hockey gold medal proved it! Here is the actual medal count from those Olympics:
Soviet Union 10 gold, 6 silver, six bronze, total = 22
East Germany 9 gold, 7 silver, 7 bronze, total = 23
United States 6 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze, total = 12
So much for American dominance through sport during the Cold War... Which leads me to note how much the media skews their coverage of the games to further their commercial interests.
Quick question, who won more golds in Beijing this summer, China or the US?
I love to watch the Olympics, but I don't care in America wins most of the time, unless it's an athlete I know and am a fan of. I find that I tend to cheer for whoever I know is good, not necessarily just the Americans. I guess this helps me feel some connection to other nations, but even though Yao Ming plays for the Rockets, I'm not sure I am still a fan of China. And although I love Spain, I absolutely hate Pau Gasol so I think that we scrutinize international athletes in the same way we scrutinize American ones because I think in essence we adopt these athletes as Americans when they play on our soil, so we lose that sense of "uniting countries" because we begin to see them more as immigrants rather than international citizens.
I love to watch the Olympics, but I don't care in America wins most of the time, unless it's an athlete I know and am a fan of. I find that I tend to cheer for whoever I know is good, not necessarily just the Americans. I guess this helps me feel some connection to other nations, but even though Yao Ming plays for the Rockets, I'm not sure I am still a fan of China. And although I love Spain, I absolutely hate Pau Gasol so I think that we scrutinize international athletes in the same way we scrutinize American ones because I think in essence we adopt these athletes as Americans when they play on our soil, so we lose that sense of "uniting countries" because we begin to see them more as immigrants rather than international citizens.
I love the Olympics too. It's hard to describe what it is about it that makes it so exciting. I guess it's because it's something the whole world is involved in. You've got the best athletes in the world (even from BYU) competing against each other.
Our nation also comes together as we all root from athletes from here, hoping they do their best and represent our country well.
Not only the athletes are promised to get money reward for each medal they earn, also the host nation earns money through tourism, services, and souvenirs from the event. It also earn attention of the whole world during the games as well. If it is just solely for the unity of nations, there would be no reason for countries to compete against each other that bad to be the host country.
I think the Olympics help us to put politics, xenophobia, and ethnocentrism aside so we can just enjoy being a part of a global community. That's not to say that the Olympics have never fallen victim to these problems, but their manifest function's clear: to compete.
to finish my thought, it's not all about winning either, it's about showing up and doing your best. I really like to watch people like Body Miller ski the GS or whatever, but it's cool to see the guys from Egypt or whatever doing slow pizza turns down also. yeah they suck, but at least they're "showing up" which is more than i can say for my friend Mr. Miller.
We all love the olympics. We love to see our nation go toe to toe with the elites of the world... but really I think a lot has to do with the fact that we regularly do very well in them.
I think with our Michael Phelps, Apollo Anton Ono, '92 dream team, and our recent "redeem team", we've been kinda spoiled with success... and that's why we love the olympics. but would we love them so much if the only "michael Phelps" was in ping pong or our "dream team" was in syncronized swimming? would we be just as glued to the tv as we are now?
In Utah the Olympics boosted our economy even though I know cases like that with the Olympics are usually rare. I believe that it does unite the world in a way even if it is in competition. People from all over the world gather together in a celebration type setting, where else can you get an experience like that?
In Utah the Olympics boosted our economy even though I know cases like that with the Olympics are usually rare. I believe that it does unite the world in a way even if it is in competition. People from all over the world gather together in a celebration type setting, where else can you get an experience like that?
First of all, I absolutely love the Olympics. I think it is an awesome resource to strengthen ties between nations, and I love to watch people compete with great pride. I have actually written about the recent olympics here: http://www.thesquarelife.com/blog/my-top-ten-olympic-moments. If you check this article out, you'll find more of my thoughts about the games on my main blog page.
okay i heart the olympics big time. im always the one tearing up at the medal ceremonies. haha.
i think that despite the money and politics involved it truly is the only event that displays such tremendous athletes from all over the world in one place.
i think that people enjoy seeing incredible feats accomplished by people such as phelps and bolt.
i think they want to see their country succeed on a world level.
AND i think everyone wants to see an underdog make it to the top.
GOUSA!
the olympics are exciting because they just bring everyone together. this summer it was pretty much understood between my friends and i that we were watching the games together every night, didn't matter where.
i think we like the olympics because the athletes represent us (well, for the most part) and they have truly worked so hard to be where they are. they're not these superhuman, untouchable people- they're a lot like us.
One final note to debunk the myth that the Olympics bring peace and harmony: the opposite is usually true.
Mexico, 1968, in order to squelch protests that threatened the glossy image of the games Mexican leaders hoped to present, president Ordaz sent the army to stop the protesting: hundreds (by some reports thousands) of students were killed.
Berlin, 1936, Hitler forced Jewish medal winners to perform the Nazi salute on the medal stand and used the Olympics to strengthen his hold on power. The Olympics flame was introduced at these Olympics. Sieg Heil!
Munich, 1972, Palestinian radicals kill 11 Israeli athletes in attempt to further their political agenda.
Beijing, 2008, in addition to the violence in Tibet, the Russians decided to launch an offensive in Georgia while the world's attention was turned to the opening ceremonies.
Frequently, the Olympics are a smokescreen, masking political and corporate agendas...
So love the Olympics, but love them with your eyes open.
I think the Olympics bring all nations together. I think it's crazy how nations come together to compete but this competition is healthy. There are hardly any hard feelings that come from the Olympics that can lead to dangerous retaliations from one country to another. I also think that we love to watch the Olympics because the athletes bring honour to themselves as well as the nation from which they hail.
I love the Olympics. This summer, I am pretty sure I watched 75% of the events. There is just something so special about the Olympics that unifies the globe. Watching the best of the best compete is a thrill, especially when you are from the USA-because we rock! I think this has a lot to do with why we are so involved in the Olympics. USA always does really well. A lot of times the Olympics has been held in America. Americans just love everything that the Olympics stands for. The world can come together and at least try to ignore the political issues going on for these few weeks. Nothing else comes close to bringing us together as a people.
I love the olympics, and I think this is the same for many others, because I get to watch people who have worked hard to perfect their skills. They are passionate about their chosen sport and they are very driven.
There is a part of me that feels like if I really put my mind to something, there isn't anything I can't do to accomplish and reach that goal. The people who compete in The Olympics have come from all sorts of backgrounds and live a variety of lifestyles. The two things they have in common are talent and determination.
So many world benefits come from the olympics... it's perhaps the only time when we can all gather together and celebrate athleticism and great achievement. The olympics are great!
I think it's only natural to want your country to win over a random Central America country. People from the USA are representatives for us on an international stage, so in the spirit of competition it's great to want your country to win over Guatamala or whoever. I bleed red white and blue baby!
Anyways, it's true that some radical groups and people have used the attention the Olympics generate to do some bad things (like in Munich)... but the actual core of the games is a genuine spirity of benevolence and good feelings, sportsmanship, international cooperation. I've never seen a city come together like Atlanta did in 1996. I lived there at the time and spent many days and nights at events and in Centennial Olympic Park. I remember gathering as a crowd to watch Michael Johnson win the 200 meter men's gold.. we all cheered together and I remember I was too short to see and some random man excitedly relayed the news to me. Atlanta wasn't the nice to place to spend time, but the Olympics was such a great thing.. It does have economic perks, athletes deserve their endorsements (Come on, Phelps didn't just go to honor his Speedo deal, he loves to compete).
When it comes down to it though, I watch due to my inner patriotic drive to watch my country compete against others in a peaceful realm - it's exciting.
I do agree that money is not the main motive in the Olympics for sure. I know that this is the life goal of so many athletes all around the world, and it is so much more than money... it truly is such a unifying event. All the sudden it means the world to me that a certain athlete wins, even if I've never heard of them before, just because they are wearing red white and blue. And for that person, it is so much more than money and a medal for this very reason... your entire country is routing for you. That does not happen in any other athletic circumstance. Even the most popular football team can only expect a small portion of the country to be routing for them. When Michael Phelps started to cry after winning a race, I am sure it was not because he was seeing money signs. To represent your country and accomplish a life goal of being the VERY best, that is what it is all about, and that is part of what makes it so unifying and significant. It's all about the passion.
Everyone feels a swell of patriotism and nationalism during the Olympics. I think for some countries it's not quite as strong as for us, but then I consider the World Cup. It's the same principle and people get behind that more than you can imagine unless you've been there. I love rooting for the USA and hope we win every medal, there's no need to spread the wealth around. It may help politically somehow, but I'm content to cheer on American against any foe.
Even if you don't like sports, you have to like the olympics. It gets people to watch and show their patriotism for the USA. It's kind of fun to root for the USA and usually beat everyone while most other countries despise us because we are so dominant. It was awesome to see this summer that all the NBA stars took the olympics seriously and won the gold for the sport that we invented. Kobe, Deron, LeBron, and Dwyane all went and supported other athletes and were very patriotic. It was fun to see.
I would have to agree with Corry on a lot of the points brought up. The olympics are huge on sponsorship and money, people like Michael Phelps have sponsors like crazy! I do think it's great though, to bring athletes around the world together in one event. It's pretty amazing when the whole world is involved in one united thing.
The Olympics are about Higher, Stronger and Faster but they are also about the spirit of the sport, the friendly competition. We all know we need to be pushed become better people and nations need to be challenged to become better. The Olympics came to Rome in a time after war when efforts were focused on beating the opponent through sport and not war! Even with the complexity that the Olympics represents today, it is still about showing world prowess off the battle field and on the playing field.
Sports, perhaps especially the Olympics, have some unifying effect, but it shouldn't be overestimated.
Just think if the Games this last summer. Corry already made this point that while NBC was airing the opening ceremonies in Beijing, the news channels were showing Russian tanks rolling through South Ossetia, Georgia.
Could this have been timed more perfectly?
the spirit of the olympics is better than an inspiring movie. because we are experiencing something first hand that is historical. and i think for the most part as we unite as different nations in sporting events, we can be equal in politics if we swallow our pride. in beijing there were a couple problems with chinese threats on americans. that's just immature and uncalled for, especially at the olympics, this being so, i think we can work towards equality, but it all needs to start with every single individual.
The Olympics inspire us in a way that no other athletic competition does. Did anyone of us not dream about going to the Olympics when we were kids? The Olympics relight our patriotism as we cheer own our American athletes. The Olympics not only unifies our country but the entire world.
Sports rule the world, thats why athletes are paid the most! Yes they unite the World, example the World Cup in Africa Ghana and Ivory Coast ended their war for 3 weeks while the world cup was on. Power in sports yes there is.
With the Olympics comes a sense of camaraderie among nations. It gives everyone a chance to showcase their skills and athleticism. I am always in awe of those who participate. While I remain a bit biased toward US victories, it just amazing to see everyone coming together for a single cause.
I think that the olympics are an amazing opportunity for the world to come together...even if it is for just a few weeks. I sometimes think of it in terms of how families work. Let's be honest, not all families get along, but for sake of keeping people together and remembering that we're "all in this together" family parties are some of the happiest times, as intermitent as they may be.
I think the Olympics is a time to embrace the world and appreciate the talents and gifts that are out there. Obviously, it is also a time to be very patriotic and supportive of your country, but that's not at the core of the games.
I remember watching the diving competition this year. The American team wasn't doing that well, but I was astounded by the Chinese diving teams. I was no longer watching just to see how my country was doing, I began to watch just to be impressed by the talent the athletes have.
The Olympics is a time when we can appreciate the incredible power and ability of the human body. The whole human race can be a part of that, bar none.
I think the Olympics brings out what is best in athletics. People aren't competing for money, but for their country. Many of the athletes will achieve no fame or money for what they do at the Olympics, it's just a matter of pride and I think that's what sports should be about. Sadly we don't get a lot of this in professional sports in American. This is why I personally get much more excited about the Olympics than the Superbowl of the World Series.
I think the Olympics is a great opportunity for countries to commend those who have worked hard at their sport. The people of their country gather round in support of them and I think this can be really unifying.
I think during the most recent Olympic games in Beijing it was a little difficult to look past the cultural differences mostly because of the Chinese government still controlling a lot of what was going on. They would simply snuff out any type of protest or silence the people because it was a huge forum and opportunity for it. I thoroughly enjoy the Olympics too because I do agree that most of the time it does bring countries together and implement world peace. Who can't love Michael Phelps? He broke an impossible record. I was even more excited to see the Men's Volleyball Indoor and Outdoor take gold. USA USA USA Hahaha
I think that these sports can and do bring unity to the world. It is not an overpowering force, but you saw last olympics where to world went to china together and enjoyed the events side by side and member of the human family. We saw attention go to china when we prepared for the olympics. We wanted peace to prevail so the games could take place. I believe that the olympics is an incredible force, but only a step in the right direction.
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