Why We Love the Olympics

It comes along every four years, with the promise that it  will be better and more explosive than the last .This year’s Olympics was no exception, and yes, the opening ceremony was arguably the best ever. So the little girl was not really singing, but come on. The lighted drums and the Chinese character blocks were amazing.

But the reason we love the Olympics is the controversy that surrounds the competitions. Here is a place where the whole world will gather in a theme of unity but at the same time accuse other countries of cheating and biasness. Case in point; female gymnastics. From the underage claims to the dubious tie-breaking procedure to the knee landing being better than a two feet landing, we had one of the best Olympic moments. The media was ecstatic, churning article after article about China’s Olympic conspiracy.

And then there was the moment when it was not the 29th Olympiad but the 1st Phelpiad. Okay, so the guy set 7 world records individually or otherwise, on the way to winning 8 gold medals. That in itself is remarkable. But when I tuned in to watch the Olympics and all that was on American T.V stations was Phelps live swims followed by Phelps re-runs, that story turned old faster that moldy bread. The glamour was lost and all I could think off was when do I get to watch real Olympics.

Another reason why we love the Olympics- We (or maybe just I ) will celebrate when an athlete (Phelps) does something remarkable, but complain when he (Phelps) becomes the Olympics, because there are thousands of other athletes we would like to see. Save the accolades until after the Olympics.

And the main reason we love the Olympics? The dubious sport activities. Trampoline! Really, trampoline. Maybe I just don’t get it, but I watched both the men’s and women’s finals and still cannot figure out how 1 minute of that exercise is considered an Olympic event. And let’s not forget the equestrian thing. Tried watching a few minutes of it and all I could think was that English royalty would be good at it. Too bad they don’t compete. I wonder if it’s forbidden by the queen.

My own personal reason for loving the Olympics? To find out how many athletes have changed citizenship for money. I still can’t get over how many Kenyan runners are turning up for other countries especially Qatar and Bahrain. Although on the other hand, if a country offered me one million dollars and $1,000 every month for life just to get its passport, I would not think twice. But then again, my patriotism is somewhat misplaced. However, now that the IOC has decided to put a stop to country hopping, I will need a new reason to look forward to the next Olympics. Oh! I already have one. What will Phelps do next?

Happy Olympics!!