Every time one of the blogs I read talks about the Olympics, I am momentarily startled. “Oh yeah,” I tell myself. “Beijing. Games.” And then I go back to whatever I was doing.
I’ve not watched even five seconds of it on TV. It’s just a non-event for me. I think I was born without the sports gene. I refer the reader to my earlier post, “I don’t get sports.”
It’s OK to not be athletic or even interested in the athletics, but I peek at the games periodically for these reasons:
-You don’t need to be athletic to have an appreciation of the capabilities and beauty of the human form. I mean, I wouldn’t dive off a 33-ft platform–but the grace with which the athletes do it is awe-inspiring.
-It is one time the entire world comes together in peace to support young people of the world in something that is mostly constructive. Can you think of anything comparable to the games in terms of cooperation of nations of world?
-The stories interspersed about the rest of the world, and China in particular, can be fascinating and enlightening.
So even if you’re not interested in the competitive or athletic aspects, it’s a way to peek at the world at large.
Yeah, well, the events are like a vegetarian finding bacon in her salad.
In rhetorical terms, a faulty analogy.
And here I thought you’d praise me for using a simile.
I am half cranky rhetorical scholar.
What I’m trying to say, by the way, is that there is a difference between liking something and appreciating it.
What with the whole world riveted, there is bound to be something worth appreciating.
I appreciate the fact that a fellow Hendricks County resident is living her dream of competing in the Olympics. I used to like watching the Olympics until it became tainted with politics, boycotts, steroids… Politically the Olympics have been tainted much longer than I’ve been on this planet but thanks to our media’s need for exploitation…
I agree that there is exploitation, but that’s true for any human institution on that scale.
Overall, it is a remarkably positive endeavor. While you could make a case for the Olympics reflecting certain international tensions, for the most part it is not as if the games themselves are *causing* the tensions.
The fact that for once the world can get together and do something constructive and mostly peaceful for young people is inspiring.
Not like I’m not rushing home to watch the Olympics, but I tune in every now and then, and again, I think it is good to have an appreciation for what the athletes are doing even if you do not like sports. I appreciate the grace and beauty of what the athletes can do.
Sign up for my monthly newsletter,
Back Roads, and be the first to know
what I'm working on!
