The Olympics: Now and Then

I am an Olympics junkie. There, I've said it.

Every four years, or every two if you look at the different rotation it is now, I become immersed in two weeks of endless sports. Now years ago before the internet...yes before the internet, you could watch the Olympics on tape delay when they were held halfway around the world. The same is true now, many of the events are on still tape delay...the only problem now is with the internet... we all know the outcome in the blink of an eye.

This takes away a lot of the fun. While I will still watch with all the patriotic fervor I can muster, knowing the outcome before it is televised...well it sucks. It's really hard to root on your favorite athlete, when you know damn well they've lost.

And why will I be turning on the TV at 5 in the morning to watch the biathlon? It's like Mount Everest...it's there. I watch so many events where I don't even know what the rules are...like fencing or that bike race on the indoor sloped track.  I don't even know the name of the event, but I will watch with some amount of enthusiasm.

Opening ceremonies are tonight. The Yankees play the Red Sox tonight. It's hard to divide my loyalty, but I must.  Also need to be sure I have extra batteries for the TV remote...that sucker is gonna get a workout this weekend.

Go USA.

On a serious note, this Olympiad marks the 40th anniversary of the Munich Olympics where 11 Israeli athletes were murdered. I watched that Olympics too. What began with elation and pride, seeing swimmer Mark Spitz leave his stamp on Olympic history...ended with a lasting memory of TV anchor Jim McKay weeping as he reported about the massacre "They're all gone."

It was our first real glimpse of terrorism..and it was horrific. The world was forever changed that day and not for the better. So as I watch tonight's opening ceremonies and see the stories of all the extreme security, I will think back forty years ago when eleven men came to represent their country, only to end up victims to a new world nightmare.

In their honor...Let the games begin.

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