For Mafioso IOC, Beijing Brilliant Choice
The real “thugs and goons” out there are the IOC. They are an organization so driven by greed, money and corruption that all other considerations come second. They have been bribed easily and they sell out quickly on any issue regarding rights or dignity. Yet as much as I despise the IOC, an organization that seems completely unaware that the stars of the Olympics are people like Michael Phelps, Yao Ming, the Williams sisters and Liu Xiang, the choice of Beijing as a host was inspired and brilliant.
I know what you’re thinking: how inspired is it inspired to have the first Olympic athlete die of air pollution during competition? But it was an inspired decision. In 1988 I was young kid, and nothing excited me more than the Olympics. My parents taped many of the basketball games (on a technology called “VHS”) while I was at camp and I watched them when I came back. In 1992 the Dream Team was cool, and so was that booming “Barcelona” music, but I didn’t care all that much, and I was hardly alone. Atlanta, Sydney and Athens? Let’s just say people weren’t taking off from work to watch the events.
This year people are genuinely interested in the Olympics in a way that they would not be if it were, in say, London. What would the stories be if it were in some standard city? I don’t know, but there would be a lot fewer. Thousands of reporters are flocking to China and discovered what a fun, baffling and quirky place it is. As much as China does not want the Olympics to be about politics, pollution or human rights, they should be happy that they are, because it’s the only reason people are watching.
[update: I had forgotten where I read this argument recently, but have re-discovered it was Jim Caple's article at ESPN.com. This has been updated to reflect that.]
And the fact that the spineless, gutless IOC, which allowed for internet censorship, forced four not very bright American cyclists who showed up in face masks to apologize to China for their grave indiscretion of believing that they were protecting their bodies, simply makes for one more interesting story about the Games. It is not a bad distraction, it’s a fortunate, notable event. For an international event that has been disappearing off most people’s radars, any publicity is great publicity. Most people only had a vague idea of who Michael Phelps was before this year, despite the fact that he is one of the greatest Olympians of all time. With the Games in Beijing, he needs not worry about anonymity ever again.
So whatever you want to say about the criminal enterprise that is the IOC, they actually made a good pick in Beijing. Lungs be damned.
Mike responds:
Posted: August 7th, 2008 at 11:19 am →
Good point. There isn’t going to be much exciting news to come out of the London Games. So much is happening in Beijing now, and the city really has been transformed - for worse or better.
stuart responds:
Posted: August 7th, 2008 at 3:36 pm →
This is good. After Jacques Rogge laughingly declares Beijing “the best Olympiad ever” in a couple of week’s time, I’m going to looking for all the evidence I can to discredit the body that made the decision. If we can possibly find a link between IOC members (no pun intended) and Beijing call girls, so much the better.