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The Olympic Games has lost its lustre for me. Not just this past Olympics but it's been on a downward trajectory for me for the past number of games. I can't put my finger on what it would take to make the games golden again, if ever they can be restored.
I wonder what the purpose of the games are, what the world wants the games to represent. I'm sure if you return to the origins of the games there was an appeal in having various sporting events competing together. That appeal is lost today since we have so many "world cups" so many international competitions that we generally know at any point in time who the best in the world is. It's no longer that special to have the cream of the crop in one place at one time for a sporting code - the public has been desensitized to this over the years.
If the games continue and are to maintain their global appeal, we should also question which sports be included and which not, tying in with the earlier point around clarity on the purpose of the games. Is synchronised swimming really a sport, let alone an Olympic sport? BMX racing? If BMW racing is included, why not skateboarding? What about water skiing? Bowls? Tenpin bowling? What happened to tug of war? Is that even a sport any more? Where do you draw the line in terms of inclusion: How many nations need to compete in a sport in order for the sport to be included? Why is soccer included, but not rugby? Why not baseball? Perhaps a consideration should be that the games should be around individual events, not team events?
If the games are all-inclusive then they should include *all* sports - and if not, then scale the games back to something meaningful.
I certainly don't have the answers but I can honestly say that if there wasn't another Olympic Games, I'd not miss it.
I wonder what the purpose of the games are, what the world wants the games to represent. I'm sure if you return to the origins of the games there was an appeal in having various sporting events competing together. That appeal is lost today since we have so many "world cups" so many international competitions that we generally know at any point in time who the best in the world is. It's no longer that special to have the cream of the crop in one place at one time for a sporting code - the public has been desensitized to this over the years.
If the games continue and are to maintain their global appeal, we should also question which sports be included and which not, tying in with the earlier point around clarity on the purpose of the games. Is synchronised swimming really a sport, let alone an Olympic sport? BMX racing? If BMW racing is included, why not skateboarding? What about water skiing? Bowls? Tenpin bowling? What happened to tug of war? Is that even a sport any more? Where do you draw the line in terms of inclusion: How many nations need to compete in a sport in order for the sport to be included? Why is soccer included, but not rugby? Why not baseball? Perhaps a consideration should be that the games should be around individual events, not team events?
If the games are all-inclusive then they should include *all* sports - and if not, then scale the games back to something meaningful.
I certainly don't have the answers but I can honestly say that if there wasn't another Olympic Games, I'd not miss it.
