This is where the Olympics loses me. If the Olympics really were about athletic competition, then the events would focus on the athletes. There is far more time spent waving national flags and playing national anthems than there is actual "national" competition. The individual athletes and their achievements get lost in the shuffle.

From the time that the modern Olympics were begun, it rapidly became a means of international diplomatic maneuvering at the expense of the athletes, most blatantly during the 1936 Olympics in Hitler's Berlin. The plan then was to demonstrate to the world the "obvious" superiority of Naziism, but that strategy was upset by the athletic victories of a Swartzer untermensch. After WWII, the venues and the politics shifted, with the opposing philosophies changing from democracies and monarchies vs authoritarian dictatorships to capitalist authoritarian nations vs state authoritarian nations, but the athlete never really regained prominence.

The athletes could only gain the spotlight when they did something personal in protest against conditions in their homelands (see: Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Summer 1968), or when they became the pawns of international struggle as in Munich in 1972. In both cases, the exploits of the individuals were lost in the larger antagonisms.

The pending games in Beijing are already causing more hate and discontent among nations than they are fostering friendship and understanding. Host nation China expects international athletes to keep their mouths shut concerning their critiques of Chinese life while at the same time announcing that everyone who enters the country to participate in Olympic events will be thoroughly investigated. In return, activists are attempting to pressure Olympic corporate sponsors to use their influence on the Chinese government to take a more pro-active role in ameliorating the Darfur crisis.

Do attempt to convince me that any of this has any connection to athletics whatsoever. Is there really any benefit for the competitors themselves? The obvious answer is no.

Athletics should be about the individuals and their efforts, not about the nation which seeks to benefit without a quid pro quo. Take the jingoistic nationalism and the flag-waving out of the Olympics, and I might care enough to pay a little attention. But until then, I'd rather watch the neighbor kids pretending to be some sport hero while playing in the street.

At least kids, unlike their adult contemporaries, are expected to play - and pretend to greatness.