Back in 2003, I was really excited about the prospect of Vancouver hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics. Now a week before the opening ceremonies, I am a bit torn by the whole Olympic movement. Don't get me wrong, I still think the ideals of the Olympics are noble - bringing peace and uniting nations together through sport. The athletes are amazing and deserve the spotlight for the hard work they've put in.
Now that it's in my backyard, I am excited yet divided about the whole thing. Yes, it'll be exciting for the city for the duration of the event. Yes, the world will be seeing what a great city we live in (albeit the lack of snow). Yes, there are intagible benefits that cannot be measured by any scale whatsoever. But, what are we really left afterwards as community in Vancouver and British Columbia? Other Olympic-host cities have seen tangible benefits while some have seen no benefit at all (only to be left with mountains of debt and dilapidated facilties). Sure, the world isn't responsible to what happens to a host city after the event. But the world expects the host city to pull out the stops for the two-week celebration. It's like a wedding that's gone way over-budget. The intentions are noble yet the means may not completely justify the costs.
Having only been aware of the Olympics since 1984, I am curious to look back on what the Olympic movement was like back in the 50's, 60's, and 70's before rampant commercialism and consumerism infiltrated our society. Was the Olympics more 'pure' in its intentions then? Is there a way for the world to celebrate and unite through sport without spending the GDP of 20 third-world countries combined.
I've come to the conlcusion that Olympic glory is more about individual dreams more than a collective goal of a community or country. Yes, winning medals will bring a country pride and joy. But ultimately, it will mean more to the individual who won the medal than the community-at-large.
Watching and reading all the media stories, if someone didn't know anything about Olympics, they'll probably think it's about drugs, road closures, security concerns, the homeless problem, ticket scalping, or a party Barack Obama can't attend. When the Olympics starts next week, I will be cheering on all the athletes as they are supposed to be what the Olympics are about (except for Lindsey Jacobellis - the showboating American snowboarder who lost her gold medal at the end of her race, but I digress) GO CANADA GO!
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