Let the Games Begone

The Games of the XXIX Olympiad begin later today, or tomorrow...or yesterday with preliminary matches in Women's Soccer.

The torch has yet to be lit at the Beijing National Stadium, and this page is already tired of these Olympics. Maybe it's the result of constantly being shilled to by the local media about the impending glory of the Five Ring Circus in our own backyard. Maybe it's because the host country is three parts Gulag, two parts Maquiladora. Maybe it's because the thrill of seeing a fellow Canadian win a gold medal vanished about 20 years ago when Ben Johnson had his taken away a day later after beating Carl Lewis in the 100m.

Maybe it's because the International Olympic Committee has gone from being a drawing room society of athletic enthusiasts to a whacked-out corporate religion which matches Scientology for out there beliefs: the 'sanctity' of the athletes (at least until they test positive), the 'power' of the Games to transform society (Because of the Olympics, China has gone from quietly repressing its population to telling U.S. Presidents to step off), and the notion that caring about who wins at Synchronized Swimming or the Modern Pentathlon will bring the nations of the world together.

Or, it could be that Baseball is getting kicked off the Olympic program. The Eurocentric IOC doesn't get that baseball puts the 'summer' in the Summer Olympics: hanging around in the sun, moving only when it's absolutely necessary or advantageous, and generally waiting for something to happen. Jacques Rogge can suck a knuckleball if Canada wins a medal and don't get to defend in London four years from now.

Will this page be watching the Beijing Games? Being the sort who slows down to gawk at traffic accidents, and catches a fair amount of Cops and When Animals Attack whenever Walnut Boat is out of the house, sure. Athletes will be caught cheating, people will be repressed, the Powers that Be will rake in the profits, and nothing will really change. It's just like the rest of the summer reruns.