The "cure" for Olympic fever?
So I've been trying occasionally to interest myself enough to watch the Winter Olympics. Now I don't claim to be any kind of expert on the Olympics or anything of that nature but I have to wonder exactly what happened to the Olympics. At least in the United States. In my youth, the Olympics was an EVENT. It was something that was talked about by everyone when they were on. It didn't matter what the event was. Everyone watched it all. Even the big guys would gab about the "sissy" events like gymnastics or figure skating. There were tons of big promotions going on. McDonald's had the most notable one of my youth where you'd buy fries or a drink and get a scratch-off and it would be a random event. If the U.S. won gold in that event you'd get a free food item. When the Olympics were over, people were already ready for more and hated that they had to wait years for it to happen again. You could definitely call it Olympic fever.
But now it seems like no one cares. At least in the U.S. And I'm not talking as someone who hates that the Olympics have lost their "sheen". I don't really care either and I've actually TRIED to care. Maybe somewhere along the line it stopped being about the thrill of seeing your home team going up against all these other countries? Maybe it's just about the spectacle and nothing else. I mean, how many stories came from the Summer Olympics beyond China's "HOLY CRAP!" opening ceremony performance? There were a few records made and a few gymnastic heroes but compared to the "old days" of the U.S. Basketball "Dream Team" or the likes of Mary Lou Retton? Even the hilarious drama of Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding went on for weeks and weeks. That poor Georgian luger died in that terrible way right before the Winter Olympics this year and that was lucky to get 2 days press in the news.
Who knows? Maybe I'm just getting more and more cynical in my aging and it was always like this but I didn't notice when I was younger. But it's kind of sad knowing that something that gave me that much joy when I was younger gets ignored for more South Park reruns.
But now it seems like no one cares. At least in the U.S. And I'm not talking as someone who hates that the Olympics have lost their "sheen". I don't really care either and I've actually TRIED to care. Maybe somewhere along the line it stopped being about the thrill of seeing your home team going up against all these other countries? Maybe it's just about the spectacle and nothing else. I mean, how many stories came from the Summer Olympics beyond China's "HOLY CRAP!" opening ceremony performance? There were a few records made and a few gymnastic heroes but compared to the "old days" of the U.S. Basketball "Dream Team" or the likes of Mary Lou Retton? Even the hilarious drama of Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding went on for weeks and weeks. That poor Georgian luger died in that terrible way right before the Winter Olympics this year and that was lucky to get 2 days press in the news.
Who knows? Maybe I'm just getting more and more cynical in my aging and it was always like this but I didn't notice when I was younger. But it's kind of sad knowing that something that gave me that much joy when I was younger gets ignored for more South Park reruns.