e-Vents

[ Sunday ]

Are the Olympics Still Relevant ?

The question continues to be raised, not because of the tradition of the Olympics, but because of the once-revered amateur aspect of the Games.

I watched a replay of a Russian hockey team match in which one of the players (Kovalchuk) scored four goals. The Russians went on to win and scored a total of nine goals in the match. Up for discussion, however, is the makeup of the teams competing for their countries in the Games. It so happens that Kovalchuk lives in Atlanta Georgia USA, and is one of the players on the Atlanta Thrashers professional hockey team. So, why is he playing for Russia?

This, of course, is not unlike many other professional sports. Maria Sharapova of Russia basically grew up in Florida, learning tennis at Nick Bollettierri's training center. And Mary Pierce is an American who always represents France, since her mother was French.

But the Olympics is viewed as an amateur venue, albeit, the sponsorships have made it anything but. There are plenty of multi-millionaires competing in the Games, and the majority have taken advantage of the capitalistic opportunities in the United States to amass their fortunes. Name almost any sport, from hockey to baseball, snowboarding to swimming, marathons to ice skating, and you will find the wealthy athletes who have moved to the USA to train and promote themselves and their sport. They appear on Wheaties boxes, on trading cards, video games, and t-shirts. They endorse products ranging from sports equipment to hair care products and digital cameras. They receive huge appearance fees for 'showing up' at an event. But at the Olympics, we think of them as amateurs.

With all of the professional sporting events held around the world each year, it doesn't seem to faze an athlete who fails to win a gold at the Olympics. Afterall, many of the world title holders in their sport fail to win the Olympic gold consistently. But they make plenty of money at the regional, national, and world championships each year, and plenty more through endorsements and appearances. And some of them could care less about the medals.

As for the coverage of the Games, NBC has done a fair job of delayed telecasts and replays of the competition. With a six hour time difference to the east coast of the USA, they have shown some real-time events for those interested in getting up early enough to watch them. For the rest of us, however, we depend on the internet for real-time scores and video replays. I must admit that it is not as compelling as watching women's curling on a 60 inch HDTV screen, but at least it's live.

And speaking of curling...the USA women's curling team has received more face time than any other sport at the Olympics by NBC. The two cute blonde-haired women from a little town in Minnesota seem to always be on camera, even though the team is not in contention for a medal.

The debate about relevancy will continue, and the medal count will also continue to be discussed. And as long as the USA can invent sports like snowboarding to be inserted into the Olympics, the USA will have a chance to win something at the Winter Games.

MM [12:00]