Knox Talks 8.29.04
By Steve Knox
Originating in Greece, the Olympic games were held with intent of honoring the gods and goddesses of their polytheologian belief system. With the end of those beliefs, a new meaning was needed for the Games. We now hold them in the spirit of world unity and camaraderie. Or rather, that is what we are told. It would seem that many countries compete with the sheer intent of displaying their country's athleticism. The United States appears at least as guilty as the rest, if not more so.
One could argue many reasons for the massive number of competitors entered by the good 'ol U.S. of A. in this year's competition. To re-esatblish our standings after the 9/11 terrorist attacks is one reason. Another is our pride; we felt a need to defend our honor after we had Bush as a president. Or, as my mother so aptly said, "because we're awesome." However, it is more likely that the United States wanted nothing more than to gloat about our state-of-the-art facilities and ridiculous training regimens. We have forgotten the meaning of the Olympics. They are now about the medals, not the spirit.
The past ten days have demonstrated this with alarming clarity. First Olympic judges disqualified Aaron Piersol from the backstroke race due to an 'illegal turn'. He swam a gold medal time, and I can guarantee that if he had placed second, no one would have uttered a word. The call was later overturned on account of a judge not calling the illegal turn in English. No doubt rests in my mind that an American judge played a part in the reversal.
At the forefront of the Olympic community, however, is the controversy surrounding the helium-voiced Paul Homm. In the men's all-around, Homm took first place mere hundreths above the Korean silver-medalist. Doing everything within their power, the Koreans dug and dug, eventually turning over that a judging error had occured, and the Korean should have won the gold. If the games were of true Olympic spirit, this never would have happened. The medals would not matter. However, now they talk of giving the medal to the Korean and giving Homm the silver just because they care more about a hunk of metal than they do the honor of competing among the world's best.
If the Olympics were truly held with the ideal of unity, then medals would not be necessary. It seems to me that they are a gimmick used to attract athletes who desire another trophy on their shelves. If the Games were held medal-free, half the contestants would show. These competitions are held as an exhibition for the countries to show off their fastest, strongest and toughest. Unlike the days of old, the athletes of today have gold in hand, not in heart.
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