Are The Olympics...Still Cool?
We Have Them. We Watch Them. Do We Care?
Well if the answer to the title is a resounding “Yes” or “No” you can scroll away now—NO! I was just kidding. Please don’t leave me.
It’s the (Summer) Olympics over there in Par-ee and the whole world is watching the best athletes perform for the pride of their country and party favors made out of precious metals. It’s a sight to behold really. I know this is an honor everywhere, but to be called by your country to represent them (but not like in a join the army way) must be pretty neat.
West Indians will do anything to go on a boat ride.
Anyway, I host a baseball podcast called “In The Booth,” a part of the Black Baseball Mixtape network and we bring people from all walks of life. And the one question I ask pretty regularly is “In your opinion, is baseball cool?” Sure it may be cool to fans, and people may love the idea of baseball but for some, it’s all about other team-based sports. I'm starting to ask the question about these games: Are The Olympics cool?
The very fact I’m bringing up this question is kind of wild to me. When I was a kid, daydreaming about being an Olympian was something we always did (probably before doing something that would end up hurting myself). I remember calling any athletic contest “The Olympics.” I’ve personally won so many Gold Medals in the Riding Bikes from the End of the Block to the Backyard Gardens plenty of times. One of my favorite childhood watches was an Olympic watch that I bought not once, but TWICE as an adult:
Couldn’t tell me that wasn’t real gold, baybay…
That all said, I feel that when the Games come around things have gotten pretty casual. Show up and watch the opening ceremonies, flick on the one or two sports you like to see, check the medal count, and then watch the closing ceremonies if you didn’t forget about it. I know I’m not the only one but I also know I’m being wholly anecdotal. Or maybe, I’m just a guy that watches too many YouTube videos about the impact of the games.
Okay, the title is a bit sensationalistic but the TLDR is The Olympics, like the World Cup in some ways, are super expensive and cities have learned the economic benefit can be nil in some cases so there’s less demand for them.
Then there’s the cultural aspect. The Olympics gets the World’s Attention and well, people from all walks of life like to leverage that audience with the issues and causes that matter most to them. And so, while I’m a firm believer in speaking out if you come across an injustice, for me as a viewer, it can be a lot to take in at once.
And this is not just the Olympics’ fault. This summer I got to see the famed White House in Washington, DC. And of course, there were protestors exercising their right of dissent in a public forum. But there were SO MANY causes being fought for at once, I was overwhelmed as a passerby. Like, I felt that issue in the comics when a superhero quits and just walks the city, seeing crimes happening around him. “I know I can do SOMETHING, but WHAT?”
Maybe the Games don’t need anything. Maybe I’ve become so used to the TikTok, give-it-to-me-in-sixty-seconds life that the very idea of a two-week-long sports events is too much. No, it can’t be me. I like the World Cup enough. Hell, I even like the World Baseball Classic so what gives? Are the Olympics too “stiff?” Yeah, I’m not saying to turn it into the X-Games (or the 90s iteration of the X-Games) but maybe the Olympic presentation needs to be freshened up for a new generation.
It’s akin to when a high-end fashion label realizes its customers are aging out and wants to appeal to the next generation:
I can’t believe I did a whole story about the Paris Olympics and didn’t mention that interesting Opening Ceremony. You know, the one so controversial, that they had the members of Full and Fuller House arguing over it? I call that a win!
-F