Confession: I'm enjoying the Olympics...

Mikaela starts with:

An important caveat
I'm a proud critic of our country. I question the way we bully people -- and/or kill them. The way we strut around and never question ourselves on the world stage. The way we supress dissent while still claiming to love democracy. The way we spy on our own citizens, etc.

How a nerd watches the Olympics
In the past, I've avoided watching the Olympics because it makes me slightly ill to see American flags everywhere, presented in such an unconscious way as unquestionably "good." It's also slightly sickening to understand that the U.S. is a top contender in so many sports because we're rich enough to support such a leisure class. Elite athletes, indeed.

This year -- maybe it's just a good excuse to avoid working on my thesis -- I'm sucked in. I find myself cheering for countries that are doing really well, despite usually being hammered by the big, bad, dominating U.S. I mean, really, how long has it been since the U.S. was NOT a big part of ice skating competitions??? It's fascinating! Russia, China, China, China finish for pairs skating? Are you kidding me? China -- the country whose athletes snooty ice-skaing commentators always dismiss by saying, "Well technically, they're amazing. So strong! But they just don't have that artistic choreography that's SO important in these competitions!" The Asian countries always get shafted at the Olympics, where racism really has a place to shine. Even last night, Bob Costas explained away China, saying something about how China dominates anything when they put all their resources behind it: They've dominated the world market, why not skating? Oof. I can't even begin. Talk about your own perspective making you blind!

From my earliest memory, the Olympics has had the strong undercurrent -- sometimes a tsunami -- of competition between economic ideologies. The Cold War commentaries, when it just ate us up that Russia was so strong in so many arenas when they should be grovelling in a muddy cave somewhere. And now China. They should be robots! Yet, here they are, winning two metals for pair skating, which has always been predominantly about artistry. (Some would argue the new cheat-proof judging explains this one away...partly because it emphasizes technical ability and partly because it makes it harder for judges to be racist -- I mean -- subjective.) It's fascinating stuff.

And sure, the U.S. created and now dominates skateboarding -- oops -- snowboarding as a ... sport. They still had to struggle this year! And I know the Olympics is really all about drama, or at least, that's how they sell it to us to make us watch. But I have to believe the Olympics has always been that way. I mean, come on. It was, afterall, invented by the Greeks, and who loves a good soap opera more than the Pantheon-worshipping Greeks?

I'm unabashedly embracing the Olympics. I feel so ... patriotic. A global citizen extraordinaire.

Go athletes! May the best win! Or at least, may the commentators give us good fodder for ideological analysis!