The Olympics are coming... SO..

Most of you who knew me in 1984 at Adirondack Camp remember how often I would parade around the dining hall exalting, gloating, the accomplishments of the United States basketball team.  Everyday I would write how many points we won by, how many points Micheal Jordan had, and who we defeated.  That basketball team was one of the greatest amateur teams assembled but they were not the only stories that year.  Carl Lewis was still at his best, Edwin Moses was still running circles around the world. Greg Louganis was the diving champ.  Mary Lou Retton was the media darling.  Jackie Joyner Kersey started her dominance just to name a few.  We knew the swimmers, the boxers, the distance runners all by first name.  Remember Mary Decker Slaney and Zola Budd controversey? Mark Breland was supposed to become the next Sugar Ray Leonard.  We had a loaded team. Do you know that Mark McGwire, Will Clark, and Barry Larkin were on that team?  Can anyone name anyone on this Olympic team other than the professional athletes?
This current olympic team is headlined by Micheal Phelps, the "Dream Teams", Allyson Felix, and the William Sisters?  I dont know who is on our boxing team.  Our wrestling team, I know who Tyson Gay is on our 100 meter sprint team.  I don't know who our long jumper is, weightlifter, or who are our top gymnasts. Most of our distance running team are people who were born in other countries who have American citizenship.  I know Ryan Lochte, I know some of the names of the womens swim team.  I know we have the top women's volleyball team in the world.  The womens basketball team hasn't lost a game in years.  I watch the commercials on television and they are all about Usain Bolt.  Bolt isn't even the best sprinter on his current team this year, but because of what he did in Beijing he is getting all of the praise.  Micheal Phelps dreads going to the pool.  There are so many reports that he can't wait for all of this to be over and go into hiding. He has already dropped an event and at the trials he acted as if he really did not want to be there, which prompted one of his teammates to call him out publicly a few weeks ago.
The Olympics and the Presidential election are the only time we as a country feel patriotic and I will support my fellow athletes till I die.  I have to tell you that I am not as excited for this Olympic game as I was in 1984.  I don't think anyone is who isn't on the team.  I think the biggest reason other than the fact that I don't simply know anyone on this team is we are not as dominant in all sports as we were in 1984.  Yes I remember thatt the Russians did not participate in 1984, but I don't think that would have mattered.  We were just simply that good in 1984.  We don't have the top sprinter in the world, yet we have the top swimmer.  Our basketball team in the men's is the favorite to win gold but no one is expecting a cake walk. There just doesn't seem to be any huge expectations for our team. 
I hope that by the end of the two week Olympiad, I will eat all of these words and rejoice in our glory as Americans.  We need to re-ascend to the top and reclaim our thrown as the worlds best.  I am hoping to be introduced to new champions and seeing new legends.  I hope these two weeks inspire us all to be better people.  I will watch all that I can... Will You?

I used to love the Olympics..

When i was a kid back in Yonkers, new york, I loved watching the Olympics. I loved hearing stories about unknown, obscure people from tiny town USA or from around the would and how they overcame the odds and became Olympians. Whether it was Eric Heiden, Mary Lou Retton, Sugar Ray Leonard( who is my favorite Olympian of all time) every four years i felt i had some thing to look forward to watching.. For these athletes they had one moment to shine and that was it. I remember reading articles about Carl Lewis before he became a star and wondering if he could be a champion. Even a few years ago reading about Allyson Felix and wondering how a high school star athlete could compete against the big boys and girls of the world. Then all of sudden the Olympics has become not a platform for the unknown, but for the wealthy and embarrassed. I will explain all of this momentarily.
The one thing i enjoyed as pro USA supporter is how we used to kick ass in all of these competitions using amateur athletes. Our athletes were sponsored by our big companies in the country and they got great endorsement deals. Bruce Jenner getting on the Wheaties box was so cool. Then team USA in hockey got the next one and the sponsorship frenzy began. The only money the athlete got amounted to nothing.. I am sure they got a food stipend but no salary whatsoever. I remember reading several articles in those days about amateur athletes refusing to take money because they did not want to lose their amateur status. Then the world started beating us. In 1984 Professional tennis players participated in the games and that opened the door for all other sports to someday attempt to bring their sport back to the Olympics.
We were losing games and track and field meets that just didn't make sense that we were losing. The sprinters from other countries were catching up to us and in the 1992 Olympics, the USOC decided that they had had enough of losing to the professional athletes of the world. When professional tennis joined the Olympic movement in 1984, it became a matter of time before all sports would follow. At first i thought it was a novelty, a once in a lifetime experiment that would not go over well in this country. Then in 1992 the dream team was constructed because we lost in the 1988 games and the rest is now boring history. We got embarrassed because we came in third place so we had to call in the "marines" to save face in this country. We also got embarrassed because the European athletes were getting paid money to represent their country and our athletes got a hand shake from the president and told to go back to the their lives in tiny town USA. So all of our Olympians just simply moved to Europe to compete in world wide events just so they could survive. Now if you won gold medals and Madison avenue came calling then you could have made a living for a little while. To my knowledge the '84 Olympic team did not receive wealth until after they dominated the games.
Today's announcement that golf and rugby are now going to be apart of the Olympics put out whatever Olympic flame i had. Don't the golfers have international events they play in? The Ryder cup, the Presidents cup. and the Europeans have an event when they take on the world also. It is bad enough that soccer is an Olympic sport with all of the pros who in that. They have the world cup, which i thought was the most prestigious tournament in the world. I don't understand why the IOC gets rid of softball as an Olympic sport and brings in golf. Tiger Woods will be 39 when the Olympics comes around in 2016. Why is this so important? What is next, the NFL? The Olympics have basically told the world that if you are not a paid athlete you cannot participate. The United States was the last country to crush the hopes and dreams of amateur athletics. I still believe our amateurs could still compete and succeed against the world. We just have to make sure that our best athletes compete. In 1984, we had an unbelievable team. Both the men's and women's team set standards that have never been matched since. We had great amateurs in 1960, 1956, 1936, 1972, and 1976. Wars and politics aside the United States has had a proud amateurs that have made us the dominant nation that we are. But i know, love is a thrill but it don't pay the bills...