Collegiate Times

How many times have you turned on your TV in the past couple of weeks with the specific intent of watching the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy?

All right then, how much have you heard about it on the radio recently? Seen it on the Internet? Heard people on the street talking about it?

Exactly. Fact is, many Americans just don?t care about the Olympics anymore. This is a sad situation because the Summer and Winter Olympics are the only two events in existence that allow the diverse nations of our planet to put aside political and cultural differences and come together to compete on the world?s stage.

Why has the image of the Olympics been tarnished in the eyes of most Americans? There are a few reasons, but they all tie into one common theme: national pride.

First, the national media places far too much emphasis on individual athletes and less on the country as a whole. This practice also tends to put the wrong people in the spotlight ? people like skier Bode Miller, who admitted in front of cameras to frequently skiing with a hangover.

Olympic athletes are being watched by people the world over ? why, then, do some of them use their time in the spotlight to set a bad example for themselves and their country that so graciously sponsors them?

In addition to the undue emphasis placed on individual athletes, the spirit of the Olympics has been lost due to the amount of focus the networks place on the medal count. Nobody cares about the long road it takes to get to the medal stand or about who finishes below the top spot ? all that matters is who wins gold.

Another problem with the Winter Olympics in particular is that many nations that would perhaps like to participate are left out in the cold simply because they exist in climates where there is no snow. Aside from ?Cool Runnings,? few nations with warm climates have or will ever be able to field teams for winter sports.

Isn?t that what the Olympics are supposed to be about ? bringing the world together? But, a series of games that excludes the greater part of the globe defeats that noble purpose.

Few, if any, members of Tech?s current student body had been born yet on Feb. 22, 1980 ? but that night in Lake Placid, NY, the U.S. Olympic Men?s Ice Hockey Team made sports history with a 4-3 win over the seemingly invincible Soviet Union team. That night, the nation collectively leapt to its feet in triumph as ABC sportscaster Al Michaels yelled emphatically as time expired, ?Do you believe in miracles? Yes!?

If only the Olympics today had an ounce of the glory that was contained in that moment, people all over the country would be watching in earnest. Instead, the beauty of the games has been all but lost forever amidst all the petty issues we as Americans place higher on our priority list than worldwide cooperation and global unity.