Boy, I don't know what it is but I can get SO spun up over a sporting event that I only watch once every four years. Other than the diehard fan, who really keeps up with water polo, soccer or beach volleyball? Well you'd think listening to me ranting every evening that I was a coach or something.
It is a little frustrating, ok a lot frustrating, to see the US do so poorly in some events. I know we can't kick ass in everything, unlike the Chinese (that's a hard one to swallow), but we should at least be serious contenders in every sport. I mean, come on, we're the U.S. of frickin' A! I guess it goes back to my childhood where competition was all black and white. Good versus evil. My naive perception was that we were right and pure and good and everyone else was backwards or evil. It's up to us to show the world that the righteous will always prevail. Ok, a little out there I'll admit. But can you blame me? I grew up during the Cold War. Back in the day we were the underdogs, the only ones willing to stand up against the playground bully (the Soviet Union). Nowadays I think we've become that bully and I think many countries cheer just as hard to see their own competitors win as much as they do to see Americans lose. When did we get to be such bad guys. Oh, wait, I know, another time.
As much as this country pisses me off I'm still very proud to call myself an American. And I still watch these Olympics with hopes that our competitors will come out on top because we do represent, in principle, the very best of mankind. Sure, we're stumbling a bit right now. Our politics and our economy blow and our values, as evident in our culture, are eroding, but at the very core this country was built upon the highest virtues of humanity. We just need to go back to school and relearn what those virtues are.
In the mean time, let's go kick some serious ass! USA! USA! USA!
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