I could be selfish and say the Olympics should just go away for good because I have absolutely no interest in it. I wouldn’t watch the latest NBA Dream Team beat China by 75 points if the game were in my backyard. The men’s 200-meter individual medley? Even with Michael Phelps swimming? Who cares? The golf? Not even Rory McIlroy wants to see it and has said so publicly.
But there is no need for selfishness here today. There are many compelling reasons to put an end to the Olympics. Its time has passed.
It should be some scene inside Jornalista Mario Filho Stadium at the Rio Games tonight. There will be the over-the-top, try-to-top-this color and pageantry associated with all Olympics. Singers will sing and dancers will dance. The athletes will march in procession, representing one country after another, Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, leading the United States team, carrying the American flag. The theme will be peace, love and brotherhood as — say it with me — “the world gathers together.” Doves will fly. They will soar.
But outside the stadium it will be a much different picture. Queues will go on for what seem like miles as people wait to walk through metal detectors. Police will be everywhere with bomb-sniffing dogs, soldiers with machine guns. A security force of 85,000 — more than double than at the 2012 London Games — will work in Rio de Janeiro at an estimated cost of $200 million. Still, there is an overwhelming feeling it might not be enough. Everyone will be praying to get through the opening ceremony without tragic incident so they can wake up the next day and every day after of this Olympics and pray for the same thing.
Peace? Love? Brotherhood?
Those aren’t the words I think of at Olympics time.
Security. Terrorism.
Those are the words.
Is the Olympics still worth it?
Even if there is no bloodshed, it’s hard to imagine the Rio Games will be remembered well or as a success. Its infrastructure is poor, its facilities, accommodations and transportation severely lacking. There is raw sewage and dead fish in the water, crime and drugs in the streets. There is the Zika virus, more than 26,000 cases reported in the first three months of 2016, so many that some of the world’s top athletes declined their opportunity to participate for fear of getting sick.
And, of course, there is doping.
There always is doping.
One of the big stories leading into these Games was what to do with the Russian cheaters. Pick and choose who should be allowed to compete or throw the whole bunch out? As if the Russians are the only ones who have used or are using performance-enhancing drugs. As you watch the competition in the next fortnight, I’m guessing you won’t be able to tell who is doing it cleanly and who is chemically emboldened. Enjoy, nonetheless!
The topper is Rio de Janeiro gets to pay for all of this fun. Projections have it going over its budget of $4.6 billion by more than $1.6 billion. The governor of Rio has declared a “state of financial emergency.” Athens knows that pain. It hosted the 2004 Games. Many will tell you Greece still hasn’t recovered financially.
Good luck to Rio.
It isn’t worth it anymore.
I know the argument that if we give up the Olympics, the terrorists will win because they will have forced us to change what we usually do every two years, including Winter Games. I see that point, and there is truth to it. But it wouldn’t be the first change in our world. Since 9/11, we have changed so many aspects of our life, including how we travel and where we go. The Olympics has become too big, too unwieldy, too expensive and, yes, too dangerous. We could live just fine without it.
I have to admit, my perspective has changed dramatically. I used to think the Olympics was the greatest spectacle in sports. I covered four — Seoul, Albertville, Barcelona and Atlanta — and thought every boxing match, every sprint, every volleyball game was must-see. But I’m thankful I’m not in Rio, and I won’t watch a minute of NBC’s round-the-clock sports coverage. I don’t think I am alone. I think a lot of people don’t care to watch men’s volleyball or women’s gymnastics or any of the other sports that will go virtually unnoticed until the next Games.
I just hope we’re not compelled to tune in to see news coverage of a Rio tragedy.
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com and Twitter @RonCookPG. Ron Cook can be heard on the “Cook and Poni” show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.
First Published: August 5, 2016, 4:00 a.m.