I've seen numerous articles come out here on Bleacher Report in the last couple days that are trying to lionize Olympic athletes as if they are gods of some sort.
I find it amazing, most recently, that so many people feel that Olympic swimmers are actually more athletic than an NFL or NBA player. Simply amazing.
I don't mean to be mean or anything, but I just read an article that made me sick to my stomach. I just threw up in my mouth. The article was entitled, "It's Time to Stop Devaluing an Olympic Gold Metal."
There are several—no, every point in this article makes me scratch my head and say, "Is the end of the world coming soon?"
"The Olympics are, without a doubt, the greatest sporting spectacle on earth." I'm sorry my friend, but that is the Super Bowl. During the first three days of the Beijing Olympics, the average viewership was 30.4 million people. For the Super Bowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, 97.5 million people watched.
"No one could argue that they represent the pinnacle of human physical ability." I never knew that the pinnacle of human physical ability was swimming across a pool four times and talking about how great you are. I thought that physical ability was avoiding being physically harmed by a tackle or a punch. I thought that physical ability was rising 12 feet in the air and slamming home a dunk over a 7-0, 280 pound monster trying to block you. I never knew that taking a dunk in the pool for a couple of meters ever qualified.
"So why dilute it with half-hearted performances in tennis and basketball? Or baseball, where all of the best players are competing for a more important prize?" I couldn't agree with you more, why dilute your precious little Olympics? NBA players have more important things to think about, like the NBA. Who cares if they win?
No one is the correct answer. Same thing goes for baseball. The reason that none of these players care is quite frankly, because the Olympics are irrelevant. You win money and fame in the NBA, NFL, and MLB, but what do you get for winning the Olympics? A medal?
Plus, half of these guys are not even from the country they represent. Winning a medal used to mean something for your country, now it is just a personal accomplishment. What made me particularily sick was when Phelps was screaming for joy when the United States beat France in the relay. He wasn't cheering for the Americans, he was cheering that his quest for eight gold metals was still alive and well.
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