Patriotism and the Olympics

There are two times that are sure to raise my patriotic hackles.  One is living abroad, and another is the Olympics.  When I live in the US, it is easy to find fault and see the errors in the system.  The education system, the economy, the constant election cycle, drivers, artificial foods, etc etc etc.  But then I move abroad, and suddenly those issues are further away, less important, and generally, America looks pretty good next to a large part of the world.  I remember always that it has its problems—problems that are not going away any time soon—but maybe it’s a sign of our attention spans and the human mind that it’s the problems in front of us that seem the most important.

The other time when my patriotism runs rampant is during the Olympics.  I love the Olympics.  Summer or winter.  Doesn't matter.  I love that they show sports you wouldn't normally see on TV.  Luge, curling, skiing, and bobsled in the winter.  Track and field, swimming, diving, gymnastics, canoeing, wrestling, triathlon and pentathlon in the summer.  The Olympics are awesome.

Sure, I like it when the underdog wins a medal for the first time (Go Albania, Kiribati, Swaziland!).  This year, I’m especially happy for my host country, Azerbaijan, as they send their largest number of athletes to the games.  In particular, their wrestling team is making waves, at least on the commercial circuit, in their Febreze ads.  No wrestling medals yet, but Azerbaijan has won a bronze in weighlifting.

There are exceptions—I will just about always root against the US basketball team, because it always seems to be made up of the biggest stars, not the best team players.  Granted, I know this can apply to other sports and players. 

When it comes down to it, though, when the runners/swimmers/rowers/archers/gymnsts/you name it are coming down the stretch or entering the finals, I will root for the US.  Red, white and blue, all the way!  Oh, say can you see!  U-S-A!  U-S-A!