Corey Reese
Published: February 22, 2006
Every two years the eyes of the world turn to one spot on this great planet. Right now the eyes are turned to Torino, Italy. In 2008, the focus shifts to Beijing, China. The five linked rings symbolize the greatest competition on this Earth; The Olympic Games.
To compete in the winter and summer games is considered to be the greatest honor an athlete can achieve. To represent your country, bring glory to your country if you medal, it’s everything athletes should want right? Then why is it that this nation doesn’t seem to care about the Olympics as much as the other countries of the world do?
The answer is simple in my mind: Other than basketball and hockey, which uses professional players from the NBA and NHL respectively, no one knows who these athletes are. For two weeks every four years we find out who these people are, then they drift off into the unknown known as normal civilian life. Sure we know one or two athletes like Bode Miller and Michelle Kwan but other than that I can’t name any more than two to three others.
I don’t have a good suggestion to fix this apparent problem, but someone in this great world of ours does. The Olympics are considered the greatest honor in the world. For some reason the United States doesn’t agree with that statement. I think it’s time that the USA learns to care again.
We are the most powerful nation in the world and every country looks to take us down in the games. Is it not considered patriotic that we at least show our support for those who do go and represent us? After all, everywhere else does.