Suckahhhhh! That’s what I feel like every time the Olympics sneak up on me. I am among the many people who have become jaded by unsavory things now intertwined with the five circle emblem: the commercialism; the drug scandals; the corruption and the crippling expense of bidding for or hosting the Games.
And then the Games arrive and on cue, I get sucked right in. Olympic events on TV become the background soundtrack at all hours at home. We become invested in athletes who have never been on our radar, some competing in sports we enjoy but rarely watch, and others in sports we never quite knew were sports but are suddenly intriguing. We get sick of the overblown stories, We mock the sappy commentary and contrived drama; and then we fix on every jump, twist, dive and stuck landing.
This time around is no different except that seeing those Opening Ceremonies came with a huge dose of FOMO. I’ve only been to two Opening Ceremonies live, both times as an athlete. But I think it’s safe to say these were unlike any other. Leave it to the French to make art out of decapitation and to seamlessly work “menage a trois” into the script at the biggest global sporting event. With a solid amount of controversy and questionable taste that skirted and leapt over the edge, the host country stayed very much on-brand. The best part of the show was the way it included the people—320,000 fans in 124 grandstands along the route rather than one stadium full of people who planned years ahead.
As an athlete, the Opening Ceremonies are incredibly powerful and moving. There is nothing that compares to the feeling of marching into a packed, deafening stadium behind your flag. BUT, they are also a bit of a pain. The event involves a lot of waiting around and lining up while the crowd inside the stadium enjoys the show.
Parading the athletes in by boat, while surely a logistical nightmare, was brilliant. It made the athletes part of the entire show, allowed them to parade in front of more people and gave them the opportunity to be part of the event created around them. It also gave them a chance to move around and stretch those muscles (the real stars of the show), rather than standing or sitting for hours.
In some ways, comparing either of my winter Olympic experiences to what the athletes are experiencing in Paris is apples to oranges. In 1988, for example, Team USA was comprised of 118 athletes—87 men and 31 women. The entire Olympics included 1,423 athletes—1,122 men and 301 women. The games cost $829 million, at the time the most expensive Games ever because all the athletic facilities were essentially built from scratch. That’s Canadian dollars, and about $1.6 Billion USD in today’s dollars.
In Paris, Team USA is 592 athletes, with women outnumbering men, 314: 278. In all 11,215 athletes are registered to compete: 5,712 men and 5,503 women, for a nearly even split. The estimated cost so far: $9.7 billion, a pittance compared to London ($16.8 billion) or Rio ($23.6 billion.)
So there’s that. Some things, however, remain the same, like the excitement of wandering around the Olympic Village, and chilling with your new tribe, who happen to be the world’s best athletes. I was reminded of that in Team USA reporter Peggy Shinn’s piece about the US tennis team, where Chris Eubanks described arriving at the village being like your first day at college: “You go up, put your bags in your room, you find out who your roommates are and then you go down and get food,” said Eubanks. “You’re walking around, and everyone has those bright eyes.”
That’s what it’s all about I guess. The bright eyes and the wonder on both sides of the TV. The Olympics are a reminder that no matter what pre-packaged stories are in the can to be rolled out during the coverage, there actually is no script, and there are no guarantees. Whether it’s going to be a dream fulfilled or a train wreck we all have a front row seat to watch it happen.
If you do want some guaranteed gold at the Olympics, I highly suggest you follow our ski press homies Peggy Shinn and Steve Porino (@pegmcshinn, @steveporino on whatever platform you can for solid coverage, insider peeks and fun snippets.
I hope you all enjoy the next two weeks of Olympic overload and that the athletes—no matter how they finish—have the time of their lives.
Loved this commentary Edith. And your perspective as a participating Olympic athlete is terrific. I too have been put off by all the contrived commentary and commercialism but we are glued to the TV as well. Nice piece you wrote as usual.
Thanks for reading Pat! Good thing the gymnasts won the team event because that would have really messed with the script!