Olympics -- Sports

I've, more or less, been following up on news concerning the 08 Olympics since all the buzz about the new national stadium in Beijing, the promised number of clean-air days in preparation for the Olympics, and the Tibet crackdown popped up everywhere on the New York Times. Reading all those articles have led me to understand more about China -- the good, the trying, the disparities, the bad, and even the ugly -- but at the same time, I am a little saddened that the spirit of sportsmanship and the putting aside all other differences in the name of those games have been swept away by political issues in both the national and international arena.

At this point, many would argue in deep distaste because of the impression that I place sports in front of human rights, environmental issues, and freedoms/ liberties, but although what is listed above is very important, and of which I truly and deeply hope that China will take action to change, I am just saying that the Olympics do not always have to drag in a host nation's political issues like a roll of sticky gum...

I look forward to theses games every four years with the purest idea of watching something enjoyable with friends and family. Few, two to be exact, people can complete the 110 meter hurdles with a world record of 12.87 seconds (Dayron Robles) and 12.88 seconds (Liu Xiang -- an Asian excelling in track and field! Yes!). And the records go on and renews itself every time another one of these extraordinary human feats presents itself. I mean, even my aunt, who has no care for sports what so ever, is in awe... with the entire jaw dropping effect when she watches Michael Phelps sweeps his eight gold medal at the 04 games in Athens. This is why I like sports -- its limitlessness, unexpectedness, and just all the gnarly things young athletes are doing now a days.

Of course, I admit that the name Olympics has been dampened with doping, extremely unhealthy pressure for athletes, and political prowess, but that's partly as result of external factors like that of society. There is really so much we can do to help solve these problems, and it's going to take a long time because these problems come from deeply rooted ideals influenced yet again by society.

We should treat the Olympics and (inter)national problems separately. I just want to watch the sports games that I love without the negativity... thank you very much.