THE 2020 2021 OLYMPIC GAMES

 

THE 2020 2021 OLYMPIC GAMES

Well, the Olympic Games are over.  Did you miss them? 

I did…most of them anyway.  They are just not what they used to be.

Maybe we need Russia to hate and root against again.  Some good old patriotic vitriol to spice things up.

This year it was difficult to root for some of our athletes who were determined to use this world stage to show the rest of the world that the USA sucks.  It is one thing to use an athletic field to make a political statement at home, I did not like our dirty laundry put out for the world to see.

I wonder what North Koreans thought when they saw purple haired soccer players kneel in protest of racism in the USA.  I’ll bet they wished they had the freedom to kneel in protest of starving to death.

Anyway, these Olympics are just not as exciting as they used to be. 

Maybe it is because many events take place late at night our time, with zero people in the Covid Stands.

Maybe it is because there just does not seem to be the same US vs. Them country rivalries.

Maybe it is because many of our athletes are too intent in telling the rest of the world that the US is a racist mean-spirited country.

Probably it is because every time I turned on the TV to watch it was always volleyball, or people endlessly swimming laps in a pool. 

What happened to the pole vault, discus, 100 meter dash, boxing and long jump? Did I blink and miss them?

There was golf, where the same professionals that I see every week played for a medal instead of money…as if that medal won’t generate money eventually.

I did watch women’s basketball.  I don’t usually see women pro-basketball on TV.  The women are very, very good.  It was interesting watching 6 foot-five US women dominating their 5 foot-nothing Japanese opponents.  Interesting, not very exciting.

Gymnastics did dominate TV on some days. I do like gymnastics every four years,  but without Simone Biles, it was just not as much fun.

Simone was having mental issues that are not unlike the dreaded golfing “Yips.”  Except the Yips in golf means you can’t make a three foot putt, in gymnastics it apparently means you can land on your head and never walk again. 

Simone is probably the best ever at her sport, she knows when it is not safe for her to perform, but I did miss her.

Maybe these young ladies would not have such mental issues if they were not driven to practice and excel at such a young age.  They miss out on a lot of the growing up most young ladies experience.  The pressure to excel is huge and most are not mature enough to deal with it.

Along with the pressure to succeed, many of these girls were sexually molested for years by a monster doctor who they trusted with their injuries, stamina and health. 

He is now in jail for 175 years; little comfort to those abused young athletes.

One of these ladies, since retired from the sport, was McKayla Maroney. McKayla won medals in 2012 while enduring a broken foot that the monster doctor lied about so she would perform.  She broke the foot because the maniac coach forced her to practice in an event in which she was not even entered.

McKayla won gold and silver medals even with the injuries and the mental anguish from the monster doctor.  Yet, what has she become famous for? 

While standing on the podium to receive her silver medal she made a face that indicated the was disappointed in the silver.  She was ridiculed for making a face in a short instant when the camera was on her.

Performed with a broken foot, was driven to exhaustion by a maniac coach, sexually molested for years by a monster doctor, and she was criticized for making a face!

Why do I bring up McKayla?

Recently McKayla is in a commercial which is a parody on her Olympic medal-stand face.

I think it is a riot, and speaks to her character that she can make fun of something she has been criticized for.

In case you don’t have a TV, or only watch commercial free PBS, here is the commercial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFiywyiUAp8

The funniest part in the commercial for me, is when the frisbee geeks drone in unison “Thank you McKayla.” 

When I think of what she has endured, along with Simone and many other young abused girl athletes, I think the thank you is deserved.

“Thank you McKayla” “Thank you Simone.”