Missed the Olympics - Again

The Olympics are over and I didn't see a single minute of the action. I do not think that I am the only Canadian who missed the whole two week celebration of  winter sports. In fact, I wonder if we could divide Canadians into three basic groups: One group is comprised of individuals who will watch the Olympics with some devotion - cancelling other activities so that they don't miss a single game or performance. The second group will watch parts of the Olympics - perhaps the finals in hockey, curling any sport where a Canadian has a chance of getting a medal or by accident if they are in a sports bar. The third group is comprised of those Canadians who do not watch the Olympics and in fact studiously avoid any mention of them. While like all crude groupings, there are numerous variations and qualifications to belonging to an individual group, let me be clear - I clearly chose to belong to the third category.

I could excuse my lack of any patriotic fever or even athletic interest in the Olympics due to the fact that I have neither cable or a satellite dish, but that would be disingenuous.  I do have internet. I could have turned on the computer and watched the full CBC coverage on my computer monitor. I could have gone to a friend's house or to a sports bar. I chose not to because  I had a list of things to do - all of which were more important to me than watching someone I do not know  glide on ice or fly down some slippery slope. It is not that I do not respect and sometimes even admire those athletes who devote a decade or two to perfecting their skills to the point that they can compete internationally. I admire their dedication and commitment to a single activity, I admire the countless hundreds and hundreds of hours that they (and their parents) have spent on ski slopes or in cold arenas honing their skills. For so many of those athletes, they know that all of their work will not make them rich (hockey players and perhaps figure skaters excepted), they compete for the sheer joy of it. Or at least I assume that is why they work so hard  as I have never excelled at any of the winter (or summer for that matter) sports.

For some viewers I understand that it is exciting to cheer on a team that they have some real or imagined affection or allegiance to. I understand that it is possible to cheer on someone that the viewer does not know, will never meet but comes from the same country. I understand that it could be frustrating to see other countries accumulate medals in specific sports that some Canadians think we should automatically or at least easily win (thus the bi-yearly editorials expressing angst at the lack of public funding for elite athletes) but I cannot understand being consumed by the whole show - to that we are oblivious to all else that is going on around us.

For the individuals who were competing  in South Korea and got to march in either the opening or closing ceremonies - well done. For most of them it may be the high point of their lives. They worked hard, sacrificed a great deal and they should feel good about themselves.

 For the 500 hundred, including 120 children (Independent)  who were killed this week in Eastern Gouta, a suburb of the Damascus, Syria  because of air strikes, saying I am sorry seems to be just not enough.  In a world where on one hand we can spend  billions and billions of dollars celebrating sport  (Forbes estimates total cost of 50 billion was spent on the 2018 Olympics) but on the other hand we cannot figure out how to protect blameless victims of war perpetuated by outside forces - I am not at all sure that any of us should feel pride in our countries.