Olympics and Me

I don’t have a TV, so I didn’t see any of this year’s Olympics, aside from a couple nights when it was on in the bar.

Which is okay because I don’t like the Olympics. (Sorry Sarah). You can add that to the list of wholesome things I hate, along with Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and kittens.


Mostly I guess it’s just because I’m not much of a sports fan. But I also believe the Olympics encourages blind patriotism and nationalism.

I know that’s not how they’re supposed to work, but how many times do you hear someone say, “I just hope the best athlete wins, and I don’t care if they’re from my country or not.”

I guess it’s good that we’re competing in sports instead of wars. Except that we haven’t stopped fighting wars, so now we’re just doing both. If the emphasis of the Olympics is international peace and understanding, than why not mix up the teams and create international teams that compete against each other? That’s what I would do if I were in charge.

The nationalist element to the Olympics is something I’ve picked up on a lot more since I came to Japan. It’s probably just as bad in America, but you notice these things more when you’re in another country. There is a extreme sense of national pride which floods Japan every time Japan gets a gold medal. People here get so happy and are so proud of their country. There’s a bit of racial pride thrown in as well, and as always, a concern that Japan outperforms China and North Korea.

I want to explain to them, “Look, that’s not your gold medal. You didn’t accomplish that. That’s someone else who has no connection to you other than the fact that they happen to live in the same country. Your life isn’t any better because they won that medal.”

I’m reminded of Noam Chomsky’s theory that organized sports at any level are simply a way to develop the characteristic of blind loyalty in a population. The ability to convince people that they should care about the fortunes of a sports team that has no connection to them, and then to try and transfer that developed loyalty into patriotism. Of course that’s a non-sports fan’s perspective.

I was in the bar the other night, and a German friend started talking to me. (Not Thomas. A different German altogether; this one a lot younger and an exchange student at the local University. Although, incidentally, since I made peace with Tom, things have been going a lot better between us. We frequently invite each other over to our tables at the bar, and talk history or politics).

Anyway, the German student said, “Did you know Germany has won more Gold medals than the US this year?”

“I guess I’ll be crying myself to sleep tonight,” I answered.

“Every year you Americans always beat us at the Olympics, but this year we did better than you. So I just felt that I had to say that.”

“Yeah, well, we won the war,” I replied.

I had intended that comment to be part of the friendly banter between us, but it abruptly killed the conversation. As I left the bar, a British friend asked me, “Can you say that to a German?”

“I guess not,” I said. “It was a bit of an experiment on my part, but he didn’t seem to take that too well.”

Shoko, when I ran the conversation by her, also agreed that it was probably a stupid thing to say.

Japan didn’t do too well this year. I think they only got one gold medal, and that was in figure skating. The Japanese woman who won it has become an instant national celebrity, and her face can be seen absolutely everywhere now. I’m already sick of seeing her, and I don’t even have a TV. I’m not sure if she’s been getting any attention in the American media or not.

“We’re really happy that she won,” Shoko explained to me, “because a lot of people thought the American figure skaters were better.”

“Well we won the war,” I answered.

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