As is already making headlines, Olympics have just come to a sad point, at least for the Japanese.
I was born between the Innsbruck Winter Games and Montreal Summer Games. Four years later, the Moscow Summer Games saw boycotts from various Western countries owing to the tension under the Cold War. Sarajevo, the winter venue another four years later, became a civil war battlefield several years after the Olympics.
History took another turn this time, where Japan is not welcome to the games anymore.
From the official 2018 PyongChang Olympics. Also found a captured image before sneaky rectification. Can you find Waldo, in his trademark red and white outfit? Obviously not.
So hey, isn’t it about time to give it all up?
I know, it’s the athletes who are gritting their teeth and betting their life on these events that should be prioritized. But then again, such athletes could be shot down by the media for irrelevant charges like dressing down or having attitudes (note for non-Japanese: this happened to Kokubo on a major scale in the past). I don’t want to witness that anymore.
On a more profound note, there is something about what the Olympics do. The games give short-term economic effects and medium-term action plans and goals for the host and participating countries as well as leave sport facilities and infrastructure for the area, though along with debts. In other words, the host gets a chance to promote and enhance sports to a great extent. However, all that may not mean a thing if the area has no potential for such sports, in which case it would just be a rather exhausting one hit wonder event supported by investments that never pay back. In reality, of course, it’s the matter of keeping a balance between these extreme ends of the spectrum.
So as I watched the Sochi Games, well I actually didn’t watch much at all but anyhow, it caught my attention that Sochi is a rather warm resort in Russia. If translated into the Western context, that’s the Gran Canaria Winter Games, Key West Winter Games, or Gold Coast Winter Games. To me it seemed like those days were over when the venues and games walked hand in hand by nature.
Also this time, some countries have started contemplating boycotts mainly due to the ongoing military tension in the area. Now in consideration of those poor athletes who are peaking for the event, if boycotting becomes commonplace, it might be a good idea to throw a different party, the very first Antarctic Sixth Ring Games.