The New And Improved Hi-Tech Olympics
The 2008 Olympics does not hold a fascination for me that Olympics of the past held. I’m not sure if my lack of fervor has to do more with the saturation of sports on cable TV, the constant bickering by losers that winners are dopers and cheaters, or that the Olympic spirit seems far from idyllic these days. It’s probably all of those reasons, and many more I haven’t thought of yet.
I watched a few races from the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials last night. The first race of the night featured a world record breaking win by Michael Phelps. For weeks I have followed stories of the construction of the pool at the Qwest Center in Omaha. Of the technology involved-no, this pool is not the pool you spent hot summer days at. For even longer I have read of the controversy of the LAZR suit worn by many swimmers, and that it gave them an unfair advantage.
I am not a technology buff. Replacing a light bulb, changing a fuse, and occasionally pounding a nail are high tech difficult to understand operations for me. So a swim suit that takes a half hour to put on is way beyond my comprehension level. Water is water to me, though not to these world class athletes. I do wonder if they ever pee in the swimming pool. And if they did, would it ruin their LAZR suit, or keep someone from setting a record?
Maybe it is all the technology that stifles my interest in the Olympics. Every venue seems to be designed with record breaking attempts in mind, rather than mere competition. Every piece of equipment is new and better than ever. I don’t think hurdles are made of wood anymore, are they? Well they should be. Hurdlers, especially high hurdlers are masochistic anyway, so hard wood wouldn’t faze them.
With the Olympics in China this year, events will be over for hours before they are ever televised. Only by avoiding the news on the internet or the old fashioned outlets of radio and television, will watching the events be anti-climatic. Something about knowing who wins makes it less fun to watch.
The athletes still have to run, jump, dive, and swim. Of course they are better trained, faster, and stronger than ever, meaning high tech methods have been employed. Maybe I’ll just watch a baseball game or two instead of the Olympics. Oh yeah, I forgot it isn’t just the ball that is juiced in baseball.
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