Monday, July 23, 2012

Olympics 2012

I love the Olympics even though some of the spectacle and excitement it generates now is not as great as in previous editions. This is because almost all sports have professional circuits or tours and the athletes know each other well. There are very few surprises and for the most part the winners are predictable. Even in a sport like badminton, which is not particularly popular in the United States, there is a lucrative professional circuit. The top 4 players will almost certainly meet each other to decide the medals. Even here, there is some excitment because you root for the player you want to win. There are sports however which can generate a ceratin level of excitement because there are so many who could win the gold medal. Swimming is one sport in this class. There are certain events where the medals (specifically the gold medal) will be contested by a host of possible winners. Similarly, gymnastics is exciting because there are a number of teams which can win. Although there are World Championships and the gymnasts know each other well, I always feel there is an air of of the unkown in gymnastics. Then there's diving and table tennis. I watch these events because I want to witness and be in awe of the complete domination of one country. In the last Olympics (Beijing), China won every single event in table tennis, and all but one event in diving. The Chinese domination of tehse events is likely to continue. I always find it amazing that in sport of in any endeavor there are individuals who can excel so far above even the very best in the world. In the chess world, there have been 15 world champions, but 5 of them (Fischer, Kasparov, Karpov, Capablanca and Alekhine) stand head and shoulders above even the otehr world chmpions. You see this in tennis, and boxing. Even in the wolrd of music everyone has heard of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Bach. How many non musicians have heard the beautiful music of Max Bruch or Ralph Vaughn-Williams? Some may even have heard the music but don't realize who composed it. Back to the Olympics. I love the Olympics and will be watching Usain Bolt try to win teh 100m. the Chinese dominate diving and table tennis, men's and women's volleybal (not beach volleyball), gymnastics and swimming.  Just for 2 weeks, I can wonder at how certain human beings appear to be blessed with superior coordination and ability to suppress their nerves to deliver their dreams.