Another Olympics Come To Pass

So, the 2012 London Olympics are done.

The concerns about security, about a possible repeat of the London attacks just a day or so after it was announced that London had been rewarded the games in the first place, seem to have been a bit overblown, as these seemed like peaceful games. No major tragedies, no repeat of Munich or anything. The main thing people are talking about now, after the flame has died away, would be the performance of the athletes.

This was a memorable Olympic Games, nonetheless. It happened when Britain seemed to be enjoying a minor renaissance of sorts. This was a period chock full of events and such in Britain. there was the royal wedding, and the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations. The British finally saw one of their own men, Andy Murray, competing at the Wimbledon Final, although he lost to Roger Federer. About a month later, in the rematch at the Gold Medal match, Murray would shock a lot of people and exact a measure of sweet revenge, as he dismantled Roger on the grass of the Wimbledon courts, traditionally his strength, en route to a gold medal for Great Britain.

The Olympics themselves seemed to be a success. There were some thing that people were not sure what to think of, such as the rather bizarre looking structure built specifically for the games. There were criticism that the flame could not be seen except when inside of the stadium, which was a first.

Brazil seemed on the verge of winning the gold medal, which very surprisingly, Brazil had never done before in Olympic history! The greatest powerhouse in soccer/football, and the have never actually won the gold medal! Imagine that! Seconds into the gold medal game, they allowed the quickest goal ever to Mexico, and the Mexicans used that momentum to score a monumental upset, clinching their first ever gold and denying the powerhouse Brazilians in the process. On the women's side, the US team managed to win a miracle victory against Canada in the final minute or so of play, following a controversial call. They went on to win the gold against Japan.

Americans were in love with the latest incarnation of the "Dream Team", and indeed, they won the gold. But there were times when they struggled, against Argentina, and then in the Gold Medal game against Spain. Ultimately, however, this was still their sport.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt proved to be unbeatable, as he took gold in the same three competitions that he won gold in four years earlier in Beijing: the 100 m, the 200 m, and the 4 x100 m relay. Thus, he became the first man ever to score gold in all three categories in consecutive Olympics, and that should secure his immortality in racing for a very long time to come.

Phelps had a rocky start in these Olympics, but he managed to establish a new record for most total golds at 18, as well as the most ever medals overall, with 22. He retired from the Olympics as the most decorated modern Olympian ever.

And so, it's over. At least until the 2014 Winter Olympic games. That's when we can expect the medal count race once again, and rather jingoistic fever about who wins the most overall medals, and especially the gold. Not only are the games officially over, but I think the Olympic spirit is over, as well. But unlike the London games, the spirit went missing a long time ago, buried by an avalanche of corporate sponsorship, and a drive to win no matter what the cost. That doesn't just go for the athletes at the games, but for those at home, keeping count of the medals, with chests swollen at just one more affirmation of what many Americans surely believe to be their superiority.

Those are aspects that I do not really miss. But I don't want to be a grump when talking about this all of the time, so I will try to refrain mentioning the more negative aspects of the modern Olympic Games.

Instead, I will mention a picture that I saw today on Facebook, with a caption underneath. It stated this:

Only Governments Want War

I might qualify this by adding corporations that profit from war to the equation, but the point is well taken.

The picture? It showed two athletes from different nations, competitors presumably, with their arms draped around one another in companionship. Maybe the Olympic spirit has not been entirely extinguished after all?