Olympic Games (Part 1)

I love watching the Olympics because I believe it brings out the highest competitive spirit in athletes and it gives them a chance to claim a place in a world sports ranking. As spectators, we get the best out of it, effortless enjoyment of the best moments in sports. All sports. Of course there is the element of surprise, as well as drama and sometimes sublime. I wish I could sit and watch all day all sports, and if I could have a fair commentary for each of them, that would be a plus. Thirty years ago I watched Olympics through the biased eye of the Romanian Television, which was censored to show mostly competitors from Romania and the other socialist countries, none of the “corrupted” Western athletes. Then, I imagined how on the other side of the political border, the “free” countries watched indiscriminately athletes from any country as long as they were producing the top competition and results. But then I moved to the US and the first Olympics I watched as an American resident were so focused on the US athletes, there was hardly any time for the foreign ones. I understood the point of view and the business behind TV time, but now in Australia it’s yet another experience. Better than US TV, Aussie TV programs from the Olympics show the action from the most popular sports, even if the Aussie athletes are not in competition anymore. Kudos for that. The difference is in the sports in which Australian athletes participate, and which remind me of Commonwealth sports, such as hockey and equestrian. We are seeing a lot of action from these sports and learning a lot about them. The amazing horses I saw in equestrian are nothing like the horses I saw on the side of the road in Tasmania (see picture), of course. Yet, such sports only make ones love and admiration for these animals grow stronger!