The Olympic Spirit

                                                                              

Every four (or two, or whatever it is nowadays) years, my wife watches the Olympics. So I watch it as well.ⁱ I'm too lazy to change to a real program – not that there is any – and I'm far too smart to make an issue over the choice. I see the same ads over and over again, and there is an occasional event shown. The events themselves, however, on occasion seem strange. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The Olympics are said to have been organized originally in the eighth century BCEⁱⁱ – at least that's what the history books say – but they probably started earlier, and they only achieved real popularity a few centuries later. They were dedicated to the gods on Mount Olympus and their goal was to solidify the relation between between the various city-states of what is now Greece. In fact, during the games wars were put on hold. The medium was sports, including events like the javelin throw which, notwithstanding the suspension of such activities during the games, mimicked the activities of war. The prizes were quite modest – crowns of olive branches and artistic tributes like statues and poetic tributes. With the rise of Christianity, however, celebrations of pagan gods doomed the games and at the end of the fourth century CE Theodosius banned them.

Fast forward to the end of the nineteenth century: the reconstitution of the Olympics.ⁱⁱⁱ And, since 1896, after being revived by de Coubertin, the Olympics have been held every four years, except for the war years.^iv But from 1896 to now there has been a sad deterioration of the games – not commercially of course, but in terms of the ideals that had inspired them. For example, instead of stopping war to compete, the games were suspended to allow for the pursuit of war.

What were those ideals? The Olympic movement prides itself on promoting a holistic philosophy: “Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”^v In view of such ideals, and the sentiment that sport should be accompanied by social responsibility and ethical principles, the need to ban certain substances, and the penalties for cheating and throwing events are hard to understand. And while the spirit of competition is to be commended, participation should be accompanied by “a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”^vi From what I've observed, those ideals are often lacking, and the Guinness Book of World Records is more of a motivation for the athletes than the Olympic Charter.

But it is not fair to blame the participants when the games themselves have changed and when the Olympic Committee has interests and prejudices of its own. According to the Council of Europe, “'Sport' means all forms of physical activity^vii which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels.”^viii We also understand the term to refer to the kinds of physical competitions that have primarily athletic, rather than entertainment, value. So such “sports” as synchronized swimming and diving, dressage and ice dancing don't seem, on the surface, to reflect what Coubertin may have had in mind.^ix Training, often arduous, is an important component, as is the sense of competition. But they do not define sport.^x

Rather, the Committee has chosen to use commercial licensing and profit-making as the criteria for its choices. Amateur status used to be demanded of participants^xi but that limitation has been abandoned because professionals provide more excitement and revenues than amateurs. Television rights are now a critical property, and advertisements and fluff take up more time than the actual events. In addition, fireworks-filled ceremonials and displays are certain to draw big audiences. And so as to keep the consciousness of the events ever in our minds, and to keep the revenues flowing, the Olympics are now featured every other year instead of every four years.

Even the Olympic logo belies the stated goals of the Charter. The five rings are said to symbolize the world's continents. There are, however, seven continents – a fact of which the Committee must be aware. It may be argued that there are no participants from Antarctica, but it is hard to maintain the same position in regard to Australia. A new symbol, though, probably wouldn't be as striking as the one now in use, and would lose some of its commercial value.

Perhaps the worst of the offenses of the organizers, though, is the politicization of the games. According to the Olympic Charter, “The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries,” yet the prizes seem to be awarded by countries with national anthems an important feature. Medal counts and media coverage also seem to focus on international rivalries. And “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.” Yet despite the long memory of ancient games, officials seem to be unable to remember the more recent murder of Israeli athletes and coaches in Munich at the 1972 games, nor to pay any tribute to them in the extensive pageantry in which the games glory.^xii Many people consider this to be a slap at a particular people and a particular country, illustrating the prejudices of the organizers. As does their readiness to erect a barrier so that Lebanese athletes wouldn't have to see or acknowledge the presence of the Israeli athletes. The world reacted with horror when the Israelis constructed a barrier to keep them safe from terrorist attacks, and it was decried by an angry world. But the reaction to a direct violation of Olympic principles by the Olympic Committee itself in the building of a barrier to exclude Israelis is of no consequence. Clearly the Committee doesn't view such an action as a “form of discrimination with regard to a country.”

The committee will condemn the acts of others while never considering its own hypocrisy and the violation of its own rules. So why should we demand more of the athletes. And we who watch should not condemn either the organizers or the athletes. Not as long as we ourselves keep watching and admiring the Olympic Spirit.

Next episode: “Jeremy Bentham And The Mars Rover” – On the uses of money.

i      I'm writing this on August 7^th, although it won't appear for a few weeks.

ii     Specifically 776 BCE.

iii    There had been attempts to hold similar celebrations in between – including one on the heels of the French Revolution – but they were short-lived.

iv    Fealty to the gods may have been a motivating force for the Greeks, but religion played no part in the modern games. Or so they claimed.

v     As stated in the Olympic Charter.

vi    Ibid. “Fundamental Principles, Number 6.

vii    Air rifle shooting may require a good deal of concentration, good vision, and steady hands, but it is not what would come to mind immediately as a physical sport.

viii   European Sports Charter, Article 2, 1a.

ix     It also seems unlikely that he would have listed beach volley ball among his favorites.

x      A lot of training is necessary to win a hot dog eating contest or a chess match, and “road rage” is certainly the result of an overly competitive spirit, but none qualifies as an Olympic sport. Nor do we see, at least not this year, dancing with the stars.

xi    Jim Thorpe, described by King Gustav V of Sweden as the greatest athlete in the world, was stripped of his Olympic medals because he had played professional baseball and that was enough reason to consider him a professional and ineligible for Olympic participation even though he competed in track and field.

xii    Indeed, the Munich games went on after the murders as if nothing had happened.