Am I the only one who feels the Olympics, as a fair and unbiased competition of speed and strength have outlived their usefulness and should be allowed to die the way they were several thousand years ago?
I'm sure you aren't the only one, David, but I certainly hope it is a minority view. You actually see something wrong, or bad, or evil in inviting the best of the world's youth to come together in friendly athletic competition? Yes, there was a time when the Soviet Union and East Germany were sending professionals to compete against amateurs, and yes, our very non-professional male basketball players got sandbagged because of overconfidence and the internal politics that gave us individual players who could not function as a team. And yes, the athletic value of the games was diminished when the Soviet Union boycotted our games, and again when our president decided to boycott theirs, but the intent is more important than the petty glitches that are inevitable and get blown all out of proportion.
Or did they really play beach volleyball back in the ancient games?
Of course not; nor softball, nor basketball, nor firearms competition, nor ice skating, nor skiing, nor swimming, nor diving. None of them had been invented yet, for heaven's sake, certainly not in Greece. On the other hand, when they competed in throwing the javelin, that was an important military art and not just a pro forma imitation.
If I had my druthers, the Olympic games would be track and field, period. Just my personal prejudice. But there are many, many other sports, with international competitions and championships, international governing bodies, and enough influence to get recognized as Olympic sports. I do not, personally, watch skinny young ladies throwing hula hoops into the air or fluttering ribbons in pretty patterns, nor do I watch water polo or synchronized swimming. And soccer, for all the international excitement it generates, is almost as boring as major league baseball or golf! I can't wait for poetry reading, piano playing, or ballet to become Olympic sports! But let them compete, and take advantage of national predilections in the choice of sports, and work to equal those skills in countries where they are not national sports. It sure beats the heck out of politics!! (And besides, the gods are watching from up on the mountain.)
John
-- John & Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
