Don’t Pretend . . . They’re Not Heroes

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY I DON’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE OLYMPICS?

I Lost Interest in The Olympics Many Years Ago, when I First Realized how Snobbish it all was, that it was all About the Private Cabal of European Elitists who Governed it and Soaked Nations Worldwide for Free Performers (Athletes) for the Chance of the Athletes to Win a Shiny Colored Object . . . A Piece of Round Engraved Tin & Bragging Rights.

I Figured it out Plenty Quick that the Games were all about Money Paid by Taxpayers to Train the Athletes for the Benefit of Already Rich Old European Grifters, and that Governments like Russia, East Germany and other Communist Nations, which Used the Olympics for their National & International Propaganda . . . And When some American Athletes Began Using the Olympics for their Own Egregious Causes.

WINNERS NEVER QUIT & LOSERS NEVER REALLY WIN:

Should We All Shed A Tear For The American Olympians Who Dropped-Out Because They Couldn’t Win Or Were Stressed?

IN THIS REGARD I’M AN ABSOLUTE EXPERT:

As I’ve Written Many Times . . . I Used to be an Athlete, a Real Honest-To-Goodness Athlete. I Played Football, Hockey & Baseball. I Played some Tennis, Skied & Swam Competitively. I Fought in Karate Tournaments & Rode Horses Over Hill & Dale.

I Rode Cross Country Over Solid Jumps, Into The Water & Through The Bush & In My Western Riding Days I Did The Pony Express.

As Much As I Always Wanted To Win . . . I Never Gave it Less than my Best Shot and was Never Disappointed if I Finished Dead Last, as Long as I Knew I that I Always Left Everything on the Field.

I Was Never Good Enough To Be Amongst The Best . . . But I Was Good Enough To NEVER Quit & That’s The Mark Of A Winner.

It’s One Thing To Be A Hero . . . when you’re the Best at your Game & Feel the Best at the Moment. It’s Another thing Entirely to Quit because you Don’t Feel at the Top of your Game, or you’re Stressed-Out, or you think your Opponent is going to get the Better of you . . . Or If You Don’t Think You’re Going To Stand At The Center Of The Podium Wearing Gold.

A Hero Fights-On When All Odds Scream Failure & The Adulation Will Not Be There.

THE GREATEST HYPOCRITE . . . IS THE CONVENIENT CHAMPION:

Are The Olympians Competing For Country & Flag Or Are They In It For Themselves?

If the Olympians are in it for Anything Beyond the Glory of their Flag & the Patriots of their Nation . . . They’re in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time for the Wrong Reason.

Even Sylvester Stallone’s Fictional Movies which we Grew to Love as the Rocky Series, Captured the Imagination of a Global Audience . . . Showing the Fictional Account of a Two-Bit American Fighter from the Tough Streets who Fought Bruised & Bloodied . . . Who Wouldn’t Go Down.

Even Though Rocky Was Fiction . . . Audiences in Movie Theaters Everywhere Cheered & Wept Watching Rocky Stand his Ground . . . Refusing to Quit, which Showed the Real Spirit of Courage & Determination, which Used to be the American Way.

That Was When Most Americans Really Stood For Something. Even In Their Dreams & On The Silver Screen.

BUT WHY FOCUS ON FICTION & HOLLYWOOD?

Do You Know These Names . . . Dudley ‘Tal’ Stokes, Michael White, Devon Harris & Chris Stokes?

I Don’t Blame You For Not Knowing, since these are Not Name Brand Athletes with Adoring Fans & Huge Endorsement Contracts . . . But as you Read the Next Few Words, you’ll Know Exactly who they Are . . .

THINK OF THE JAMAICAN BOBSLED TEAM . . . Who Didn’t have a Snowball’s Chance in Hell of Winning Anything on a Rock-Hard Frozen Down-Course at Crazy Speeds over Solid Ice. They Didn’t Quit . . . And the Whole World Cheered them On as the Heroes which they Actually Were, Coming from a Country where any Semblance of Ice could Only be Found in a Cocktail.

Michael Edwards . . . Remember Him? Michael Edwards the Brit who was Best Known as Eddie The Eagle, who Strapped-On Long Skis & Launched Himself from the Terrifying Height of a Ski Jump, only to be Slammed into the Hard Landing at the Calgary Games, so he Could Represent his Beloved England which had No Ski-Jumping Team.

Eddie The Eagle Stood All Alone . . . As the Sole British Ski Jumping Competitor Hoping to Survive Knowing he had No Chance of Winning Anything – Eddie The Eagle Was A Hero.

I Can’t Remember Any Athlete More Hero Worshiped Worldwide Than Eddie The Eagle.

Herbert Brooks . . . Also Not A Household Name, but a Name Amongst Dozens on the Olympic Miracle On Ice Hockey Team . . . of American Kids who Brooks Coached, who Won Gold at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics, Against One of the Greatest Powerhouse (Not So Amateur) Hockey Teams (Russian) on the Planet.

No One Ever Believed These American Kids Had Any Chance Of Survival Against The Russians Let Alone Victory Of Gold.

As a Young Canadian, I Sat & Alternately Stood . . . Glued to my Television Set Shouting & Cheering at Every American Rush with the Puck, at Every Body Check & Every Shot on the Net. These American Kids Played for Flag & Country . . . And Seared Themselves Into All-Time Sports Perpetuity For Their Patriotism.

And Here’s A Name You Probably Know . . . Jesse Owens – A Black Man – who Literally Walked into the Belly of the Beast to Carry the Flag of the United States of America, into a Country that Didn’t just Want Owens to Lose because of Nazi Nationalism, but the Nazi’s would have Murdered Jesse Owens Only because Owens was Black. But That Didn’t Stop Jesse Owens . . . Because Jesse Owens Was A Champion.

Not Only Did Jesse Owens Compete . . . Owens Won, Set Records & Stood With Pride Atop The Podium As An American.

I DON’T WANT TO WATCH NOR CHEER FOR PHONY CHAMPIONS:

In Case You’re Wondering . . . I’m Pleased that so Many American Elitists Lost in their First Round . . . They Deserved to be Chopped Down by More than just a Few Pegs. So How Uppity Are These Knee Benders Now?

If The Olympics Want People Like Me Back Again . . . Kiss-Off the Athlete Sponsors, Say Goodbye to the Television Networks, Keep it Amateur & Make it Available ONLY to those Athletes who Respect their Flag. And Go Back To Sports Where It’s Mano-A-Mano, Where Freakish Men Don’t Compete Against Women . . . And Tiddlywinks Is Not A Sport.

The Olympics Are All About Personal Conceit & Who Can Squeeze The Most Out Of Athletic Stardom . . . Screw That.

Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov