Four Score and More

The month of August should be a sports fan’s delight! Everything starts off today with the opening of the 2008 Olympic Games. Add the PGA Golf Championship, the pre-season football games and a nightly pro baseball game and you have an excellent slate. Then, of course, the highlight will be the initiation of the Bo Pelini era, when the Nebraska Cornhuskers host Western Michigan at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln!
So now it’s China big chance. The Olympics. We’ll soon learn if this developing country can pull it off! Hosting such a major  event as the Olympics offers many huge challenges, especially for one dominated by a totalitarian regime.
Having been to China twice, I fully realize some of the problems which they must overcome. First would be the overwhelming pollution. Shanghai and Beijing are two of the most polluted cities which I’ve ever visited. The smog of Los Angeles would be mild compared to some days in Beijing and I was there when bicycles were the  accepted mode of transportation. Now that cars are becoming more common, the pollution must only be exacerbated. The dominant heating fuel used in China is coal and the smokestacks of the numerous factories spew out tons of that nasty stuff daily. Some of the Chinese who suffer from bronchial or asthmatic problems usually wear masks over their noses and mouths on the worst days.
The rivers and lakes are likewise very polluted because of the lack for centuries of proper disposal methods.  I noticed on TV that one particular lake, on which some aquatic Olympic events were scheduled, has to be cleared of hundreds of tons of algae, which had been allowed to grow and accummulate for years. The commentator said the officials hoped to have it clean and available by the scheduled date.
I realize that not all the sports venues will be in the metropolis of Beijing. Some will be in neighboring cities. In Sunday’s World-Herald there was a big section devoted exclusively to the Olympics, showing sites for the various sports, schedules, plans for TV broadcasts, etc. It’s certainly worth keeping!
Another problem will be the cooperation of the governmental authorities. How much civility, for example, will they show to the thousands of visitors?  Will they allow access to most of the centuries old historic sites? Some reports state that Tiananmen Square may be “off limits” because of its history of civil disobedience? Will there be censorship of material to be televised and written by the many news hounds who have credentials? Will the police be watching every move of the hordes of expectedguests? Will there be adequate security for the athletes and the spectators? Which brings up another potential problem: the threat of terrorism. It’s horrible to contemplate, but we can certainly remember that such catastrophic incidents have happened before. Such as Munich. Will the officials have adequate policing to thwart any attempts? If terrorists desire large crowds of potential victims, they certainly know that the Olympics would offer such an opportunity.
News reports state that China is anxious to be good hosts. And they have been training their athletes to be winners. Now they have a real golden opportunity to show the world that they can compete with the best.
We all realize that China’s regime is notorious for taking youngsters, even as young as age five, to training sites not only for sports but also for the arts. Acrobats, gymnasts, artists, etc. spend their youthful years in extensive and intensive training to make them perfectionists in their selected field.  Some say it’s almost compulsory, similar to army service! We have all seen some of their traveling troupes perform their balancing acts, their tumbling acts, their plate balancing, juggling acts and other similar activities. And they do marvelously! The Chinese hope to impress the world that they can compete with everyone in all sports. They reportedly have been gearing up for several years for this chance.
Bob Costas said it best: “ The Chinese people very much view these Games as their coming out party and it will be quite an experience to get a sense of a country that to most America is still a mystery”.
The Chinese have been leaders for many years in table tennis, gymnastics and diving. Now they want to show the rest of the world that they can compete in many other sports also.
I hope that everything goes smoothly, but I somehow have a gut feeling that there will be some major problems. Too many different cultures, religions, philosophies, races and ideologies tend to create division and conflicts. Just hope I’m wrong! I can remember Hitler’s reaction to blacks in 1936, the horrible killing of Israeli athletes in Munich, the Black Power two-fisted salute in Mexico City and several drug related incidents in more recent years. Add to that the current problems of Tibet vs. China, the controversy of permitting Iraqi and Iranian athletes to compete, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and  maybe you can understand how the eternal optimist (me) has an inkling of pessimism about the upcoming Games running through my mind.
I’d be happy to be proven wrong!