We watched world records being shattered. We witnessed history be cemented and legacies in the making. As if shedding them ourselves, we felt the tears being cried, out of indescribable joy and devastating disappointment alike. And now it’s over.
Like a traveling circus that comes waltzing in to a new destination in a chaotic mess and overtakes the city, the Olympic Games come only to vanish a short while later, leaving behind discarded trash and already fading memories as the only evidence it had ever been there.
Now that the vanishing act is well under way, undoubtedly one question lingers: Are the Olympics, arguable the world’s greatest sporting event, losing their appeal?
TV ratings certainly suggest so. NBC’s Opening Ceremony coverage reported ratings down 28 percent from the London Olympics, and other reports list the drop as much as 35 percent.
Leading up to the start of the Games, we heard nothing but disastrous tales coming from Rio, including, but not limited to:
The Zika virus, which caused 150 health experts to recommend that the Olympics be postponed or moved from Rio altogether, and is the reason a slue of athletes cited for opting to withdraw from the Games and stay home.
Safety concerns for the athletes prompted the US to send more than 1,000 spies to Rio as well as keep large military units on standby in case a rescue or counter-terrorism mission would be required.
Dirty water riddled with trash and contamination was supposed to be made clean by 2016 but Rio failed to keep that promise. Just a year ago, scientists said the waterways in Guanabara Bay- an Olympics venue- were so filthy they were not safe for human contact.
There was also a lack of preparedness in the Olympic Village, where athletes stay. The Australian team refused to initially move in, complaining of blocked toilets, leaky pipes and exposed wiring. Rio scrambled to fix the problems, and Australia did eventually move in, only to have personal items be stolen in a fire evacuation.
Of course, it seems every Olympiad begins with doubts of readiness and a media storm of negativity. Each time, however, the kinks seem to work themselves out once the Games actually get going. This year seemed different, though.
If you were like most in the general population and were distracted by the greatness of Simone Biles and Michael Phelps, you probably missed a few things. Let me catch you up.
- A doping scandal got 118 of the 389-strong Russian athletes banned from competing in Rio, and throughout the Games, several athletes of various teams were stripped of medals or not allowed to compete due to doping
- An Israeli sailing team trainer said some Lebanese delegates refused to ride on the same bus as their Israeli counterparts and tried to block Israelis from entering the vehicle en route to the opening ceremony
- Patrick Hickey, an International Olympic Committee executive from Ireland, was arrested and charged for scalping Rio tickets (yikes)
- Pools in the aquatic center turned green after a contractor poured 80 liters of hydrogen peroxide in each pool
- Several stray bullets flew into the equestrian arena (no horses or humans were harmed)
- A bus carrying journalists was hit by gunfire (again, no one was injured)
- An Egyptian judo player refused to shake the hand of his Israeli opponent
- A member of the British team was robbed (unlike Ryan Lochte, this one is real)
- Jason Lee, a New Zealand-born jujitsu fighter based in Rio, said he was kidnapped by armed men dressed in police uniforms and forced to withdraw money from two separate ATMs to pay for his release
- USA Gymnastics, in the midst of domination, has been accused of turning a blind eye to sexual abuse
Not exactly a gold medal performance and maybe that’s appropriate for Rio, a place where just miles outside of Olympic venues are communities burdened with poverty.
Maybe the Olympics are losing their appeal. Maybe the glare of the Olympic torch, once blinding, is just a bit duller than it was before.
Or maybe not. Maybe our world is simply filled with intolerance and violence, fraud and scandals, and the Olympics are not immune.
Maybe the Olympics aren’t losing their appeal. Maybe they’re one of the few things that are keeping us all together.
In the quieter moments, a team of refugees received thundering applause not only for their athletic ability, but for their bravery and resiliency. A selfie was taken of a girl from South Korea and a girl from North Korea. A hijab-wearing Muslim women won a medal for Team USA. Two sisters finished a race hand in hand. An opponent helped a fallen athlete get back up.
Small victories, sure, but maybe that’s what the Olympics really is. Outside of a few dominant athletes and the Ryan Lochte scandal, maybe the Olympics are a series of micro-moments of something we all desperately crave: hope.
Hope that in 4 years, the world might be a more accepting place. Hope that incredible things can stem from adversity. Hope that dreams are attainable and anything is possible.
Are the Olympics losing their appeal? Only time will really tell for sure, but in the meantime, I think it depends which moments you cling to, which memories will remain etched in your mind. I’m picking the ones overflowing with inspiration and hope. You should, too.
