To tell you the truth, I don’t really like watching the Olympics. It’s kinda boring. But hey, I fence, and I get way bored watching fencing.

This article piqued my interest, however: Only Three Golds – U.S. Misfires in Early Days in Athens.

It wasn’t just my patriotic outrage, it was the first sentence: “Told to avoid inflaming anti-American sentiment, U.S. athletes may have toned down the bravado too much in the early days of the Athens Games.”

Ain’t that interesting? Is this true? Or is an excuse? Either way, it disgusts me. Lose to make the rest of the world happy? Intimidation is part of the game, my friends. Even if you don’t think intimidation is all that great, can I appeal to your patriotism? Shouldn’t we try out best?

Something else to ponder: “China lead the medals table with 10 golds.”

So, they put a man in space. They’re in the lead for the medal count. Will they win? If not, they’re going to do a damn good job. Then, they’re hosting the 2008 Olympics. Being the host country naturally means you put more money into sports in order to look good, which will most likely translate to more medals. Could we be looking at China doing the best in 2008?

China is a nation on the rise. And China is not a democracy. That’s why I’m worried.

It’s all symbolic so far… and I know this is a cheap dig… but who hosted the 1936 Olympics? The Nazis.

It reminds me of a comment Lloyd left a while back [I’ll find the entry later]. The 20th century belonged to America. Will the 21st belong to the Chinese?