Disclaimer: The title is sarcastic.
I've been watching a lot of Olympics lately - that's the only sort of sports this hipster will watch. And yeah, the idea that if we all get together and play sports every four/two years, we'll get rid of war and all live together in peace is stupid and naive. But I like that (for the most part), the Olympics are a time when the world can gather together and celebrate our common humanity by kicking each other's asses at sports.
Watching the Olympics, it's hard not to notice that America always gets the most medals (unless China beats us). It's great for our national pride and convincing us that we are simply better than other countries. Obviously, that's not true, but it still begs the question, why does America win at everything (except table tennis and handball)?
1. Size
First of all, America is a big country. Note that our main rival in the medal count is China. If, say, 1% of the world's population is a potential Olympic athlete, then there are going to be a lot more in the USA than say, Grenada (who just won their first Olympic medal thanks to runner Kirani James).
So then why is India not up there in the medal count, while countries like Germany, Japan, and of course Great Britain, are? The answer, with my new background in queer theory and attention to marginalization issues, is simple.
2. Economics
Now, hold on a second, my patriotic fellow citizens object. Money can't buy talent! Well, no...but it takes money to foster talent. It takes money to be able to have the leisure time to practice a sport, rather than try to eke out a living. It takes money to buy equipment, and it takes money to hire a coach. It takes more money to hire a better coach. The American runner with no legs? A wonderful success story, but what do those prosthetics cost in a country that until recently had no federal healthcare?
[Edit: I'm stupid. He's from South Africa. A white man from South Africa. So concepts of racial and economic privilege still apply; just ignore what I said about healthcare.]
3. The Land of Opportunity?
American also attracts athletes and coaches from other countries. Did you hear about the Cameroonians who went missing? Cameroon has an estimated 30% unemployment rate. Can you blame them for wanting to get the hell out? Also, there is a recurring story of "This athlete trains in the US, but competes with her/his home country for the Olympics." I believe that is the case with Kirani James. I wonder, though, how many athletes don't go back to their home country? How many coaches take jobs in America because that is where they can get the best facilities and the most economic support?
I started out with a very pessimistic intent to claim that America was buying Olympic gold, and that the world has been corrupted by unchecked capitalism (don't get me wrong, I love capitalism, but no system is perfect). But it occurred to me that yes, we have better economic opportunities for athletes than other countries - and is that really so terrible? I'm fully cynical when it comes to the American dream, but we have created a country where it is relatively easy to become an Olympic athlete, as long as you have the talent and the drive. And certainly we have people held back by economic circumstances even within this country (again, cynical of American dream), but the fact that we have as much space as we do to create Olympic athletes...it really doesn't seem so terrible, from that angle.
So what am I to do? I suppose that if warring countries can compete side-by-side peacefully, I can let my cynicism and idealism coexist peacefully.
Now it's time to go back to watching the Games. And the Croatian water polo team. (Yes, I'm a lesbian, but those speedos...LOL.)
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