“It’s Complicated” My Love/Hate Relationship With the Rio Olympics

By: Steven Ngati

        As a sports’ fan, summers are always the toughest because we’re in the dead zone of the major sports. This period begins at the end of the NBA finals and last until the opening weekend of college football and the first Sunday of NFL games. I enjoy following the pennant races in baseball, but that sport doesn’t fully reel me in until the playoffs start in October. Fortunately, every four years we are blessed with the Olympic Games and all of the patriotism, athleticism, drama, controversy and sheer jubilation that it brings. If the Olympics and I were in a relationship on social media we would definitely be, “It’s Complicated.” At this point, we’re a troubled couple. I felt it would be necessary to seek out counseling as we try to work through some of our issues.

                Counselor: Most counseling sessions begin with us sharing something we love about one another, so I would like Steven to go first.  

I love how proud I feel as an American when I watch the Olympics. No matter what sport I watch, my patriotism is at an all-time high. Even the random events that I’ve never heard of like the Steeplechase or Race Walking. Or even events that we don’t see often in the US, like Handball, I’m rooting for Team USA like they’re the damn Cowboys. (Side note, have you ever watched a handball game? It’s like basketball, soccer and football rolled into one sport. Why is this not popular in the US? ) That patriotism we all share makes us feel closer together. I enjoy watching an event with friends and family as we pretend like we’re experts in judging someone’s performance. There’s always that one person in the room who thinks they know the ins and outs of scoring in gymnastics even though they’ve probably never touched a balance beam in their life. I’ve been guilty of this myself, as I was watching this death defying rafting event at my Uncle’s house and I commented aloud how awesome the guy was doing on the course and how he probably medaled with the blazing time he had just finished with. On cue, NBC displays the standings and the guy finished in 17th place. Why did I have so much confidence in my ignorance of this rafting event that I had never seen before to utter how great his time was? The Olympics is the only entity I can think of where it’s OK to do that and still feel like you know what you’re talking about.

Counselor: Your turn to share something you love Olympics.

Well, I love creating heroes that inspire fans like Steven around the world. The 2016 games has been some of my best work. I gave the world Simone Biles, arguably the greatest gymnast of all time. Her story is a $200 million dollar Disney blockbuster waiting to happen. I brought back Michael Phelps, the greatest and most decorated Olympian of all time. He dominated in the same fashion as a 35 year old Michael Jordan leading his Bulls to another NBA title in his final season with the Bulls. A perfect ending to a near perfect career. (I can’t wait to write the parallel piece of Michael Phelps deciding at the last minute to comeback for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in correlation with Jordan returning to the NBA to play with the Washington Wizards.) I showed people to never give up with Mo Farah of Great Britain falling down during the 10,000M race and getting back up not only to finish, but to win the race and a gold medal. Speaking of finishing, look no further than Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas diving at the finish line to defeat the USA’s Allyson Felix and capture the gold medal in the women’s 400m final. That moment right there is why I do this. I do this because Simone Manuel becoming the first African-American female swimmer to win a gold medal will help move the world forward, breaking down barriers of stereotypes and inspiring little girls of color all over the planet that they too, can be a world class swimmer and Olympian.

Shanuae Miller dives for a Gold Medal finsh against Allyson Felix in the Women's 400m final. Photo Courtesy: Matt Slocum/AP

Counselor: Wow. That’s some pretty deep stuff the Olympics just laid on you Steven. What’s your response to that?  

 I guess I never thought about it from that perspective. You do give me a lot of inspiration and it’s a huge part of what I love about you, but how can I trust you? I hate how much drama and controversy you bring every time you come over. Granted you only come over every four years, but the baggage you bring is heavy. You let the Russians compete despite positive tests for performance enhancing drugs. WHEN ARE YOU GONNA STOP CHEATING?!?!? How is this not a complete slap in the face to the clean athletes who busted their asses to compete in Rio? (Shoutout to my girl Lily King for slapping back and being totally unapologetic about it.) Speaking of Rio, why did you take us there? While I appreciate being able to watch the events live in my time zone, instead of on tape delay, the conditions of the host city have been a disaster. So many horrible stories of poor Brazilian citizens being exploited for manual labor, sex and even violence. Part of me feels guilty even being associated with you.

Counselor: Steven seems upset Olympics, how do you feel about that?

My bosses (The IOC) took us to Rio. I didn’t have a choice. We’re an almost a $10 billion business, don’t forget that. With that type of money involved you’re very naïve if you didn’t think we had to get our hands dirty from time to time. Since we’ve started on things we hate about each other, I hate how childish you’ve been on social media. In 2012, I gave you Gabby Douglas and your whole country fell in love with her. She was an American hero and now only four years later you’ve treated her like absolute trash. While she didn’t enjoy the same individual success she achieved four years ago in London, she did help lead the Women’s US team to the most dominate victory in the history of the Team Gymnastics all-around event. Despite that, you ripped her because she didn’t put her hand over her heart during the National Anthem and wasn’t the most enthusiastic teammate cheering on the sidelines. When did you guys become the body language police? The level of nitpicking here is outrageous and unfair for someone as decorated as Douglas. Also, please stop comparing the 2016 USA basketball team to the 92’ Dream Team and telling everyone how much this year’s team sucks on Twitter. It’s stupid and incredibly shortsighted. We know this year’s team has had their struggles, but you have to realize the world of basketball is very different from what it was in 1992. They didn’t compete against other teams full of NBA talent, they played teams like Angola who were asking for autographs before the games. Since then, the rest of the world has caught up. Teams like Serbia, France, Australia, Argentina and Spain have been playing together for years. Combine their experience and comfort with the fact that they have current and former NBA players on their rosters makes for formidable opposition. Yes, the US team has the most talent by far, but you do realize you guys put this team together a month ago right? Isn’t it reasonable to assume their might be some close calls here and there, simply because they’re still learning how to play with each other? Chemistry is a huge part of basketball and despite that, the US is still undefeated. Cut them some slack and get off Twitter please.

Future Hall of Famer Manu GInobili and NBA veteran Luis Scola are examples of how far basketball has progressed around the globe since the 92' Dream Team took gold in Barcelona 24 years ago. Photo Courtesy: Jason Getz/USA Today Sports

I guess I see your point Olympics. You’ve given us champions and sometimes we tear them down. But sometimes they do it to themselves.

Counselor: What do you mean by that Steven?

Have you seen this ridiculous Ryan Lochte story? They went to Rio to represent the USA and compete amongst the best in the world in their individual and team swimming events. Now, they’re coming home in disgrace. I’m glad the media isn’t letting them off the hook with their lies and giving them the hammering they deserve, because your boss is certainly letting them slide right now. “I do not regret having apologized. No apologies from [Lochte] or other athletes are needed. We have to understand that these kids came here to have fun. Let's give these kids a break. Sometimes you make decisions that you later regret. They had fun, they made a mistake, life goes on.” said IOC spokesman Mario Andrada. Lochte is 32 years old, why is he being referred to as a “kid”? These guys are grown men who got drunk, went to a gas station, pissed on the floor of someone’s business broke down a bathroom door, broke a window and attacked the security guard who tried to stop them. To top it off, they fabricated a story saying they were robbed at gunpoint trying to leverage the lack of credibility and PR nightmare that is the city of Rio. Thoughts of privilege run across my mind when I think about this story. I wonder if another athlete from another country or even an American athlete of color like a Carmelo Anthony, who is also 32 years old would get the dismissive kid label? I know the Olympics isn’t responsible for the behavior of these swimmers, but the least you guys can do is call them out for the thugs that they are.

The face of an American liar, Ryan Lochte disgraced not only himself but the country he was there to represent. Photo Courtesy: Michael Sohn/AP

Olympics: I feel your frustrations Steven. I’m sorry and embarrassed about these events. You expect the best out of me and I haven’t been giving you my best, only flashes.

Counselor: I feel like we’re making real progress here! Let’s end on a positive note and if you’re willing to accept the Olympics apology, Steven please close out this session with one last thing you love about Olympics. 

Sure. I love the historic performances that you’ve given me. Earlier you mentioned the inspirational aspect of the Olympics and while that is truly special, what attracts me to you is greatness. You touched on Phelps cementing his legacy as the greatest to ever do it, but I was just as impressed watching Katie Ledecky (representing the DMV) blow away the competition in the Women’s 800m freestyle at a record breaking pace while making long distance swimming look cool and compelling. You blessed us with Usain Bolt and for that I’m so thankful. Bolt is like a created player in a video game, down to his name. Usain Bolt being named Usain Bolt is like having a superstar basketball player named Mo Buckets. It sounds made up and too good to be true, only it is. Bolt is the fastest man on the planet with one of the best personalities we ever seen in sports. I love you for giving Bolt the platform to share his amazing gift with the world. As great as Bolt has been, Wayde Van Niekerk took my breath away. I’ve witnessed three breathtaking moments of sheer athleticism in the last year. 1. LeBron’s block on Iggy in the Finals. 2. Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary throws against Detroit and Arizona. 3. Van Niekerk running the 400m in 43.03 seconds from Lane 8 shattering Michael Johnson’s world record. Van Niekerk wasn’t favored to win the race and was seemingly at a disadvantage with his lane assignment. For those who aren’t familiar with track, running in Lane 8 from his position essentially makes him blind to his competition. He has nothing to really gauge against until well after the first split, in which most runners run too hard or too slow and ultimately fall behind. Van Niekerk used this to his advantage and pushed the tempo of the race to a dead sprint in which no one was able to keep up and allowed him to break the world record. Van Niekerk’s achievement will hold a special place in my heart, considering Michael Johnson winning gold in the 400m at the 1996 Olympics was the first signature event I witnessed and the first time we ever met. For me, that was love at first sight. It’s been a rocky road over the years, but even with your flaws it’s worth it when I can experience those historic moments and hopefully have the opportunity to one day share them with my children. Olympics, I still love you.

These guys are my Olympic All-Star Team. Phelps, Ledecky, Bolt, Biles and Van Niekerk rewrote the All-Time record books in Rio.