Getting Torched

Major Sports

Posted by SK, April 14, 2008 - 10:23 pm

The 2008 Olympic Torch relay began inconspicuously enough.  The torch was lit in Olympia, Greece, as always, and went to Beijing, China on March 31st to begin its five month journey around the world and back.  And that’s when the madness began.

Ever since they were awarded the Olympics, China has been planning on using them as an economic and political springboard.  When I was in China in 2002, workers were starting to lay down the stadiums and infrastructure that will be on display this year.  The longest torch relay in history, scaling the Himalayas at one point and retracing the silk road, will be followed by the grandest Opening Ceremony in history, with the largest contingent of foreign dignitaries ever invited to such a ceremony.  The plan is to make it a coming out party for China, and to do it in a big way.

Unfortunately for this year’s host, the global reaction to many of the Chinese government’s policies are going to turn this debutante’s ball into a disaster.  The torch has been attacked by fire extinguishers in London, was moved on to a bus in Paris, and met with protesters on the Golden Gate Bridge.  And lord knows what will happen on Thursday when the torch goes through the streets of New Delhi, where over 100,000 ethnic Tibetans live.

Personally, I don’t know how they didn’t see this coming.  It’s not like China has endeared itself to anyone with it’s support of the Sudanese government, with its occupation and oppression of Tibet, and with it’s blatant disregard for the environment.  But the protesters are calling on the dignitaries to boycott the opening ceremonies, or on their entire national teams to boycott the entire olympics.  Well, I’m calling horseshit on two fronts here.

First off, after the majority of people out there are done protesting the torch and calling for a boycott of the Olympics, they’ll go home to appliances and clothing made in China.  If you really want to make a statement?  Call for a boycott of those TV’s that they’re selling for half price at Wal-Mart.  Of course, that will never happen because the dollar is so weak now that trade with China is basically propping up the US economy after the double whammy of high oil prices and the subprime lending fiasco.

But second, and more importantly, how much of a statement does a full boycott of the Olympics actually make?  The US boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and the Warsaw Pact countries returned the favor when Los Angeles hosted the games in 1984.  The only thing that did?  It made it easier for the host country to win medals.  That’s it.  The 1984 Olympics bring to my mind the sheer dominance of Michael Jordan, Carl Lewis, and Mary Lou Retton.  Would they have been so dominant against a full field of competition?  Well, raising that question is the only thing a full boycott of the Olympics ever accomplished.

Not only is the Chinese government cracking down on vocal protests and demonstrations under the overarching banner of “security”, it is also enforcing a dress code for spectators.  A “no politically inappropriate clothing” policy is forcing some activists to call for protesters to wear orange.  

But someone besides the Dalai Lama does have to say something.  So it falls upon the athletes to make a real statement.  And fortunately, the Olympics provides a global stage to make a statement with magnitude.  Think Jesse Owens crushing Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy in 1936.  Or Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists in the black power salute in 1968.  These political statements were made by athletes who competed and won.  A full boycott of the Olympics will never accomplish what these men have etched into our collective consciousness by competing, winning, and then saying what they had to say.

So if any members of the US Olympic Team are reading this, I propose an anti-boycott.  Everyone participates in their events and competes to their full abilities.  Win a medal, get up on the podium and THEN make your statement.  Wave a miniature Tibetan flag.  Or rip off your warm-ups to reveal a “Free Tibet” t-shirt, a la Axl Rose back in the day.  There isn’t any free speech in China, but when you medal, you’ll have the time it takes to play your national anthem to make whatever statement you want.

It would be the perfect time to show the Chinese government that not only can the Olympic flame light the way across the world, but it can burn them as well.

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