Sunday, October 23, 2016

Olympic Pressures And Nationalistic Feellings

Most of us have enjoyed watching the Rio Olympics and there is much to praise in its planning and the performances over all of the competitors. However, Grinch that I am, there were some things that weren't so wonderful.

British athletes confirmed what they had shown in 2012, that they are a power to be reckoned with in world sports. This is a far cry from their performances years ago. In 1952 they won one gold medal, and, since it was equestrian, they needed a horse to win it.

The explanation I was given for their present success, is that, in the 1980s, the government decided to spend a lot more on sport, so, like everything else under capitalism, it all relates to money.

Another negative comment is that one could hardly fail to notice the sometimes, disgraceful behaviour of the Brazilian fans. They jeered the French pole-vaulter because he was a threat to the Brazilian who won. They taunted Russian swimmers. They booed a ball boy for dropping a tennis ball. They booed a German player when he twisted his ankle in a tennis match, also against a Brazilian.

In the air pistol finals, they tried to disrupt the concentration of non-Brazilian shooters as they pulled the trigger.

At show jumping, a bellowing Ring Master had the crowd jeering, to startle the horse when an Argentinian rider approached a fence. When the Brazilian team won the men's beach volleyball, their excitement could be best described as "hysterically happy."

Brazil is undergoing economic, hence, political crises, which, plus the fact that the majority of the population lives in abject poverty, causes them to seek an outlet by venting their feelings in sport. This is little different from British soccer fans from slum neighbourhoods, building their lives around the success of their local team.

The above and the nationalistic feeling it engenders, only accentuates the happiness, or sadness, the fans feel depending on the result.

Socialists do not condone such behaviour, but understand the economic pressures that cause it. John Ayers.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Your not a Grinch John Ayers. In fact your article is too conciliatary. The Olympic Games is a total crock.