Why I doubt I’ll watch the Olympics (I love sport, athleticism, and competition) and what I’ll do instead
I’d heard people talking about the Olympics. I looked them up and it turns out they started last week. I doubt I’ll watch much. Why not? Not for lack of potential interest:
I love sports.
I love athleticism, fitness, and people reaching their potential.
I love competition and the drama of not knowing how a competition will turn out.
For one thing, when I clicked to the official page at olympics.com, they featured corporate ads for Visa and Roblox, which I believe is a video game, and what looked like a docudrama to watch about past competitions (or something with Nadia Comaneci), and other things unrelated to sport.
They know who butters their bread.
I scrolled down and they showed medal counts. Nothing about sport or competition until I scrolled down. When I scrolled farther down, they were selling tons of clothes you know would be worn only a few times before going to landfills (if by way of Goodwill or a thrift shop changes nothing, our world already has enough clothes for everyone for decades).
But that’s the smaller issue. Hundreds of thousands of people fly around the world. You think I’m talking about the environment? Yes, it’s an issue, but it destroys community and actually playing sports. The term “play” doesn’t apply with the Olympics. I’m not criticizing the athletes. I love that they train and devote themselves to their potential.
I suspect the Olympics lead to people playing less sport and games overall in the world. The experience of the overwhelming majority of people will be watching from their couches or on their phones. They seem to show docudrama more than actual competition. If I watch competition, I’ll probably end up watching later online if they post just plain competition without all the trimmings to make it like reality TV, but I may not.
Still, I love sport. Will I feel I’m missing out?
The biggest issue is what I’ll do instead: I’ll exercise and do athletic things. Burpees, stretching, preparing and eating healthy meals. If I were younger or in school, I’d join with nearby people to play team competitions.
If you were thinking of watching the Olympics, I recommend considering actively, deliberately doing things, even if not world-class instead of passively watching.
Then again, maybe I’m missing something. If you think I’m missing something and should watch, let me know. I have my blind spots like anyone else.
I looked up images in my posting history about burpees and saw this one where I hit 90,000. It reminds me when I was pleased with hitting 10,000, then 20,000, then 100,000. I’ll hit a quarter million soon. If I miss the docudrama presentation of the Olympics to do a few more, so be it.
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On initiative, leadership, the environment, and burpees