Dan Nied thinks Zach Baker must be off his meds if he thinks the olympics are meaningless. Why? well, did you see what Iraq just did?
So, the Olympics don’t mean anything?
Tell that to Iraq.
As insurgents terrorized their country and American troops infiltrated their streets, the Iraqi soccer team showed anyone who was watching Thursday that the Olympics are still a powerful entity on the world’s stage.
The beleaguered Iraqis upset world power Portugal 4-2 in their Olympic opener. Call it the “Miracle on Grass” if you want to Americanize it. Just make sure you take note of the miracle part.
After not fielding an Olympic team since 1988 Iraq showed up in Athens as a free country for the first time and proved the power of sport. After the game Iraqi streets were still littered with gunfire, but this time it was in celebration instead of war.
For anyone who thinks the Olympics are just a big to-do about nothing, look at this team, look at this country and try to tell them this win doesn’t matter.
Sure it is easy for Americans to dismiss the Olympics. We already know we’ll win the most medals. But look past the Americana and into what one medal, hell, look into what one win can do for a country. There is no war being fought on our soil. We haven’t dealt with political upheaval in the past year. The United States doesn’t need the Olympics. Iraq does.
And there they were, out on the pitch, letting the world know that Iraq has returned from the ashes of tyranny. For the first time Iraqi athletes do not have to worry about torture should they fail in their endeavors. Now they can just be athletes and play for personal and national pride.
So if the USA doping scandal and a the corrupt activity of the IOC has you washing your hands of the Olympics, turn your attention to Iraq and allow yourself to remember what one huge win can do for a nation looking up at the top of the hill.