OLYMPIC TIME AGAIN

And I'm watching. Not much, but when they're not running umpteen commercials, the action is pretty good. Even though I don't like Winter or Winter sports very much. Well, except for curling. I think that's a Winter sport.

I've been blessed to visit several Olympic stadiums throughout the world. In fact I even jogged on the track at the one in Athens, I believe. I'd have to dig in the photo files for sure, and as most of my loyal readers know, I can't be confused by facts. Plus I'm a little too lazy to do much research other than ask my wife who would remember and wonder when the rest of my mind will depart.

But the one even that I would like to have been able to see in person was not the "miracle on ice", the 1980 US hockey victory over the Russians in the semi-finals on the way to the gold medal. At a time when our country was reeling from the Iran kidnapping of Americans and when the man in the White House preceding Ronald Reagan had no clue how to get them back after 444 days of captivity. At a time that The USSR was still in existence and thriving at the Olympics feeling that they were showing the world Russian superiority. Before they lost that game which according to our son was the beginning of the end of the USSR.

Well, anyhow the rest is history and that was by all standards a monumental Olympic achievement, but there's one event that I would have placed above it and that was Jesse Owens winning gold at the Berlin Olympics of 1936. The Hitler Olympics where he was going to show the world the dominance of the Aryan race. Except a Black guy from the US kicked their tails.

What that must have been like to see Jesse Owens there. I can't imagine what the look on Adolph's face would have been. But I know it had to be one of extreme embarrassment. Of hatred that would multiply million-fold over the next 8 or 9 years. And while Mr. Owens' feats didn't have quite the same favorable results, it was legendary and perhaps in some small way led the Allies in the belief that Hitler could be had.

A reason that I love sports is the competition. And sometimes, it's much more than that.