I keep forgetting this is the year of the summer Olympics. Seems like everyone else has too. The Olympics just doesn’t carry the importance it once did. I started following the Olympics in 1972 when I was a mere eight years old. I didn’t give a damn about the hostage situation, I loved the sports! Dave Wottle winning the 800m with a strong finish while wearing his golf cap. Mark Spitz won seven gold medals in swimming. And last, the American basketball team getting screwed by the referees in an undeserved loss. What really made the games exciting was the rivalry with the Eastern Bloc. They were the bad guys. The games aren’t fun any longer without the bad guys.
Montreal in 1976 was a bit of a let down. Even as a kid, I knew Bruce Jenner was an asshole. His motivation to turn a profit from his medal was so transparent. Thankfully, there was a saving grace to those games: the East German women swimmers. I was in love! Those “she-men” were incredible. At that point, I should have realized some things about my sexual leanings. I didn’t even care if their performance was chemically enhanced. I just thought they were gorgeous There was this photo of Kornelia Ender in the Guiness Book of World Records...........(I digress).*
The games in 1980 and 1984 suffered from boycotts. These games were not up to standard in terms of performance. By 1988, the Eastern Bloc was no longer a viable threat and the rivalry was just no longer there. I stopped following the games at this point. The times for heroes had passed.
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*not the photo pictured
